Punongbayan & Araullo - Appealing Real Property Tax Assessments

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Appealing Real Property Tax Assessments

Appealing Real Property Tax Assessments by Rachelle Ann C. Baod
Taxpayers should not be surprised when they receive notices for audit or assess ents for taxes fro their local !overn ents units "#$%s&. 'ust like the (ureau of Internal Revenue "(IR&, #$%s also have the authority to conduct tax audit and issue deficiency tax assess ents for taxes that they ad inister and i pose, usually for local business taxes and the real property tax. The real property tax "RPT& is a levy on real properties, such as land, buildin!s, achinery and other i prove ents affixed or attached to real properties not specifically exe pted under the law. It accrues on the )st of 'anuary and is payable in one or four e*ual install ents. RPT install ent pay ents ust be ade on or before the end of each *uarter, akin! the first install ent due on or before +arch ,). %nlike national taxes which are fixed at unifor rates nationwide-i.e., ,. percent for inco e tax and )/ percent for value0added tax "1AT&-RPT rates vary per locality as it is fixed by the provincial or city council. The rates, however, ust be within the ceilin! prescribed under the law. The #ocal $overn ent 2ode "#$2& has set a ini u rate of ../3 percent "..3 percent for cities& and axi u rates of ) percent for provinces and / percent for cities and unicipalities. A taxpayer ay receive an assess ent for new properties declared with the local assessor or for a revised assess ent arisin! fro a revaluation of property values. +ost #$%s also issue individual tax bills statin! the exact a ount of the annual RPT due, the a ount of *uarterly instal ents and the due date to re ind taxpayers of their annual obli!ations. An assess ent ay also be issued if the #$% alle!es that the taxpayer failed to declare certain properties and pay the RPT, hence, the delin*uency tax and the applicable penalty. 4hen you receive an RPT assess ent, you would probably ask the followin! *uestions. Is the a ount of RPT assessed correct5 Is there a possibility for its reduction or cancellation5 A I supposed to pay this5 Is there a deadline for its pay ent5 If I were not satisfied with the assess ent, do I have a ri!ht to protest5 2orrectness of RPT assess ent. The correctness of the assess ent hin!es on several factors. Do I really own these properties5 Are these properties still existin! and bein!

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used? Were these properties valued correctly and classified accurately? Was the assessment conducted in accordance with the law? Is the local government unit (LGU) authorized to issue an assessment? Knowing these pieces of information the ta!payer may ascertain the correctness of the amount "y recomputation of the ta! due as follows# $%& due ' fair mar(et value ()*+) , assessment level ! ta! rate -ssessment level is a percentage assigned to different classifications of real properties.i/e/ residential commercial industrial or special/ &his is "ased on the applica"le ordinance in the locality where the property is situated/ )*+ is defined as the price at which a property may "e sold "y a seller who is not compelled to sell and "ought "y a "uyer who is not compelled to "uy/ It must "e the value of the property prevailing in said locality and may "e "ased on the ta!payer0s sworn statement or latest ta! declaration/ %roperties ac1uired "y purchase are generally valued at the purchase price/ &he evaluation with regard to the correctness of the assessment would determine the ta!payer0s ne!t courses of action/ &a!payers who feel aggrieved over the assessment are entitled to protest or appeal for the reduction or cancellation of the assessment/ &his right is solely vested on either the owner or the "eneficial user of the su"2ect properties/ %ayment under %rotest/ 3ne peculiarity with the $%& which most ta!payers remem"er is that a protest cannot "e initiated unless the ta! assessed is paid first/ %lease n ote that this is applica"le only if the issue is anchored on the correctness reasona"leness or e!cessiveness of assessment hence considered a 1uestion of fact/ In such case ta!payers contesting the assessment are mandated "y law to pay under protest/ %ursuant to 4ection 567 of the $%& 8ode no protest shall "e entertained unless the ta!payer pays the ta! without pre2udice to a su"se1uent ad2ustment depending upon the final outcome of the appeal/ %ayment under protest is not necessary when an issue challenges the very authority and power of the municipal city or provincial assessor or treasurer in ta!ing a property it "eing a 1uestion of legality/ 9ispute may already "e raised directly to the trial court/ &he significance of payment under protest was "est illustrated in a 4upreme 8ourt (48) decision (:-%383$ v/ %rovince of ;uezon) where the issue involved a 1uestion of fact on :apocor0s claim on realty ta! e!emption/ It was :-%383$0s position that the issue of their e!emption is merely a legal issue/ &he court however noted that there are also facts re1uired to "e confirmed to conclude the validity of the e!emption/ <ence "eing a 1uestion of fact the protest was denied considered premature and rendered without any effect for direct filing of appeal with the Local =oard of -ssessment -ppeals (L=--) without first paying under protest the $%& due/ -ppeals %rocess/ &reasurer0s level/ -fter payment and ensuring that the ta! receipts were annotated "y the treasurer with the words >paid under protest> ta!payer may file a protest to the treasurer in writing within 6? days from payment/ &reasurer shall decide on the protest within @? days from receipt/ L=-- level/ Upon local treasurer0s denial of protest or failure to act upon it ta!payer may still file a verified petition with the Local =oard of -ssessment -ppeals (L=--A within @? days from such denial or receipt of the Bnotice of assessmentC from the local assessor/ &he law does not warrant filing of motion for reconsideration "efore the local assessor

