AN ACT PROVIDING THAT THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE IS THE PROPER PARTY TO DEFEND TAX APPEALS INVOLVING MOTOR VEHICLE TAXES OR FEES IN LIEU OF TAX; CREATING A PROCEDURE FOR MOTOR VEHICLE TAX APPEALS; PROVIDING THAT PROTESTED MOTOR VEHICLE TAXES AND FEES NEED NOT BE PAID INTO THE PROPERTY TAX PROTEST FUND; PROVIDING FOR THE REFUND OF MOTOR VEHICLE TAXES AND FEES WHEN THE TAXPAYER PREVAILS IN AN APPEAL; AMENDING SECTIONS 15-8-115, 15-8-202, 15-15-103, AND 15-16-603, MCA; AND PROVIDING AN IMMEDIATE EFFECTIVE DATE AND A RETROACTIVE APPLICABILITY DATE.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MONTANA:

Section 1. Motor vehicle tax appeals -- payment and protest of taxes or fees in lieu of tax on motor vehicles. (1) (a) A taxpayer who seeks to appeal the imposition of taxes or fees in lieu of tax assessed against a motor vehicle and imposed by the department of justice under authority of 15-8-202 shall file a written application for the appeal not later than 30 days after the anniversary date for reregistration, as determined by 61-3-315, of the vehicle that is the subject of the appeal. The application must be on a form prescribed by the department of justice in consultation with the state tax appeal board.

(b) The application must include a specific explanation of the basis for the taxpayer's appeal. The basis for appeal must be related to the factors to be considered and applied by the department of justice under 61-3-502 through 61-3-504, 61-3-506, 61-3-528, and 61-3-529.

(2) (a) The treasurer of the county or municipality is not required to deposit property taxes or fees in lieu of tax on a motor vehicle paid under protest in the special fund designated as a protest fund as required for property taxes under 15-1-402. The taxes or fees paid under protest may be reported and distributed in the same manner as those received without protest.

(b) If a refund is payable as a result of the taxpayer prevailing in a tax appeal or court proceeding concerning the protested motor vehicle taxes or fees, a refund may be made in accordance with 15-16-603.

(3) (a) A motor vehicle tax appeal may be heard by the county tax appeal board during its next regularly scheduled session if the application for the appeal was filed at least 30 days prior to the commencement of that session. If a county tax appeal board refuses or fails to hear a taxpayer's application that was timely filed at least 30 days prior to the commencement of its next regularly scheduled session, then the taxpayer's application is considered to be granted on the day following the board's final meeting for that year.

(b) A motor vehicle tax appeal filed less than 30 days prior to the commencement of the board's next regularly scheduled session or after the session has commenced may be held over by the board to a session in the following year. If a taxpayer's application that was timely filed less than 30 days prior to the commencement of the next regularly scheduled session of the county tax appeal board is held over to a session in the following year and if the county tax appeal board refuses or fails to hear the application during the following session, then the application is considered to be granted on the day following the board's final meeting for that year.

Section 2. Section 15-8-115, MCA, is amended to read:

"15-8-115. Department to defend property tax appeals -- costs and judgments. (1) Except as provided in 15-8-202, the department is the party defendant in any proceeding before a county tax appeal board, the state tax appeal board, or a court of law that seeks to dispute or adjust an action of the department under 15-8-101 arising from the exercise of the department's duties as prescribed by law or administrative rule. For the purposes of proceedings before county tax appeal boards, service on the department may be obtained by serving the person designated to receive service for the department.

(2) Costs, if any, must be assessed against the department and not against a local taxing unit.

(3) In a suit brought in a court of this state for the refund of taxes paid under protest in which the taxes paid are held by the treasurer of a unit of local government in a protest fund, the court shall enter judgment, exclusive of costs, against the treasurer if the court finds the taxes should be refunded."

