Bill Text: CA AB2643 | 2011-2012 | Regular Session | Amended

California Assembly Bill 2643 (Prior Session Legislation)

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

Bill Title: Property taxation.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Passed) 2012-07-23 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 161, Statutes of 2012. [AB2643 Detail]

Download: California-2011-AB2643-Amended.html

BILL NUMBER: AB 2643	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MAY 16, 2012
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 24, 2012
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MARCH 29, 2012

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Ma

                        FEBRUARY 24, 2012

   An act to amend Sections  2635, 2635.5,  
2635.5  and 5151 of, and to add Section 4985.5 to, the Revenue
and Taxation Code, relating to taxation.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 2643, as amended, Ma. Property taxation. 
   (1) Existing law requires the tax collector of a county, when the
amount of property taxes paid exceeds the amount due by more than
$10, to send notice of the overpayment to the taxpayer stating the
amount of the overpayment and that a refund claim may be filed.
 
   This bill would authorize the tax collector, when the amount of
property taxes paid exceeds the amount due as of the date and time
the payment is received, to process the refund without sending the
notice described above and without the taxpayer filing a claim for
refund, as provided.  
   (2) 
    (1)  Existing law authorizes the tax collector to apply
any refund due a taxpayer, or a taxpayer's agent, to specified
delinquent taxes, except when a refund is due to a taxpayer because
the taxpayer or the agent for the taxpayer submitted a replicated tax
payment, as defined.
   This bill would eliminate the exception described above. 
   (3) 
    (2)  Existing law, in the case in which a taxpayer has
failed to pay taxes on an assessment that is the subject of a pending
assessment appeal, limits, as provided, the amount of penalty relief
to the difference between the final determination of value by the
county board, as defined, and the value on the assessment roll for
the fiscal year covered by the application.
   This bill would similarly limit penalty relief in the case in
which a taxpayer has failed to pay taxes on an assessment that is the
subject of a pending informal review due to a decline in value as a
result of damage, destruction, depreciation, obsolescence, removal of
property, or other factors causing a decline in value.  This
bill would require the tax collector to accept a payment in the
amount of 80% of the amount of tax finally determined due if that
payment was made within 30 days of the taxpayer filing an application
for reassessment. This bill would require the California Association
of County Treasurers and Tax Collectors to provide notice to
taxpayers of these penalty provisions. This bill would also provide
that these provisions shall apply in a county only if the county
board of supervisors   adopts a resolution or ordinance
approving the penalty relief, as provided.  
   (4) 
    (3)  Existing law requires the payment of interest on
property tax refunds at the greater of 3% per annum or the county
pool apportioned rate. Existing law requires, for each fiscal year,
the county treasurer to advise the Controller of the county pool
apportioned rate, and of computations made in deriving that rate, no
later than 60 days after the end of that fiscal year.
   This bill would extend the time period the county treasurer has to
advise the Controller of the county pool apportioned rate from 60 to
90 days.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
   
