Current through 2024-38, September 18, 2024
A.
Tax Abatement Appeals. If the
appropriate assessing authority refuses to make an abatement asked for, the
applicant may apply in writing to the Board in accordance with 36 M.R.S.A.
§§583, 843, 844, 1118 or 2865 within sixty (60) days after receipt of
the Assessor's decision, or after the abatement application is deemed to have
been denied.
(1)
Petition. All
tax abatement appeals to the Board shall be initiated by the filing of a
written petition at the office of the Board. Said petition shall be directed to
the Chairman of the Board of Property Tax Review, and shall set forth the
following:
(a) Name(s) and addresses of
Petitioner(s)
(b) Name(s) and
addresses of Respondent(s)
(c) A
general description of the property which is the subject of the appeal. If the
property includes real estate, the description shall include the Assessor's Map
and Lot Number.
(d) Year of
disputed assessment.
(e) Assessed
value for the property as originally determined by the assessing
authority.
(f) Amount of any
abatements previously granted by the assessing authority for the assessment in
question.
(g) The valuation
Petitioner alleges should have been placed on the property.
(h) A brief statement of all prior
proceedings before the assessing authority concerning the disputed
assessment.
(i) A brief statement
of the factual basis for the Petitioner's tax abatement appeal.
(j) A brief statement of the legal grounds
for the Petitioner's tax abatement appeal.
(2)
Response to Petition. Within
twenty (20) days after receiving notice of the filing of the petition with the
Secretary, all named Respondents shall file a written response to the petition
either affirming or denying the allegations contained therein. The written
response shall also contain a brief statement as to the reasons for the denial
of the requested abatement.
B.
Municipal Valuation Appeals.
If any municipality is aggrieved by the Bureau of Taxation's determination of
the municipality's equalized valuation or failure to meet minimum assessing
standards, the municipality may appeal in accordance with 36 M.R.S.A.
§272(1) by filing a written notice of appeal within forty-five (45) days
after receipt of the Bureau's determination. The notice of appeal shall be
accompanied by an affidavit.
(1)
Notice
of Appeal. The notice of appeal shall identify the municipality, the
taxable period involved, the state valuation as determined by the Bureau of
Taxation, and the state valuation proposed by the municipality. The notice
shall be signed by a majority of the municipal officers.
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(2)
Affidavit. The appealing municipality must file with its notice of
appeal an affidavit of the municipal officers stating the grounds for the
appeal. The affidavit must be meaningful and specific. A mere statement that
the state valuation is too high is not sufficient. If a municipality intends to
compare its state valuation to neighboring towns or cities, the municipality
should list those municipalities in the affidavit. In appeals from assessment
quality and ratio decisions of the Bureau of Taxation, the municipality must
set forth in specific terms the basis of the challenge to the
determination.
C.
Discovery. The Board shall have all authority granted under
statute to obtain all necessary information available to enable the Board to
conduct a proper hearing and to carry out its responsibilities under the law.
Within fifteen (15) days of receipt of a written request for information any
party shall file all records, documents and files requested by the
Board.
D.
Pre-hearing
Proceedings
(1)
Pre-hearing
Memoranda. Prior to any hearing before the Board, the Board may require
each party to file a pre-hearing Memorandum. The Pre-hearing Memorandum will
contain that information required by the Board to be determined on a
case-by-case basis.
(2)
Pre-hearing Conferences. The Board may hold a pre-hearing
conference before hearing for the purposes of formulating or simplifying the
issues, obtaining admissions of fact and of documents which will avoid
unnecessary proof, arranging for the exchange of proposed exhibits or prepared
expert testimony, identifying witnesses, limiting the number of witnesses and
consolidating the examination of witnesses, providing for the procedure to be
followed at the hearing, and for any other purposes that may expedite the
orderly conduct and disposition of the proceeding.
(3) In the case of municipal valuation
appeals, if the municipality intends to submit evidence at hearing such
as sales-ratio studies, maps, etc., such evidence must be filed with the Board
and served on the State Tax Assessor at his office in Augusta no later than
fifteen (15) days prior to the hearing set by the Board. Such evidence will not
be admissible unless the requirements of this rule are met. The State Tax
Assessor shall make its complete file available to a municipality at least
fifteen (15) days prior to the hearing.
E.
Subpoenas. In any proceeding
before the Board, to the extent authorized under 36 M.R.S.A. §486(2)(B)
and 5 M.R.S.A. §9060, any party upon application to the Board shall be
entitled as of right to the issuance of subpoenas in the name of the Board to
require the attendance and testimony of witnesses and the production of any
records, documents or files relating to any issue of fact in the proceeding.
Such subpoenas may be signed and issued by the Chairman and/or the Secretary.
Subpoenas shall be issued in a form prescribed by the Board. Witnesses shall be
subpoenaed only within the territorial limits and in the same manner as
witnesses in civil cases before the courts, unless another territory or manner
is provided by law. Witnesses subpoenaed shall be paid the same fees for
attendance and travel as in civil cases before the courts. Such fees shall be
paid by the party requesting the subpoena.
F.
Hearings. Upon receipt of an
appeal by the Board, the Chairman of the Board shall select five (5) members of
the Board to hear the appeal. Three of the five members shall constitute a
quorum. The selection of the members shall be based upon geographic convenience
and availability. The Chairman, with the assistance of the Secretary, shall
take all necessary action to notify all parties of the time, date and place of
the hearing.
(1)
Quorum. Three
(3) members of the Board shall constitute a quorum to bear and act on tax
abatement appeals.
(2)
Presiding Officer. The Chairman shall designate one member of the
Board sitting on the case to serve as Presiding Officer for the appeal
hearing.