Section 3. Section 15-8-202, MCA, is amended to read:

"15-8-202. Motor vehicle assessment by department of justice. (1) (a) The department of justice shall assess all light vehicles, subject to 61-3-313 through 61-3-316 and 61-3-501, for taxation in accordance with 61-3-503.

(b) The department of justice shall determine the fee in lieu of tax for all buses, trucks having a manufacturer's rated capacity of more than 1 ton, and truck tractors in accordance with 61-3-528 and 61-3-529.

(c) Taxes or fees in lieu of tax on a motor vehicle under this subsection (1) must be assessed or imposed in each year on the person who owned or claimed the motor vehicles or in whose possession or control the motor vehicle was on the anniversary registration date.

(2) A tax or fee in lieu of tax may not be assessed or imposed against motor vehicles subject to taxation or to a fee in lieu of tax that constitute inventory of motor vehicle dealers as of January 1. These vehicles and all other motor vehicles subject to taxation or a fee in lieu of tax that are brought into the state after January 1 as motor vehicle dealers' inventories must be assessed to their respective purchasers as of the dates the vehicles are registered by the purchasers.

(3) "Purchasers" includes dealers who apply for registration or reregistration of motor vehicles, except as otherwise provided by 61-3-502.

(4) Goods, wares, and merchandise of motor vehicle dealers, other than new motor vehicles and new mobile homes, must be assessed at market value as of January 1.

(5) (a) The department of justice is authorized to appear in any proceeding before a county tax appeal board, the state tax appeal board, or a court that seeks to dispute an assessment made by the department pursuant to the authority granted under this section.

(b) For the purposes of proceedings before county tax appeal boards or the state tax appeal board, service of the application required under [section 1] must be made on the attorney general. A copy of any application giving rise to a proceeding before a county tax appeal board or the state tax appeal board must also be served on the county treasurer of the county in which the vehicle that is the subject of the proceeding was registered."

Section 4. Section 15-15-103, MCA, is amended to read:

"15-15-103. Examination of applicant -- failure to hear application. (1) Before the county tax appeal board grants any application or makes any reduction applied for, it shall examine on oath the person or agent making the application with regard to the value of the property of the person. A reduction may not be made unless the applicant makes an application, as provided in 15-15-102, and attends the county tax appeal board hearing. An appeal of the board's decision may not be made to the state tax appeal board unless the person or the person's agent has exhausted the remedies available through the county tax appeal board. In order to exhaust the remedies, the person or the person's agent shall attend the county tax appeal board hearing. On written request by the person or the person's agent and on the written concurrence of the department of revenue, the county tax appeal board may waive the requirement that the person or the person's agent attend the hearing. The testimony of all witnesses at the hearing must be electronically recorded and preserved for 1 year. If the decision of the county tax appeal board is appealed, the record of the proceedings, including the electronic recording of all testimony, must be forwarded, together with all exhibits, to the state tax appeal board. The date of the hearing, the proceedings before the board, and the decision must be entered upon the minutes of the board, and the board shall notify the applicant of its decision by mail within 3 days. A copy of the minutes of the county tax appeal board must be transmitted to the state tax appeal board no later than 3 days after the board holds its final hearing of the year.

(2) Except as provided in [section 1], if a county tax appeal board refuses or fails to hear a taxpayer's timely application for a reduction in valuation of property, the taxpayer's application is considered to be granted on the day following the board's final meeting for that year. The department shall enter the appraisal or classification sought in the application in the property tax record. An application is not automatically granted for the following appeals:

(a) those listed in 15-2-302; and

(b) if a taxpayer's appeal from the department's determination of classification or appraisal made pursuant to 15-7-102 was not received in time, as provided for in 15-15-102, to be considered by the board during its current 60-day session."

