Missouri Senate

Introduced

The maximum award under the property tax credit program is increased from seven hundred fifty dollars to eleven hundred dollars. The maximum upper limit and minimum base amounts, for the property tax credit for calendar year 2008, are extended to all subsequent calendar years.

Voter approved property tax rate increases must be applied to a political subdivision's most recent total assessed valuation, as certified by the state tax commission on or before the date of the election in which the increase was approved. Under current law, the Hancock Amendment of the Missouri Constitution requires political subdivisions to roll-back their tax rate ceiling due to increases in assessed value. This act requires every political subdivision, in a reassessment year, to roll-back its prior year's tax rate regardless of whether the political subdivision was levying the tax at its tax rate ceiling. A governing body of a political subdivision may, in a non-reassessment year, modify its tax rate, not to exceed its maximum authorized voter approved levy, through the adoption of an ordinance, resolution, or policy statement explaining its actions.

Assessors are required to notify taxpayers by February 15th of real property assessment increases and, with the aid of the county clerk and relevant political subdivisions, to estimate the tax liability for property upon which assessments are increasing.

The act requires the St. Louis County Assessor to complete and return, to the county's governing body, the assessor's book by May 1st of every year.

Under current law, certain counties and the City of St. Louis must deduct either one eighth of one percent or one quarter of one percent of all ad valorem property tax collections and deposit such amount into the county's assessment fund until December 31, 2009. This act extends this requirement until December 31, 2015. If the state tax commission withholds state assessment reimbursement funds from a county for three consecutive quarters, the extra one-eighth of one percent or one quarter of one percent collection revenues in the county assessment fund will be forfeited and returned by the county to the political subdivisions within such county.

The act changes the date the St. Louis County Board of Equalization convenes from the first Monday in June to the second Monday in May.

The clerk of a circuit court is required to send the county collector a notice that an appeal seeking exemption has been filed upon a taxpayer's timely filing of an appeal of a final decision of the Board of Equalization. Such notice must contain the name of the taxpayer, the case number assigned by the court, and the parcel or locator number of the property being appealed. The notice to the collector must state that the taxes in dispute are to be impounded. The act also requires the state tax commission to send the county collector a notice of appeal upon timely filing of a taxpayer's appeal. Such notice must contain the taxpayer's name, the appeal number assigned by the commission, the assessed value by the Board of Equalization and the assessed value proposed by the taxpayer, if such values are available to the commission when the appeal is filed. Such notice must specifically state that the taxes in dispute are to be impounded and if such notice is filed in an odd numbered year, it shall serve as notice to the collector to impound taxes for the following even numbered year if no decision has been rendered in the appeal.

A taxpayer is relieved from the requirement of filing a statement of protest if such taxpayer filed an appeal from a local board of equalization to the State Tax Commission or circuit court. The act modifies several other provisions of law regarding notification of appeal of assessment and the impounding, investment and refund of protested tax payments.

The act repeals the requirement that the state tax commission notify each school district of the equivalent sales ratio for the previous year, which was adopted to determine the equalized assessed valuation of the property and the equalized operating levy of the school district for distributions under the old school funding formula.

JASON ZAMKUS