§ 6-1.1-36-7 — Real property taxes assessed against political subdivisions, state, or certain bodies corporate and politic; cancellation; compromise; distribution of receipts

Indiana § 6-1.1-36-7

• Jurisdiction: Indiana
• Art. 1.1: PROPERTY TAXES
• Ch. 36: Miscellaneous Assessment and Collection Provisions

Text

(a) The county executive may cancel any
property taxes, delinquencies, fees, special assessments, and penalties
assessed against real property owned by a county, a township, a city, a
town, or a body corporate and politic established under IC 8-10-5-2(a),
regardless of whether the county, township, city, town, or body
corporate and politic established under IC 8-10-5-2(a) owned the
property on the assessment date for which the property taxes,
delinquencies, fees, special assessments, or penalties are imposed and
regardless of when the county, township, city, town, or body corporate
and politic established under IC 8-10-5-2(a) acquired the property, if
a petition requesting that the county executive cancel the taxes is
submitted by the auditor, assessor, and treasurer of the county in which
the real property is located. However, the cancellation of any property
taxes, delinquencies, fees, special assessments, or penalties under this
subsection does not affect the liability of any person that is personally
liable for the property taxes before the date the county, township, city,
town, or body corporate and politic established under IC 8-10-5-2(a)
acquired the property. For purposes of this subsection, in a county
containing a consolidated city, "county executive" refers to the board
of commissioners of the county as provided in IC 36-3-3-10.
(b) The department of local government finance may cancel any
property taxes, delinquencies, fees, special assessments, and penalties
assessed against real property owned by this state, regardless of
whether the state owned the property on the assessment date for which
the property taxes, delinquencies, fees, special assessments, or
penalties are imposed and regardless of when the state acquired the
property, if a petition requesting that the department cancel the taxes
is submitted by:
(1) the governor; or
(2) the chief administrative officer of the state agency which
supervises the real property.
However, if the petition is submitted by the chief administrative officer
of a state agency, the governor must approve the petition. In addition,
the cancellation of any property taxes, delinquencies, fees, special
assessments, or penalties under this subsection does not affect the
liability of any person that is personally liable for the property taxes
before the date the state acquired the property.
(c) If property taxes are canceled under subsection (a) or (b), any
lien on the real property shall be released and canceled to the extent the
lien covers any property taxes, delinquencies, fees, special assessments,
or penalties that were assessed against the real property before or after
the county, township, city, town, body corporate and politic established
under IC 8-10-5-2(a), or state became the owner of the real property.
(d) The department of local government finance may compromise
the amount of property taxes, together with any interest or penalties on
those taxes, assessed against the fixed or distributable property owned
by a bankrupt railroad, which is under the jurisdiction of:
(1) a federal court under 11 U.S.C. 1163;
(2) Chapter X of the Acts of Congress Relating to Bankruptcy (11
U.S.C. 701-799); or
(3) a comparable bankruptcy law.
(e) After making a compromise under subsection (d) and after
receiving payment of the compromised amount, the department of local
government finance shall distribute to each county treasurer an amount
equal to the product of:
(1) the compromised amount; multiplied by
(2) a fraction, the numerator of which is the total of the particular
county's property tax levies against the railroad for the
compromised years, and the denominator of which is the total of
all property tax levies against the railroad for the compromised
years.
(f) After making the distribution under subsection (e), the
department of local government finance shall direct the auditors of
each county to remove from the tax rolls the amount of all property
taxes assessed against the bankrupt railroad for the compromised years.
(g) The county auditor of each county receiving money under
subsection (e) shall allocate that money among the county's taxing
districts. The auditor shall allocate to each taxing district an amount
equal to the product of:
(1) the amount of money received by the county under subsection
(e); multiplied by
(2) a fraction, the numerator of which is the total of the taxing
district's property tax levies against the railroad for the
compromised years, and the denominator of which is the total of
all property tax levies against the railroad in that county for the
compromised years.
(h) The money allocated to each taxing district shall be apportioned
and distributed among the taxing units of that taxing district in the
same manner and at the same time that property taxes are apportioned
and distributed.
(i) The department of local government finance may, with the
approval of the attorney general, compromise the amount of property
taxes, together with any interest or penalties on those taxes, assessed
against property owned by a person that has a case pending under state
or federal bankruptcy law. Property taxes that are compromised under
this section shall be distributed and allocated at the same time and in
the same manner as regularly collected property taxes. The department
of local government finance may compromise property taxes under this
subsection only if:
(1) a petition is filed with the department of local government
finance that requests the compromise and is signed and approved
by the assessor, auditor, and treasurer of each county and the
assessor of each township (if any) that is entitled to receive any
part of the compromised taxes;
(2) the compromise significantly advances the time of payment of
the taxes; and
(3) the compromise is in the best interest of the state and the
taxing units that are entitled to receive any part of the
compromised taxes.
(j) A taxing unit that receives funds under this section is not
required to include the funds in its budget estimate for any budget year
which begins after the budget year in which it receives the funds.
(k) A county treasurer, with the consent of the county auditor and
the county assessor, may compromise the amount of property taxes,
interest, or penalties owed in a county by an entity that has a case
pending under Title 11 of the United States Code (Bankruptcy Code)
by accepting a single payment that must be at least seventy-five percent
(75%) of the total amount owed in the county.
[Pre-1975 Property Tax Recodification Citation:
6-1-39-8.]
Formerly: Acts 1975, P.L.47, SEC.1. As amended by Acts 1977,
P.L.75, SEC.1; P.L.69-1983, SEC.9; P.L.5-1988, SEC.45; P.L.30-1994,
SEC.6; P.L.90-2002, SEC.260; P.L.146-2008, SEC.288; P.L.172-2011,
SEC.48; P.L.187-2016, SEC.12; P.L.257-2019, SEC.65.