2.
(a)A county or township official who
receives a written notice under section 1.1 of this chapter shall
schedule, at a time during business hours that is convenient to the
taxpayer, a preliminary informal meeting with the taxpayer in order to
resolve the appeal. If the taxpayer raises a claim regarding a matter that
is in the discretion of the county auditor, the informal meeting must
include the county auditor. At the preliminary informal meeting, in
order to facilitate understanding and the resolution of disputed issues:
(1)a county or township official;
(2)the county auditor, if the matter is in the discretion of the
county auditor; and
(3)the taxpayer;
shall exchange the information that each party is relying on at the time
of the preliminary informal meeting to support the party
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2. (a) A county or township official who
receives a written notice under section 1.1 of this chapter shall
schedule, at a time during business hours that is convenient to the
taxpayer, a preliminary informal meeting with the taxpayer in order to
resolve the appeal. If the taxpayer raises a claim regarding a matter that
is in the discretion of the county auditor, the informal meeting must
include the county auditor. At the preliminary informal meeting, in
order to facilitate understanding and the resolution of disputed issues:
(1) a county or township official;
(2) the county auditor, if the matter is in the discretion of the
county auditor; and
(3) the taxpayer;
shall exchange the information that each party is relying on at the time
of the preliminary informal meeting to support the party's respective
position on each disputed issue concerning the assessment or
deduction. If additional information is obtained by the county or
township official, the county auditor, or the taxpayer after the
preliminary informal meeting and before the hearing held by the county
board, the party obtaining the information shall provide the information
to the other party. If the county or township official, the county auditor,
or the taxpayer obtains additional information and provides the
information to the other party for the first time at the hearing held by
the county board, the county board, unless waived by the receiving
party, shall continue the hearing until a future hearing date of the
county board so that the receiving party has an opportunity to review
all the information that the offering party is relying on to support the
offering party's positions on the disputed issues concerning the
assessment or deduction.
(b) The official shall report on a form prescribed by the department
of local government finance the results of the informal meeting. If the
taxpayer and the official agree on the resolution of all issues in the
appeal, the report shall state the agreed resolution of the matter and be
signed by the official and the taxpayer. If an informal meeting is not
held, or the informal meeting is unsuccessful, the official shall report
those facts on the form. The official shall forward the report on the
informal meeting to the county board.
(c) If the county board receives a report on the informal meeting
indicating an agreed resolution of the matter, the county board shall
vote to accept or deny the agreed resolution. If the county board accepts
the agreed resolution, the county board shall issue a notification of final
assessment determination adopting the agreed resolution and vacating
the hearing if scheduled.
(d) The county board, upon receipt of a written notice under section
1.1 of this chapter, shall hold a hearing on the appeal not later than one
hundred eighty (180) days after the filing date of the written notice.
The county board shall, by mail, give at least thirty (30) days notice of
the date, time, and place fixed for the hearing to the taxpayer, the
county or township official with whom the taxpayer filed the written
notice, and the county auditor. If the county board has notice that the
taxpayer is represented by a third person, any hearing notice shall be
mailed to the representative.
(e) If good cause is shown, the county board shall grant a request for
continuance filed in writing at least ten (10) days before the hearing,
and reschedule the hearing under subsection (d).
(f) A taxpayer may withdraw an appeal by filing a written request
at least ten (10) days before the hearing. The county board shall issue
a notification of final assessment determination indicating the
withdrawal and no change in the assessment. A withdrawal waives a
taxpayer's right to appeal to the Indiana board.
(g) The county board shall determine an appeal without a hearing if
requested by the taxpayer in writing at least twenty (20) days before the
hearing.
(h) If a taxpayer appeals the assessment of tangible property under
section 1.1 of this chapter, the taxpayer is not required to have an
appraisal of the property in order to initiate the appeal or prosecute the
appeal. If the taxpayer presents an appraisal to the county board that:
(1) is prepared by a certified appraiser in compliance with the
Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice to
determine the market value in use;
(2) is addressed to the property owner or the assessor's office;
(3) is commissioned for the purpose of the assessment appeal; and
(4) has an effective date that is the same date as the date of the
assessment that is the subject of the appeal;
the value of the property contained in the appraisal is presumed to be
correct. If the county board disagrees with the taxpayer's appraisal, the
county board may seek review of the appraisal by a third party
independent certified appraiser or obtain an independent appraisal
report conducted by a certified appraiser in compliance with the
Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice. If the county
board's appraisal differs from the taxpayer's appraisal, the county board
shall weigh the evidence and determine the true tax value of the
property based on the totality of the probative evidence before the
county board. The county board's determination of the property's true
tax value may be higher or lower than the assessment but may not be
lower than the lowest appraisal presented to or obtained by the county
board, or higher than the highest appraisal presented to or obtained by
the county board. After the assignment of value, the parties shall retain
their rights to appeal the assessment or assessments to the Indiana
board, which must hear the appeal de novo.
(i) At a hearing under subsection (d), the taxpayer shall have the
opportunity to present testimony and evidence regarding the matters on
appeal. If the matters on appeal are in the discretion of the county
auditor, the county auditor or the county auditor's representative shall
attend the hearing. A county or township official, or the county auditor
or the county auditor's representative, shall have an opportunity to
present testimony and evidence regarding the matters on appeal. The
county board may adjourn and continue the hearing to a later date in
order to make a physical inspection or consider the evidence presented.
(j) The county board shall determine the assessment by motion and
majority vote. Except as provided in subsection (m), a county board
may, based on the evidence before it, increase an assessment. The
county board shall issue a written decision. Written notice of the
decision shall be given to the township official, county official, county
auditor, and the taxpayer.
(k) If more than one hundred eighty (180) days have passed since
the date the notice of appeal was filed, and the county board has not
issued a determination, a taxpayer may initiate any appeal with the
Indiana board of tax review under section 3 of this chapter.
(l) The county assessor may assess a penalty of fifty dollars ($50)
against the taxpayer if the taxpayer or representative fails to appear at
a hearing under subsection (d) and, under subsection (e), the taxpayer's
request for continuance is denied, or the taxpayer's request for
continuance, request for the board to take action without a hearing, or
withdrawal is not timely filed. A taxpayer may appeal the assessment
of the penalty to the Indiana board or directly to the tax court. The
penalty may not be added as an amount owed on the property tax
statement under IC 6-1.1-22 or IC 6-1.1-22.5.
(m) The determination of an appealed assessed value of tangible
property by a county or township official resulting from an informal
meeting under subsection (a), or by a county board resulting from an
appeal hearing under subsection (d), may be less than or equal to the
tangible property's original appealed assessed value at issue, but may
not exceed the original appealed assessed value at issue. However, an
increase in assessed value that is attributable to substantial renovation,
new improvements, zoning change, or use change is excluded from the
limitation under this subsection.