BLOG: Property Tax Appeal
Legislative Reform For Tax Assessments On The Way?
Legislation seeks to create a more cost-effective and accurate process of real property tax assessments New Jersey property owners continue to struggle under a crushing property tax burden. Instead of pursuing substantive policy initiatives to alleviate local taxes, the Legislature is instead looking to make changes to the process through which property is assessed for... Read More
Montclair Tax Assessment: Might be Wrong, But Not In Error
Property Owner Incorrectly Argues for Refund Under Correction of Errors Statute Following Revaluation A taxpayer alleged that he had been overcharged for property taxes following a 2007 revaluation. The taxes increased on one unit he owned in a two-unit condominium in Montclair following the revaluation, and he alleged his land value was too high because the... Read More
Property Tax Exemption Denied to West Windsor Non-Profit
The New Jersey Supreme Court, reviewing multiple decisions by the Appellate Division and the Tax Court, held that West Windsor Township properly denied an exemption application from International Schools Services, Inc., (“ISS”) because the non-profit activities on its property were commingled with the for-profit ventures with which it had a “significant” and “substantial” involvement. That... Read More
Property Tax Exemption Does Not Require Compliance With Municipal Zoning Ordinance
A New Jersey appellate court has reversed an earlier Tax Court decision denying a property tax exemption because the taxpayer was using the property contrary to local zoning. The appellate court held that the tax exemption statute, N.J.S.A. 54:4-3.6, does not require, as a prerequisite, compliance with the municipal zoning ordinance. The taxpayer operated Oak Knoll School... Read More
Chapter 91 Strikes Another Taxpayer
Another appeal dismissed for failure to respond to request for income and expense information In the latest of a string of recent cases highlighting the harsh effect of N.J.S.A. 54:4-34, the Tax Court held that a municipal tax assessor’s request to a taxpayer for income and expense information, commonly referred to as a “Chapter 91” request,... Read More
Farmland assessment denied where non-agricultural activity outweighs farming
The New Jersey Tax Court upheld the municipal tax assessor’s denial of an application for a farmland assessment holding that the agricultural use was subordinate to the taxpayer’s non-agricultural exploitation of the property. In Atlantic Coast LEH v. Township of Little Egg Harbor, the property at issue is a mostly vacant twelve-acre parcel used to house... Read More
Municipal Budget Woes Continue
The impact of decreasing tax revenues and increasing expenses has continued to cause fiscal problems for municipal government agencies not only in New Jersey, but around the entire country. This recent article in the Legal Intelligencer examines the situations for towns in Pennsylvania and California, which have spiked demand for specialized counsel in municipal finance... Read More
Beach Access Plans Trouble New Jersey Property Owners
Beach access plans trouble New Jersey property owners: http://ping.fm/fT1Zx... Read More
Expert’s “Gut Feeling” Survives Dismissal Claim
An expert witness’s “gut feeling” about the cost of a plaintiff’s construction claim was sufficient to withstand a motion to dismiss according to a recent New Jersey Appellate Division opinion. The holding in Nevins v. Toll Brothers, Inc., has the potential to affect similar motions in real estate valuation litigation such as eminent domain and real estate... Read More
Wayne Township Owner Misses the Boat on Property Tax Error
Assessor’s Mistake Still Required Filing of Tax Appeal by Property Owner The Appellate Division affirmed a Tax Court judge’s decision to deny summary judgment for a property owner by holding that a tax assessor’s mistake should have been challenged through the standard tax appeal procedure found in N.J.S.A. 54:3-21a. The subject property consisted of .229 acre... Read More
