Texas Register, Volume 34, Number 4, Pages 393-490, January 23, 2009 Page: 437
393-490 p. ; 28 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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to the express mail corporation for delivery on or before the last day
for filing; or
(3) fax received on or before the last day for filing if the
petition including supporting evidence, is under ten pages in content,
the original is mailed within three days of the fax and all procedures
for submitting a protest have been followed; or
(4) electronic transmission, if petitioner obtains written
permission from the division manager before the petition, evidence or
both, are filed, or the division manager has approved the file format
and form of transmission before the protest is filed.
(e) A petition shall show the petitioner's name and address,
designate the petitioner's agent, and list for each category of property
the grounds for objection to the preliminary findings for that category.
Petitioner shall state the grounds for objection in the manner required
by subsection (f) of this section. A petition that does not clearly spec-
ify, in the manner provided by subsection (f) of this section, the spe-
cific changes that petitioner alleges would improve the accuracy of
the taxable finding or appraisal district measures does not adequately
specify the grounds for objection as required by Government Code,
403.303(a) and may be rejected by the comptroller or the comptrol-
ler's designee without further review. The petition shall include the
following information:
(1) the petitioner's grounds for objection, stated with the
specificity and in the manner required by subsection (f) of this section;
(2) all documentary evidence, placed in order by category
and item number, necessary to support the factual and legal contentions
made in the petition; and
(3) the total taxable value petitioner claims is correct.
(f) The comptroller has been provided sufficient grounds for
objection if the petitioner's protest lists, by property category, each
change that the petitioner alleges would improve the accuracy of the
taxable value finding or appraisal district measures, and provides the
reason that each change will make the findings more accurate. An al-
legation that an item included the sample for a category of property
should be adjusted, deleted from the sample, or treated differently than
other items in the sample provides sufficient notice of the grounds for
objection if the petitioner: identifies the sample item that petitioner al-
leges should be adjusted, deleted or treated differently; states for each
item a specific reason or reasons why the item should be treated as
requested by petitioner, and provides documentation or other evidence
that supports the substance of each allegation. Without supporting doc-
umentation or other evidence to support the allegation, an allegation
that a sample item is flawed and should be adjusted, deleted, or treated
differently than the other items in the sample does not provide sufficient
notice to the comptroller of the grounds for the petitioner's objection.
The following are examples of sufficient grounds for objection:
(1) Sale A should be deleted. It is not an arms-length trans-
action because the buyer and seller are closely related. Included with
the petition is a copy of a deed filed with the county clerk that indicates
that the seller is related to the buyer and a statement from the buyer that
she is the seller's daughter.
(2) Sale B should be deleted. It is not an arms-length trans-
action because it was made under duress. The sale is a "1031 ex-
change," which is a sale of real property in which either the buyers or
sellers obtained or attempted to obtain the federal income tax benefit
authorized by 26 U.S. C. 1031. The buyer did not start to search for
an appropriate property until the month before the deadline for making
the exchange. The buyer was under duress because she had to meet the
deadline, so she paid more than market value for the property. Included
with the petition is the buyer's signed statements that she bought theproperty when she did to avoid paying capital gains taxes and paid a
higher price that she would have if she had not needed to buy the prop-
erty quickly.
(3) Sale C should be adjusted because it sold with personal
property. The sale price for the real property was actually $190,000 be-
cause the buyers purchased the seller's commercial kitchen appliances
and fitness equipment that included a commercial quality treadmill and
recumbent bicycle. The personal property is listed and valued in an at-
tachment to the deed. Included with the petition is the deed and the
attachment verifying the personal property included in the sale and its
value at the time of sale.
(4) Sale D should be deleted because it is an estate sale
and the sellers were forced to sell the property without regard to mar-
ket value because the estate's debts had to be paid. Attached with the
protest is a deed that shows it to be an estate sale and a statement from
the seller that the estate's debts forced the seller to sell the property to
the first willing buyer less than a month after the owner's death.
(g) A district shall deliver a copy of its protest petition to each
appraisal district that appraises property for the district. An appraisal
district shall deliver a copy of its protest petition to each district that
participates in the appraisal district. A property owner shall deliver a
copy of its protest petition to each school district and appraisal district
in which the property under protest is located. The district's, appraisal
district's, and property owner's petition shall contain a certification that
a copy of the petition was mailed to each affected party as required by
this subsection.
(h) The petition must contain a statement by the person signing
the petition that, to the best of the person's knowledge, the evidence
contained in the petition is true and correct.
9.4308. Prehearing Matters.
(a) After reviewing a protest, the division will send petitioner's
agent a recommendation and a form on which the petitioner may indi-
cate agreement or disagreement with the division's recommendation,
and request an informal settlement conference, non-binding mediation
with a mediator designated by the comptroller, or a hearing before a
State Office of Administrative Hearings (SOAH) Administrative Law
Judge (ALJ).
(b) If the petitioner requests an informal settlement conference
or mediation, the division will schedule a time for the informal settle-
ment conference or mediation. The division will then notify the peti-
tioner of the date, time, and place of the settlement conference or me-
diation.
(c) If a petitioner and the division are unable to resolve all of
the issues raised in a petitioner's protest through an informal settlement
conference, the petitioner will be given the opportunity to request a
hearing before a SOAH ALJ.
(d) If a petitioner requests mediation, both parties to the me-
diation will appear before a mediator selected by the comptroller, who
will listen to the evidence and argument presented by the parties. Any
agreements reached as a result of the mediation must be documented
in writing signed by all affected parties. If the parties are unable to
resolve all issues raised in the petition through mediation, either party
may request a hearing.
(e) Each party shall bear its own costs for participating in the
mediation. If a non-comptroller employee is designated as a mediator,
costs of the mediator's time and expenses shall be borne equally by all
the parties.
9.4309. Scheduling a Protest Hearing.ADOPTED RULES January 23, 2009 34 TexReg 437
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Texas. Secretary of State. Texas Register, Volume 34, Number 4, Pages 393-490, January 23, 2009, periodical, January 23, 2009; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth90836/m1/43/: accessed June 7, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.