(3)
Order of
Procedure. The Presiding Officer will open the hearing and make a
concise statement of its scope and purposes. Appearances then will be entered
on the record. The Presiding Officer shall inform the parties of the manner in
which an appeal of any decision resulting from the proceeding may be taken.
Parties may then make opening statements.
(4)
Party Rights. Unless limited
by stipulation or order under Paragraph 4(D), every party shall have the right
to present evidence and arguments on all issues, and at any hearing to call and
examine witnesses and to make oral cross-examination of any person present and
testifying.
(5)
Continuances. Changes in the time and place of the first session
of the hearing in any proceeding may be requested in writing of the Presiding
Officer reasonably in advance of the time set. The Presiding officer may in his
discretion grant or deny the request. The Presiding Officer or Chairman may
change the time and place of any previously scheduled hearing. Notice of
continuance shall be forwarded to each party by the Secretary.
(6)
Withdrawal of Exhibits. No
exhibit received in evidence may be withdrawn except with the approval of the
Presiding Officer at the hearing.
(7)
Briefs. The Presiding
Officer may require that parties file briefs within such time as he may order.
The parties shall indicate on the record at or before the close of testimony
whether they desire to file briefs. Briefs which contain a statement of
evidence or of facts claimed to be established by evidence shall include a
reference to the specific portion of the record in which such evidence or facts
may be found. When the transcript of the hearing is available, reference to
oral testimony shall be by page number when possible. The Board may allow oral
arguments in lieu of or in addition to briefs.
(8)
Oral Argument. Oral argument
may be given before the Board at the conclusion of the evidence, or at a time
and place to be fixed by the Presiding Officer.
(9)
Rules of Evidence. The Maine
Rules of Evidence law shall not be followed in hearings before the Board. All
questions as to the admission of evidence and rules of privilege shall be
determined in accordance with 5 M.R.S.A. §9057(1) and (2).
(10)
Witnesses. All witnesses
shall swear that their testimony is wholly truthful or shall make a solemn
affirmation to that effect in lieu thereof.
(11)
Written Evidence;
Exception. No sworn written evidence shall be admitted into evidence
unless the author is available for cross-examination or subject to subpoena,
except for good cause shown.
(12)
Late-filed Exhibits(a) The Board
may in its discretion allow documentary evidence unavailable at the time of
hearing to be marked as a late-filed exhibit and offered as evidence after the
close of the hearing, if
(i) the evidence
proposed to be submitted is described at the hearing with sufficient
particularity to apprise all parties of its content and purpose; and
(ii) the parties stipulate that the evidence
may be offered as a late-filed exhibit, or the Presiding Officer so
orders.
(b) Unless some
other date or dates are specified by the Presiding Officer, late-filed exhibits
may be offered no later than ten (10) days after the last day upon which a
hearing is held in the proceeding, or five (5) days before the first date upon
which briefs must be submitted, whichever is earlier. A copy of each late-filed
exhibit must be provided to every party at the same time that it is
offered.
(c) The stipulation of the
parties or order of the Presiding Officer to allow the offering of a late-filed
exhibit shall not constitute admission of that exhibit into evidence. Any party
may, within five (5) days after the offer of any late-filed exhibit, submit
written objections to the late-filed exhibit and may request an opportunity to
conduct cross-examination or to present rebuttal evidence in connection with
any late-filed exhibit, unless that party has plainly and specifically waived
its rights to do so.
(d) No less
than five (5) days after the offer, the Presiding Officer shall rule on the
admissibility of each late-filed exhibit and include his ruling in the record
of the proceeding. If a timely and valid request for opportunity to
cross-examine or to present rebuttal has been made, the Presiding Officer may,
in his discretion, either:
(i) exclude the
exhibits; or
(ii) schedule a
supplementary hearing to receive further evidence and rule on admissibility of
the exhibit.
G.
Record
(1)
Record. In any appeal of a
decision of the Board, the Secretary shall compile and preserve a record which
meet the requirements of 5 M.R.S.A. §9059 and also consist of:
(a) All petitions, responsive pleadings,
motions and rulings and orders;
(b)
Evidence received;
(c) The decision
of the Board; and
(d) All
memoranda, including briefs, submitted to the members of the Board in
connection with their consideration of the appeal.
(2)
Hearings Recorded. The Board
shall record all hearings in a form susceptible to transcription as required by
5 M.R.S.A. §9059(2).
(3)
Availability of Record. As required by 5 M.R.S.A. §9059(3)
the Secretary shall make a copy of the record available for inspection by any
person during normal business hours; and he shall make copies of the record,
including copies of recordings or transcriptions of recordings, available to
any person at actual cost. A deposit equal to the approximate cost of
transcription shall be paid in advance by the requesting party. Notwithstanding
the provisions of this subsection, the Board shall withhold, obliterate, or
otherwise prevent the dissemination of any portions of the record which are
made confidential by state or federal statute, but shall do so in the least
restrictive manner feasible.
(4)
Decision Based on the Record. All material including records,
reports, and documents shall be considered in rendering a decision only if such
information is in the record as evidence.
(5)
Documentary Evidence.
Documentary evidence may be incorporated in the record by reference when the
materials so incorporated are made available for examination by the parties
before being received in evidence.
(6)
Decision. Every Board
decision made at the conclusion of a hearing shall be in accordance with 5
M.R.S.A. §9061 and shall be in writing or stated in the record, and shall
include findings of fact sufficient to apprise the parties and any interested
member of the public of the basis for the decision. A copy of the decision
shall be delivered or promptly mailed to each party to the proceeding or his
representative of record. Written notice of the party's right to appeal from
the Board's decision to the Superior Court shall be given to each party with
the decision.
