§ 6-1.1-12.1-4.8 — Property owner statement of benefits; findings by designating body; deduction periods, amounts, and limitations

Indiana § 6-1.1-12.1-4.8

• Jurisdiction: Indiana
• Art. 1.1: PROPERTY TAXES
• Ch. 12.1: Deduction for Rehabilitation or Redevelopment of

Text

8. (a) A property owner that is an applicant
for a deduction under this section must provide a statement of benefits
to the designating body.
(b) If the designating body requires information from the property
owner for the designating body's use in deciding whether to designate
an economic revitalization area, the property owner must provide the
completed statement of benefits form to the designating body before
the hearing required by section 2.5(c) of this chapter. Otherwise, the
property owner must submit the completed statement of benefits form
to the designating body before the occupation of the eligible vacant
building for which the property owner desires to claim a deduction.
(c) The department of local government finance shall prescribe a
form for the statement of benefits. The statement of benefits must
include the following information:
(1) A description of the eligible vacant building that the property
owner or a tenant of the property owner will occupy.
(2) An estimate of the number of individuals who will be
employed or whose employment will be retained by the property
owner or the tenant as a result of the occupation of the eligible
vacant building, and an estimate of the annual salaries of those
individuals.
(3) Information regarding efforts by the owner or a previous
owner to sell, lease, or rent the eligible vacant building during the
period the eligible vacant building was unoccupied.
(4) Information regarding the amount for which the eligible
vacant building was offered for sale, lease, or rent by the owner
or a previous owner during the period the eligible vacant building
was unoccupied.
(d) With the approval of the designating body, the statement of
benefits may be incorporated in a designation application. A statement
of benefits is a public record that may be inspected and copied under
IC 5-14-3.
(e) The designating body must review the statement of benefits
required by subsection (a). The designating body shall determine
whether an area should be designated an economic revitalization area
or whether a deduction should be allowed, after the designating body
has made the following findings:
(1) Whether the estimate of the number of individuals who will be
employed or whose employment will be retained can be
reasonably expected to result from the proposed occupation of the
eligible vacant building.
(2) Whether the estimate of the annual salaries of those
individuals who will be employed or whose employment will be
retained can be reasonably expected to result from the proposed
occupation of the eligible vacant building.
(3) Whether any other benefits about which information was
requested are benefits that can be reasonably expected to result
from the proposed occupation of the eligible vacant building.
(4) Whether the occupation of the eligible vacant building will
increase the tax base and assist in the rehabilitation of the
economic revitalization area.
(5) Whether the totality of benefits is sufficient to justify the
deduction.
A designating body may not designate an area an economic
revitalization area or approve a deduction under this section unless the
findings required by this subsection are made in the affirmative.
(f) Except as otherwise provided in this section, the owner of an
eligible vacant building located in an economic revitalization area is
entitled to a deduction from the assessed value of the building if the
property owner or a tenant of the property owner occupies the eligible
vacant building and uses it for commercial or industrial purposes. The
property owner is entitled to the deduction:
(1) for the first year in which the property owner or a tenant of the
property owner occupies the eligible vacant building and uses it
for commercial or industrial purposes; and
(2) for subsequent years determined under subsection (g).
(g) The designating body shall determine under section 17 of this
chapter the number of years for which a property owner is entitled to
a deduction under this section. This determination shall be made:
(1) as part of the resolution adopted under section 2.5 of this
chapter; or
(2) by a resolution adopted not more than sixty (60) days after the
designating body receives a copy of the property owner's
deduction application from the county auditor.
A certified copy of a resolution under subdivision (2) shall be sent to
the county auditor, who shall make the deduction as provided in section
5.3 of this chapter. A determination concerning the number of years the
deduction is allowed that is made under subdivision (1) is final and
may not be changed by using the procedure under subdivision (2).
(h) Except as provided in section 2(i)(5) of this chapter, and subject
to section 15 of this chapter, the amount of the deduction the property
owner is entitled to receive under this section for a particular year
equals the product of:
(1) the assessed value of the building or part of the building that
is occupied by the property owner or a tenant of the property
owner; multiplied by
(2) the percentage determined by the designating body under
section 17 of this chapter.
(i) The amount of the deduction determined under subsection (h)
shall be adjusted in accordance with this subsection in the following
circumstances:
(1) If a reassessment under a county's reassessment plan prepared
under IC 6-1.1-4-4.2 occurs within the period of the deduction,
the amount of the assessed value determined under subsection
(h)(1) shall be adjusted to reflect the percentage increase or
decrease in assessed valuation that resulted from the
reassessment.
(2) If an appeal of an assessment is approved and results in a
reduction of the assessed value of the property, the amount of a
deduction under this section shall be adjusted to reflect the
percentage decrease that resulted from the appeal.
(j) The department of local government finance may adopt rules
under IC 4-22-2 to implement this section.

Legislative History

As added by P.L.154-2006, SEC.28. Amended by P.L.219-2007, SEC.32; P.L.112-2012, SEC.28; P.L.288-2013, SEC.12; P.L.86-2018, SEC.45.