Code of Maine Rules
18 - DEPARTMENT OF ADMINISTRATIVE AND FINANCIAL SERVICES
125 - BUREAU OF REVENUE SERVICES
Chapter 201 - RULES OF PROCEDURE USED TO DEVELOP STATE VALUATION
Section 125-201-2 - Definitions

A. Assessor. "Assessor" means a sworn municipal assessing authority, whether an individual assessor, a board of assessors, or a chief assessor of a primary assessing area. With respect to the unorganized territory, "Assessor" means the State Tax Assessor.

B. Average Deviation. "Average Deviation" means a statistic derived from a Ratio Study that is calculated by summing the Deviations of all the Sales Ratios in a Ratio Study and dividing the resulting sum by the total number of Sales Ratios in that study.

C. Average Ratio. "Average Ratio" means a statistic derived from a Ratio Study that is calculated by summing the Sales Ratios in the central 70% of a Ratio Study and dividing that sum by the total number of Sales Ratios in the central 70%. The central 70% of a Ratio Study excludes the highest 15% of Sales Ratios and the lowest 15% of Sales Ratios from the total number of Sales Ratios in the Ratio Study.

D. Base Lot. "Base Lot" means a minimum parcel of land, as determined by the Assessor, normally expressed in acres or front feet, which meets municipal guidelines for development.

E. Base Sales Period. "Base Sales Period" means the 12-month period from July 1 through June 30 that includes the April 1 assessment date that is the basis for the State Valuation period under review.

F. Bureau. "Bureau" means the Bureau of Revenue Services, which may be referred to as Maine Revenue Services. The executive director of the Bureau is the State Tax Assessor.

G. Captured Assessed Value. "Captured Assessed Value" has the same meaning as provided in 30-A M.R.S. §5222.

H. Certified Ratio. "Certified Ratio" means the level of Municipal Assessed Value, expressed as a percentage, relative to Just Value as certified by the Assessor pursuant to 36 M.R.S. §383.

I. Commercial Property. "Commercial Property" means real estate that is used primarily for business purposes (e.g., service, retail, or wholesale) including, without limitation, apartment buildings with five or more rental or lease units, mobile home parks, office buildings, and recreational facilities. Apartment buildings with fewer than five rental or lease units are considered Residential Property.

J. Condominium. "Condominium" has the same meaning as provided in 33 M.R.S. §1601-103(7).

K. Current Use. "Current Use" means a special valuation method applicable to certain types of property as provided by Article IX, section 8, subsection 2 of the Constitution of the State of Maine.

L. Deviation. "Deviation" means a statistic derived from a Ratio Study that is equal to the absolute value of the percentage-point difference between an individual Sales Ratio and the Average Ratio.

M. Equalized Value. "Equalized Value" means the Municipal Assessed Value adjusted to the Just Value or, if applicable, to the Current Use value.

N. Industrial Property. "Industrial Property" means property dedicated to the assembling, processing, warehousing, or manufacturing of finished or partially finished products from raw materials or manufactured parts.

O. Just Value. "Just Value" means market value, that is the amount in cash that could reasonably be expected to be paid by an informed buyer to an informed seller for a property, each acting without compulsion in an arm's-length transaction.

P. Municipal Assessed Value. "Municipal Assessed Value" means the property value established by the Assessor for purposes of local property taxation.

Q. Municipality. "Municipality" means any city, town, plantation, or that portion of a county in the unorganized territory.

R. Non-segregated Ratio Study or Combined Study. "Non-segregated Ratio Study" or "Combined Study" means a Ratio Study that combines more than one class of property(e.g.,Waterfront Property, Nonwater front Property, Condominium, and Commercial Property) into a single study.

S. Nonwaterfront Property. "Nonwaterfront Property" means real estate that is not bounded by water and whose value is not measurably influenced by access or proximity to water.

T. Personal Property. "Personal Property" has the same meaning as provided in 36 M.R.S. §601.

U. Quality Rating. "Quality Rating" means a statistic derived from a Ratio Study that is calculated by dividing the Average Deviation by the Average Ratio.

V. Ratio Study. "Ratio Study" means a statistical display of real estate sales information where sales data is typically arranged under some or all of the following headings: owner or class of property (e.g.,Waterfront Property or Nonwaterfront Property); date of sale; book and page; tax map, plan, and lot number; selling price; Municipal Assessed Value; Sales Ratio; and Deviation. A Ratio Study typically also contains a summary that shows the Weighted Average, the Average Ratio, the Average Deviation, and the Quality Rating.

W. Residential Property. "Residential Property" means real estate that is suitable for seasonal or year-round use as a dwelling. Residential Property includes apartment buildings with fewer than five rental or lease units.

X. Sample. "Sample" generally means, for purposes of a Ratio Study, a sale of property, but may include appraisals conducted by the Bureau when the number of sales in an expanded sales period is insufficient.

Y. Sales Ratio. "Sales Ratio" means a statistic derived from a Ratio Study that is calculated by dividing a property's Municipal Assessed Value by its selling price (or Bureau appraised value).

Z. Segregated Ratio Study. "Segregated Ratio Study" means a Ratio Study that includes sales of a single class of property (e.g.,Waterfront Property, Nonwaterfront Property, Condominium, or Commercial Property).

AA. State Valuation. "State Valuation" for a given tax year means the total Equalized Value of all taxable property in a Municipality as of the April 1 two years prior, plus the portion of exempt value of homestead exemptions and Business Equipment Tax Exemption property reimbursed by the State to the Municipality pursuant to 36 M.R.S. §691, et al., less the Captured Assessed Value of tax increment financing districts in the Municipality.

BB. Transmission and Distribution Property. "Transmission and Distribution Property" means property owned by a transmission and distribution utility that is regulated by the Public Utilities Commission under Title 35-A of the Maine Revised Statutes. Transmission and Distribution Property includes, without limitation, substations, transformers, transmission systems, and distribution systems.

CC. Undeveloped Land. "Undeveloped Land" means unimproved Nonwaterfront Property that is not classified under Current Use provisions, and not classified as a Base Lot. When a Municipality values Wasteland separately from Undeveloped Land, the Bureau will accept the separate valuations unless it determines that one or both valuations are significantly understated or overstated.

DD. Wasteland. "Wasteland" means real estate that is unsuitable for development or agricultural or silvicultural use (e.g., wetland, ledge, or other unsuitable land).

EE. Waterfront Property. "Waterfront Property" means real estate bounded by a body of water or waterway or real estate whose value is measurably influenced by its access or proximity to water.

FF. Weighted Average. "Weighted Average" means a statistic derived from a Ratio Study that is calculated by dividing the sum of Municipal Assessed Values by the sum of the sale prices or Bureau-appraised values of all the Samples in a Ratio Study.