Boly v. Department of Revenue

IN THE OREGON TAX COURT
MAGISTRATE DIVISION
Property Tax
FRANCES R. BOLY, )
)
Plaintiff, ) TC-MD 111118N
)
v. )
)
DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE, )
State of Oregon, )
)
Defendant. ) DECISION
Plaintiff filed her Complaint on October 4, 2011, challenging Defendant’s Account
Inactivation notice, dated September 28, 2011, inactivating property identified as R260420
(subject property) from the senior and disabled property tax deferral program for the 2011-12 tax
year because “[t]he real market value of [the subject] property exceeds the limit for [Plaintiff’s]
county.” (Ptf’s Compl at 2.) A case management conference was held in this matter on
March 20, 2012, during which the parties discussed Plaintiff’s appeal.
In 2011, the Oregon legislature passed House Bill (HB) 2543 (2011), amending the
requirements for participation in the senior and disabled property tax deferral program. Or Laws
2011, ch 723 §§ 1-32. HB 2543 (2011) amended ORS 311.670(2) (2011) to exclude from the
deferral program properties with a real market value exceeding the applicable percentage of the
“county median RMV,” with the applicable percentage based on the number of years that
“taxpayers have continuously owned and lived in the homestead.” Or Laws 2011, ch 723 § 3.
Defendant denied Plaintiff’s application for deferral based on its determination that “[P]laintiff
certified that [she has] owned and lived in the home for 57 years” and the 2010-11 real market
value of the subject property exceeds “200 percent of the county median RMV” under ORS
311.670(2)(k). (Def’s Answer at 1, 2.) Defendant stated that the “median RMV” for Multnomah
DECISION TC-MD 111118N 1
County was $236,810 and the 2010-11 real market value of the subject property was $801,630,
which exceeds 200 percent of the county “median RMV,” $473,620. (Id. at 2.)
During the conference on March 20, 2012, Plaintiff confirmed that she had owned and
lived in the subject property since 1953, when she purchased the subject property for about
$18,000. Plaintiff stated that she has participated in the senior and disabled property tax deferral
program since 1983 and it has allowed her to remain in the subject property home despite her
fixed income. Plaintiff stated that she has always enjoyed living at the subject property and
hopes to be able to stay in the subject property for the rest of her life. The court inquired
whether Plaintiff had challenged the 2010-11 real market value of the subject property or wished
to do so. Plaintiff responded that she did not. Plaintiff expressed that she does not agree with
the 2011 amendments to the senior and disabled property tax deferral program and doubts that it
was the legislature’s intent to evict seniors from their homes. Plaintiff inquired about property
tax collection procedures and Defendant’s representative provided Plaintiff with contact
information for the Multnomah County Assessor’s Office collections department.
The 2010-11 real market value of the subject property exceeds 200 percent of the “county
median RMV,” or $473,620. (See Def’s Answer at 2.) Plaintiff stated that she did not wish to
challenge the 2010-11 real market value of the subject property. The court finds that the subject
property does not qualify for the senior and disabled property tax deferral program for the 2011-
12 tax year and the court has no authority to grant an exception for Plaintiff. Under such
circumstances, the court finds that Plaintiff’s appeal must be denied. Now, therefore,
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DECISION TC-MD 111118N 2
IT IS THE DECISION OF THIS COURT that Plaintiff’s appeal is denied.
Dated this day of March 2012.
ALLISON R. BOOMER
MAGISTRATE PRO TEMPORE
If you want to appeal this Decision, file a Complaint in the Regular Division of
the Oregon Tax Court, by mailing to: 1163 State Street, Salem, OR 97301-2563;
or by hand delivery to: Fourth Floor, 1241 State Street, Salem, OR.
Your Complaint must be submitted within 60 days after the date of the Decision
or this Decision becomes final and cannot be changed.
This document was signed by Magistrate Pro Tempore Allison R. Boomer on
March 21, 2012. The Court filed and entered this document on March 21, 2012.
DECISION TC-MD 111118N 3