| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to a presumption of correctness for ad |
| 3 | valorem tax assessment; amending s. 194.301, F.S.; |
| 4 | revising criteria for a presumption of correctness of a |
| 5 | property appraiser's assessment of ad valorem tax value; |
| 6 | requiring that such a presumption for an assessment for |
| 7 | income-producing property is based on the income approach |
| 8 | to value; providing an effective date. |
| 9 |
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| 10 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 11 |
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| 12 | Section 1. Section 194.301, Florida Statutes, is amended |
| 13 | to read: |
| 14 | 194.301 Presumption of correctness.-- |
| 15 | (1) In any administrative or judicial action in which a |
| 16 | taxpayer challenges an ad valorem tax assessment of value, the |
| 17 | property appraiser's assessment shall be presumed correct. This |
| 18 | presumption of correctness is lost if: |
| 19 | (a) The taxpayer shows by a preponderance of the evidence |
| 20 | that either the property appraiser has failed to consider |
| 21 | properly the criteria in s. 193.011; or if |
| 22 | (b) The property appraiser's assessment is arbitrarily |
| 23 | based on appraisal practices which are different from the |
| 24 | appraisal practices generally applied by the property appraiser |
| 25 | to comparable property within the same class and within the same |
| 26 | county; or |
| 27 | (c) The property appraiser's assessment for all income- |
| 28 | producing property, including commercial, industrial, and |
| 29 | multifamily rentals, is not based on the income approach to |
| 30 | value. |
| 31 | (2) If the presumption of correctness is lost, the |
| 32 | taxpayer shall have the burden of proving by a preponderance of |
| 33 | the evidence that the appraiser's assessment is in excess of |
| 34 | just value. If the presumption of correctness is retained, the |
| 35 | taxpayer shall have the burden of proving by clear and |
| 36 | convincing evidence that the appraiser's assessment is in excess |
| 37 | of just value. In no case shall the taxpayer have the burden of |
| 38 | proving that the property appraiser's assessment is not |
| 39 | supported by any reasonable hypothesis of a legal assessment. |
| 40 | (3) If the property appraiser's assessment is determined |
| 41 | to be erroneous, the Value Adjustment Board or the court can |
| 42 | establish the assessment if there exists competent, substantial |
| 43 | evidence in the record, which cumulatively meets the |
| 44 | requirements of s. 193.011. If the record lacks competent, |
| 45 | substantial evidence meeting the just value criteria of s. |
| 46 | 193.011, the matter shall be remanded to the property appraiser |
| 47 | with appropriate directions from the Value Adjustment Board or |
| 48 | the court. |
| 49 | Section 2. This act shall take effect January 1, 2009. |