  SECTION 1.    Section 2635 of the Revenue and
Taxation Code is amended to read:
   2635.  (a) When the amount of taxes paid exceeds the amount due as
of the date and time the payment is received by more than ten
dollars ($10), the tax collector shall send notice of the overpayment
to the taxpayer. The notice shall be mailed to the taxpayer's last
known address and shall state the amount of overpayment and that a
refund claim may be filed pursuant to Chapter 5 (commencing with
Section 5096) of Part 9.
   (b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a) or any other law, if the tax
collector establishes that the refund is due to the taxpayer, the tax
collector may process the refund without sending the notice required
pursuant to subdivision (a) and without the taxpayer filing a claim
for refund. 
   SEC. 2.   SECTION 1.   Section 2635.5 of
the Revenue and Taxation Code is amended to read:
   2635.5.  Notwithstanding any other law, the tax collector may
apply any refund due a taxpayer, or the taxpayer's agent, to any
delinquent taxes due for the same property for which the same
taxpayer, or his or her agent, is liable.
   SEC. 3.   SEC. 2.   Section 4985.5 is
added to the Revenue and Taxation Code, to read:
   4985.5.  (a) Notwithstanding Section 2610.5, in the case of
cancellations made to the roll pursuant to Section 1646.1, where a
taxpayer has failed to pay an amount of tax computed upon assessed
value that is the subject of a pending informal review based upon
paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 51, the relief from
penalties shall apply only to the difference between the county
assessor's final determination of value and the value on the
assessment roll for the fiscal year covered by the application.
   (b) This section shall apply only to those properties upon which
an application for an informal review based upon paragraph (2) of
subdivision (a) of Section 51 is pending before the county assessor
on the effective date of the act adding this section or those
applications for an informal review based upon paragraph (2) of
subdivision (a) of Section 51 that are filed with the county board
after the effective date of the act adding this section. 
   (c) For any taxpayer that has paid at least 80 percent of the
amount of tax finally determined due by the county assessor within 30
days of filing an application for reassessment, the tax collector
shall accept payment of the balance of the tax due without penalties
or interest.  
   (d) The California Association of County Treasurers and Tax
Collectors shall notify all taxpayers that receive a tax bill of the
provisions of this section.  
   (e) This section shall only become operative if the board of
supervisors of a county adopts a resolution or ordinance approving
this section. 
   SEC. 4.  SEC. 3.   Section 5151 of the
Revenue and Taxation Code is amended to read:
   5151.  (a) Interest at the greater of 3 percent per annum or the
county pool apportioned rate shall be paid, when that interest is ten
dollars ($10) or more, on any amount refunded under Section 5096.7,
or refunded to a taxpayer for any reason whatsoever. However, no
interest shall be paid under the provisions of this section if the
taxpayer has been given the notice required by Section 2635 and has
failed to apply for the refund within 30 days after the mailing of
that notice. For purposes of this section, "county pool apportioned
rate" means the annualized rate of interest earned on the total
amount of pooled idle funds from all accounts held by the county
treasurer, in excess of the county treasurer's administrative costs
with respect to that amount, as of June 30 of the fiscal year
preceding the date the refund is calculated by the auditor. For each
fiscal year, the county treasurer shall advise the Controller of the
county pool apportioned rate, and of computations made in deriving
that rate, no later than 90 days after the end of that fiscal year.
Any interest paid on a refund at a rate provided for by this
subdivision as it read prior to January 1, 2009, shall be deemed to
be correct.
   (b) The interest rate provided for in subdivision (a) does not
apply to interest on refunds of those amounts of tax that became due
and payable before March 1, 1993. Interest on refunds of amounts of a
qualified tax shall be paid at that rate provided for by this
section as it read prior to January 1, 1993. As used in this section,
a "qualified tax" means a tax that became due and payable before
March 1, 1993, and had not been refunded as of April 6, 1995. This
subdivision shall not be construed to affect the interest paid on
refunds of those amounts of tax that became due and payable before
March 1, 1993, and have been refunded as of April 6, 1995.
   (c) (1) The interest computation period shall commence with the
date of payment of the tax when any of the following applies:
   (A) A timely application for reduction in an assessment was filed,
without regard to whether the refund ultimately results from a
judgment or order of a court, an order of a board of equalization or
assessment appeals board, or an assessor's correction to the
assessment roll.
   (B) The refund is pursuant to a roll correction resulting from the
determination or adjustment by the assessor or a local assessment
appeals board of a base year value.
   (C) The refund results from a correction to the assessment roll
pursuant to Section 4831 or 4876.
   (2) Interest on refunds of taxes on property acquired by a public
agency in eminent domain shall accrue from the date of recordation of
the deed.
   (3) In all other cases the interest computation period shall
commence on the date of filing a claim for refund or payment of the
tax, whichever is later. However, in the event of the granting of
property tax relief pursuant to Section 69, 69.3, or 170, interest is
not payable on any resulting refund of taxes, provided that payment
of that refund of taxes is made within 120 days after the county
assessor has sent authorization for the reduction to the county
auditor.
   (d) The computation of interest shall terminate as of a date
within 30 days of the date of mailing or personal delivery of the
refund payment.
   (e) The interest charged shall be apportioned to the appropriate
funds, as determined by the county auditor.
   (f) The amendments made to this section by Section 4 of Chapter
801 of the Statutes of 1996 shall apply to all refunds made after
January 1, 1997.