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(Callanta v. Office of the Ombudsman). The LBAA shall decide the appeal within 120 da s f!om !eceipt. CBAA level. "f ta#pa e!s still feel dissatisfied and a$$!ieved with the decision of the LBAA% the law p!ovides anothe! !emed &the filin$ of appeal within '0 da s f!om !eceipt of the decision to the Cent!al Boa!d of Assessment Appeals (CBAA)% which shall decide the case within 12 months f!om date of !eceipt. (aid decision shall become final and e#ecuto! afte! the lapse of 1) da s f!om the date the cop of the decision is !eceived b the ta#pa e!. CTA level. "n case of CBAA*s adve!se !ulin$ o! action% ta#pa e! ma elevate the matte! to the Cou!t of Ta# Appeals (CTA). "t is c!itical to compl with the timelines p!ovided fo! filin$ the p!otests o! appeal. +lementa! is the !ule that the pe!fection of an appeal within the p!esc!ibed pe!iod the!efo! is both mandato! and ,u!isdictional. -ote% howeve! that it is e.uall impo!tant to decide who should file the p!otest. "n anothe! (C decision (/+L( +ne!$ % "nc. v. 0!ovince of Batan$as)% appellant !eceived an 10T assessment on the powe! ba!$es that it is leasin$ to -A0OCO1 on Au$ust 2% 133). "n a lette! dated (eptembe! 2% 133)% lessee4-A0OCO1 sou$ht !econside!ation of the assessment. 5otion was denied on (eptembe! 22% 133). On Au$ust 26% 1336% the LBAA !ende!ed a !esolution den in$ the petition fo! bein$ filed out of time% thus% conside!ed ba!!ed b p!esc!iption because the p!otest was filed b the lessee and not b the owne! of the p!ope!t . Apellant was p!ecluded f!om .uestionin$ the co!!ectness of the assessment% o! f!om invo7in$ an defense that would !eopen the .uestion of its liabilit on the me!its. The !i$ht to appeal is a p!ivile$e of statuto! o!i$in% meanin$ a !i$ht $!anted onl b the law% and not a constitutional% natu!al o! inhe!ent !i$ht. "t onl follows that ta#pa e!s ma avail of such oppo!tunit upon st!ict compliance with the !ules p!esc!ibed b the law itself. 8ence% "t is best to see7 a consultant to ensu!e that co!!ect decisions a!e made on when and whe!e to p!otest% the natu!e of the p!otest that will be lod$ed and the p!ocedu!es that should be followed. "f ou a!e inte!ested to lea!n mo!e about the law and !ules on !eal p!ope!t ta#ation and local business ta#es% 0unon$ba an 9 A!aullo is holdin$ a whole da semina! on :nde!standin$ Local Ta#es on -ovembe! 12% 2011 at the -ew ;o!ld 8otel < 5a7ati. /o! in.ui!ies% please call ==64))11 o! email 5a!$e.Antonio>ph.$t.com.

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Further clarification on the coverage of 20% CWT on interest income You would recall that under RR 14 2012! a 20" creditable withholding ta# $%&'( was i)*osed on interest inco)e +ro) all other debt instru)ents which do not +all within the coverage o+ ,de*osit substitutes-. /n R0% 11 2012! th . . . Read 0ore 22

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