Section 5. Section 15-16-603, MCA, is amended to read:

"15-16-603. Refund of taxes -- limitations on refunds. (1) Subject to the provisions in subsections (2) and (3), a board of county commissioners shall order a refund:

(a) on a tax, penalty, interest, or cost paid more than once or erroneously or illegally collected if an appeal pursuant to 15-1-402 was not available;

(b) on a tax paid for which a refund is allowed under 15-16-612 or 15-16-613;

(c) on a tax, penalty, or interest collected as a result of an error in the description or location of real property or improvements or for duplicate taxes paid as determined by the department of revenue;

(d) on net or gross proceeds tax, centrally assessed property tax, or local government severance tax, penalty, or interest when the department of revenue notifies the board of county commissioners of an assessment revision completed pursuant to 15-8-601;

(e) upon entry of a decision either by the district court or by the state tax appeal board under 15-2-306 that has not been appealed to a higher court; or

(f) on a decision that a refund is payable as a result of a taxpayer prevailing in a motor vehicle tax or fee proceeding under [section 1].

(2) The taxpayer shall prove that a refund is due under subsection (1)(a) or (1)(b).

(3) (a) A refund may not be granted under subsection (1)(a) or (1)(b) unless the taxpayer or a representative of the taxpayer files a written claim with the board of county commissioners within 10 years after the date when the second half of the taxes would have become delinquent if the taxes had not been paid.

(b) The refund required under subsection (1)(c) must be made for 5 tax years or for the duration of the error, whichever period is shorter.

(c) A refund may not be made under subsection (1)(c) unless the taxpayer allowed the department of revenue access to the taxpayer's property for the purposes of appraising the property."

Section 6. Coordination instruction. If House Bill No. 82 is passed and approved and amends 15-15-101 to establish county tax appeal board sessions that end December 31, then [section 1(3) of this act] must read as follows:

"(3) (a) A motor vehicle tax appeal may be heard by the county tax appeal board during its next regularly scheduled session if the application for the appeal was filed by December 1. If during its current session, a county tax appeal board refuses or fails to hear a taxpayer's application that was timely filed by December 1, then the taxpayer's application is considered to be granted on the day following the board's final meeting for that year.

(b) A motor vehicle tax appeal filed after December 1 may be held over by the board to a session in the following year. If a taxpayer's application that was timely filed after December 1 of the current session of the county tax appeal board is held over to a session in the following year and if the county tax appeal board refuses or fails to hear the application during the following session, then the application is considered to be granted on the day following the board's final meeting for that year."

Section 7. Codification instruction. [Section 1] is intended to be codified as an integral part of Title 15, chapter 15, and the provisions of Title 15, chapter 15, apply to [section 1].

Section 8. Effective date. [This act] is effective on passage and approval.

Section 9. Retroactive applicability. [This act] applies retroactively, within the meaning of 1-2-109, to tax years beginning after December 31, 1998.

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I hereby certify that the within bill,

SB 0088, originated in the Senate.

Secretary of the Senate

President of the Senate

Signed this	day

of	, .

Speaker of the House

Signed this	day

of	, .

SENATE BILL NO. 88

INTRODUCED BY S. STANG

BY REQUEST OF THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

AN ACT PROVIDING THAT THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE IS THE PROPER PARTY TO DEFEND TAX APPEALS INVOLVING MOTOR VEHICLE TAXES OR FEES IN LIEU OF TAX; CREATING A PROCEDURE FOR MOTOR VEHICLE TAX APPEALS; PROVIDING THAT PROTESTED MOTOR VEHICLE TAXES AND FEES NEED NOT BE PAID INTO THE PROPERTY TAX PROTEST FUND; PROVIDING FOR THE REFUND OF MOTOR VEHICLE TAXES AND FEES WHEN THE TAXPAYER PREVAILS IN AN APPEAL; AMENDING SECTIONS 15-8-115, 15-8-202, 15-15-103, AND 15-16-603, MCA; AND PROVIDING AN IMMEDIATE EFFECTIVE DATE AND A RETROACTIVE APPLICABILITY DATE.