BEFORE THE STATE TAX
COMMISSION OF UTAH
_____________________________________
XXXXX
Petitioner, :
v. : INFORMAL DECISION
:
PROPERTY TAX
DIVISION OF THE : Appeal No. 88 1228
UTAH STATE TAX COMMISSION, : XXXXX
Respondent. :
_____________________________________
STATEMENT OF CASE
This
matter came before the Utah State Tax Commission XXXXX in an informal
hearing. James E. Harward, Hearing
Officer, heard the matter for and in behalf of the Utah State Tax
Commission. XXXXX, President and XXXXX,
Vice-President, XXXXX, represented Petitioner.
XXXXX, Natural Resource Manager, and XXXXX, Assessor, Property Tax
Division of the Utah State Tax Commission, represented Respondent.
The
subject property consists of XXXXX acres of a XXXXX acre parcel located near
XXXXX, Utah. In XXXXX, Respondent
discovered a XXXXX on the subject property and requested that the county drop
that part of the parcel from their rolls.
A "roll-back tax", as provided for in Utah Code Ann. §
59-2-506, was assessed the property; however, the XXXXX was erroneously
estimated to be XXXXX acres in size.
When Petitioner learned of the "roll-back" assessment on XXXXX
acres, they notified the Respondent of the error. Respondent corrected the error and notified the county that XXXXX
-- rather than XXXXX -- acres should be dropped from the county rolls.
In
XXXXX, during a computer conversion, the parcel was again valued as XXXXX
acres. Petitioner again contacted the
Commission and steps were taken to correct the error. A Memorandum of Understanding was signed by representative of
both Petitioner and Respondent indicating that both agreed with the reduction of
the valuation from $$$$$ to $$$$$.
Petitioner's
representative indicated that at the time of the signing, she believed the
agreed upon valuation was for the entire XXXXX acres. Petitioner asserts that the $$$$$ per acre valuation for the
XXXXX acres is too high and presented evidence that sales of similar parcels
indicated the value of the land to be worth not more than $$$$$ per acre. Petitioner pointed out that the
"roll-back tax" assessed the previous year was based on a land
valuation of $$$$$ per acre, and asserts that, because of the negative impact
of the nearby XXXXX, the land should not be valued at more than $$$$$.
Respondent
presented detailed evidence of several market sales to support the Respondent's
valuation and explained that the $$$$$ "roll-back" valuation
represented a XXXXX value and that changes have been made to update the factor.
FINDINGS
Petitioner
submitted only minimal evidence regarding the actual value of the property as
of XXXXX. The evidence submitted was
not persuasive enough to overcome the conflicting and substantial evidence
presented by the Respondent. Pursuant
to Utah Admin. R. 861-07A-1(6), the Petitioning party has the burden of proof
to establish that the petition should be granted. Because the Petitioner had
the burden of proof to establish that the valuation as established by the
Respondent was in error, and failed to meet that burden, that valuation must be
affirmed.
DECISION AND ORDER
Based
on the foregoing, it is the decision and order of the Commission that the
valuation of the Respondent be affirmed.
DATED
this 29 day of September, 1988.
BY ORDER OF THE STATE TAX COMMISSION OF UTAH.
ABSENT
R. H. Hansen Roger
O. Tew
Chairman Commissioner
Joe B.
Pacheco G.
Blaine Davis
Commissioner Commissioner