Vees v. Carbon County Board of Assessment Appeals

867 A.2d 742, 2005 Pa. Commw. LEXIS 51
CourtCommonwealth Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedFebruary 8, 2005
StatusPublished
Cited by20 cases

This text of 867 A.2d 742 (Vees v. Carbon County Board of Assessment Appeals) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Vees v. Carbon County Board of Assessment Appeals, 867 A.2d 742, 2005 Pa. Commw. LEXIS 51 (Pa. Ct. App. 2005).

Opinions

OPINION BY

Judge SIMPSON.

Asserting that a local school district filed an improperly selective tax assessment appeal, Raymond R. Vees and Kathleen A. Vees (collectively, Taxpayers) appeal an order of the Court of Common Pleas of Carbon County (trial court) that increased the assessed value of Tax Parcel No. 16-56-A67 (Property) for the 2003 tax year. We affirm.

Carbon County performed a countywide reassessment effective for tax year 2001. The Property, which consists of 85 acres of unimproved land, was assigned a fair market value of $92,250.00. In April 2002, Taxpayers purchased the Property for $170,000.00.

In August 2002, the Palmerton Area School District (School District) appealed to the Carbon County Board of Assess[745]*745ment Appeals (Board), contending the Property’s fair market value should be $170,000.00. After hearing, the Board increased the Property’s fair market value to $161,900.00. This had the effect of increasing the assessed value of the Property from $45,000.00 to $80,950.00 after application of the County’s predetermined ratio of 50%.

Taxpayers appealed to the trial court. Their appeal did not challenge the constitutionality of any provision of The Fourth to Eighth Class County Assessment Law (Law)1 or of The General County Assessment Law (GCAL).2 Reproduced Record (R.R.) at 8a-9a, 37a-40a. Rather, Taxpayers alleged that the assessment was excessive and, “the assessment violated the requirement of uniformity and the same is discriminatory, and the assessment violates due process and equal protection of laws to [Taxpayers].” R.R. at 9a.

At a de novo hearing before the trial court, Taxpayers offered to prove the School District brings tax assessment appeals where a purchase price exceeds the current assessed value by $15,000.00. Taxpayers also offered to prove the intent of the School District in taking multiple tax assessment appeals is to correct what it perceives as economic valuation problems within its jurisdiction. The trial court sustained a relevance objection. R.R. at 49a-56a, 114a-15a, 133a.

Regarding value of the Property, the School District presented the testimony of a real estate appraiser who opined the fair market value was $180,000.00. Raymond R. Yees testified on behalf of Taxpayers and confirmed he and his wife purchased the Property for $170,000.00.

The School District also presented the testimony of the County’s Chief Assessor. He testified the County’s common level ratio,' as determined by the State Tax Equalization Board (STEB), was 45%, and the County’s predetermined ratio, as determined by the County Commissioners, was 50%.

At the conclusion of the hearing, the trial court adopted the Board’s fair market value of $161,900.00. After application of the County’s predetermined ratio of 50%, the trial court set the assessed value at $80,950.00. Taxpayers appealed.3

Taxpayers argue the appeal which prompted the Board to increase the Property’s assessed value constitutes a spot reassessment in violation of the uniformity clause of the Pennsylvania Constitution and the equal protection clause of the United States Constitution.4 They also challenge the trial court’s exclusion of their proffered evidence. Significantly, [746]*746Taxpayers do not claim any statutory provision is unconstitutional. Nor do they challenge any fact found by the trial court, such as the finding of fair market value or of the applicable ratios.

I.

As to the evidentiary issue, we conclude the trial court did not abuse its discretion in declining to receive evidence on the School District’s general appeals strategy or on the School District’s intent in taking other appeals. Here, the appeal was limited to valuation of the Property. Importantly, Taxpayers did not challenge the constitutionality of any statute and did not attempt to offer comparables evidence, which may have invited consideration of process beyond that pertaining to their Property.

A taxpayer alleging that the administration of a tax violates its rights to be taxed uniformly with others of its class must demonstrate deliberate, purposeful discrimination in the application of the tax before constitutional safeguards are violated. Appeal of Armco, Inc., 100 Pa. Cmwlth. 452, 515 A.2d 326 (1986). Assuming for the current discussion only that an appeal constitutes administration of a tax, Taxpayers here needed to prove the School District deliberately and purposefully discriminated against them in taking the appeal, or the Board deliberately and purposefully discriminated against them in handling the appeal. The School District’s practice and intent in other cases does not clearly establish deliberate discrimination in this appeal, and the information tends to confuse the issues. Therefore, the trial court could properly conclude the danger of confusion outweighed the probative value of the proffered evidence. Pa.R.E. 403.

II.

A.

As to the substantive issue, Taxpayers contend the Board violated their rights when on appeal it changed the value of the Property. They argue that Section 602.1 of the Law,5 72 P.S. § 5453.602a, limits the circumstances in which a board may change assessed valuation on property, and a recent sale is not among those circumstances.

Taxpayers’ argument is without merit. Here, neither the County nor the Board initiated any revaluation of the Property; rather, the process was initiated by School District’s appeal. This distinction is significant for two reasons. First, the revaluation was not initiated by a body possessing the power to prepare or revise assessment rolls, value property, change the value of property, or establish the predetermined ratio,6 all essential elements of the assessment process. See Millcreek Township Sch. Dist. v. Erie County Bd. of Assessment Appeals, 737 A.2d 335 (Pa.Cmwlth. 1999).

Second, the statutory provision upon which Taxpayers rely deals with assessment procedures, not appeals. A different statutory provision specifically addressing appeals controls here. Section 702 of the Law expressly covers “any appeal of an assessment” and, among other things, requires the Board to make a finding as to the market value of the property as of the date such appeal was filed. 72 P.S. § 5453.702(b)(1).

As a matter of law, the Board’s compliance with this statutory mandate is not deliberate, purposeful discrimination. [747]*747This is especially true here, where the constitutionality of Section 702 of the Law is not challenged.

. Otherwise, Taxpayers did not attempt to prove that the Board deliberately and purposefully discriminated against them, nor do they advance that argument now. The record only contains information that the Board acted on an appeal and made a decision based on information submitted to it. Therefore, it is not surprising that the trial court made no findings regarding deliberate, purposeful discrimination by the Board. Further, it is clear that Taxpayers did not prove constitutional violations by the Board.

B.

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Vees v. Carbon County Board of Assessment Appeals
867 A.2d 742 (Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, 2005)

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Bluebook (online)
867 A.2d 742, 2005 Pa. Commw. LEXIS 51, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/vees-v-carbon-county-board-of-assessment-appeals-pacommwct-2005.