Kings County Municipal Code Art. V Tax Reassessment for Property Damaged or Destroyed by Misfortune or Calamity

It is the purpose of this article to provide that every assessee of any taxable property, or any person liable for the taxes thereon, whose property is physically damaged or destroyed without fault of such assessee or person may apply for reassessment of that property as provided herein.

(Ord. No. 444, § 1, 12-26-84; Ord. No. 444.1, § 1, 9-20-11)

To be eligible for reassessment the physical damage or destruction to the property must have been caused by a misfortune or calamity as those terms are used and defined in subsections (a)(1), (a)(2) and (a)(3) of section 170 of the California Revenue and Taxation Code.

(Ord. No. 444, § 1, 12-26-84; Ord. No. 444.1, § 1, 9-20-11)

An assessee of taxable property, or person liable for the taxes thereon, whose property was physically damaged or destroyed without fault of such person as a result of a misfortune or calamity may deliver to the assessor a written application requesting reassessment within 12 months of the date of the misfortune or calamity. The application must be executed under penalty of perjury, or if executed outside the state, verified by affidavit.

(Ord. No. 444, § 1, 12-26-84; Ord. No. 444.1, § 1, 9-20-11; Ord. No. 444.2, § 1, 7-11-23)

Upon receiving a proper application, the assessor shall appraise the property and determine separately the full cash value of land, improvements and personalty immediately before and after the damage or destruction. If no such application is made and the assessor determines that within the preceding 12 months a property has suffered damage caused by misfortune or calamity, which may otherwise qualify the property owner for relief under this ordinance, the assessor may, at his or her discretion, reassess the property. If the sum of the full cash values of the land, improvements and personalty before the damage or destruction exceeds the sum of the values after the damage or destruction by $10,000.00 or more, the assessor shall separately determine the percentage reductions in value of land, improvements and personalty due to the damage or destruction. The assessor shall reduce the values appearing on the assessment roll by the percentages of damage or destruction computed pursuant to this section, and the taxes due on the property shall be adjusted as provided in section 22-85. However, the amount of the reduction shall not exceed the actual loss.

(Ord. No. 444, § 1, 12-26-84; Ord. No. 444.1, § 1, 9-20-11; Ord. No. 444.2, § 2, 7-11-23)

The assessor shall notify the applicant in writing of the decision on the proposed reassessment, if any. The notice shall state that the applicant may appeal the proposed reassessment, or lack thereof, to the county board of equalization within six months of the date of mailing the notice. If an appeal is requested within the six months, the county board of equalization shall hear and decide the matter as if a proposed reassessment had been entered on the roll as an assessment made outside the regular assessment period. The decision of the county board of equalization regarding the damaged value of the property shall be final, provided that a decision of the county board of equalization regarding any assessment made pursuant to this section shall create no presumption as to the value of the affected property subsequent to the date of the damage.

Those reassessed values resulting from reductions in full cash value of amounts, as determined above, shall be forwarded to the auditor by the assessor or the clerk of the board of equalization, as the case may be. The auditor shall enter the reassessed values on the roll. After being entered on the roll, such reassessment values shall not be subject to review, except by a court of competent jurisdiction.

(Ord. No. 444, § 1, 12-26-84; Ord. No. 444.1, § 1, 9-20-11; Ord. No. 444.2, § 3, 7-11-23)

The tax rate fixed for property on the roll on which the property so reassessed appeared at the time of the misfortune or calamity, shall be applied to the amount of the reassessment as determined in accordance with this section and the assessee shall be liable for:

(1) A prorated portion of the taxes that would have been due on the property for the current fiscal year had the misfortune or calamity not occurred, such proration to be determined on the basis of the number of months in the current fiscal year prior to the misfortune or calamity; plus

(2) A proration of the tax due on the property as reassessed in its damaged or destroyed condition, such proration to be determined on the basis of the number of months in the fiscal year after the damage or destruction, including the month in which the damage was incurred.

If damage or destruction occurred after January 1 and before the beginning of the next fiscal year, the reassessment shall be utilized to determine the tax liability for the next fiscal year; provided, however, if the property is fully restored during the next fiscal year, taxes due for that year shall be prorated based on the number of months in the year before and after the completion of restoration.

(Ord. No. 444, § 1, 12-26-84; Ord. No. 444.1, § 1, 9-20-11; Ord. No. 444.2, § 4, 7-11-23)

The assessed value of the property in its damaged condition, as determined pursuant to section 22-83 or section 22-84, compounded annually by the inflation factor specified in Revenue and Taxation Code § 51(a), shall be the taxable value of the property until it is restored, repaired, reconstructed or other provisions of the law require the establishment of a new base year value.

If partial reconstruction, restoration, or repair has occurred on any subsequent lien date, the taxable value shall be increased by an amount determined by multiplying the difference between its factored base year value immediately before the misfortune or calamity and its assessed value in its damaged condition by the percentage of the repair, reconstruction, or restoration completed on that lien date.

When property is fully repaired, restored or reconstructed, the assessor shall make the additional assessment or assessments required by Revenue and Taxation Code § 170(h). The property's new taxable value shall be the lesser of:

(1) Its full cash value; or

(2) Its factored base year value or its factored based year value as adjusted pursuant to Revenue and Taxation Code § 70(c); or

(3) Its value as calculated pursuant to Revenue and Taxation Code § 421 et seq., if applicable.

The new taxable value shall be enrolled on the lien date following completion of the repair, restoration or reconstruction.

(Ord. No. 444, § 1, 12-26-84; Ord. No. 444.1, § 1, 9-20-11; Ord. No. 444.2, § 5, 7-11-23)

Any tax paid in excess of the total tax due as determined pursuant to section 22-85, shall be refunded to the taxpayer pursuant to chapter 5 (commencing with section 5096) of part 9, California Revenue and Taxation Code, as an erroneously collected tax or by order of the board of supervisors without the necessity of a claim being filed pursuant to said chapter 5.

(Ord. No. 444, § 1, 12-26-84; Ord. No. 444.1, § 1, 9-20-11)