HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 01041994 - 1.9 (3) 1. q0
Board Order - January 4, 1994
Correspondence
Page 2
1.89 LETTER dated December 20, 1993, from Martin D. Fischer,
President, The Organization for Youth Services, P.O. Box 1835,
Lafayette 94549, advising that it is terminating its contract
with the County effective January 31, 1994 .
***REFERRED TO HEALTH SERVICES DIRECTOR AND AUDITOR-CONTROLLER
1.90 CLAIM received by the Clerk of the ,Board on December 22, 1993,
filed by David L. Martin, Attorney, McCracken, Byers & Martin,
919 East Hillsdale Boulevard, Suite 101, Foster City 94404, on
behalf of Viacom Cablevision, for refund of certain property
taxes levied for the 1987-88, 1988-89, 1989-90, and 1990-91
fiscal years.
***REFERRED TO COUNTY COUNSEL, ASSESSOR, AND TREASURER-
-TAX-COLLECTOR
IT IS BY THE BOARD ORDERED that the recommendations as referenced
(***) are approved.
cc: Correspondents
County Administrator
Building Inspection
Community Development Director
County Counsel
Assessor
Treasurer-Tax Collector
Health Services Director
Auditor-Controller
heTehy c tqy that tt:is ;S n rrm and correct copy rn
an action nn ; r.'; on the minuteb of the
Board of S;:parv:;c.rs on the date shown.
ATTEST PHIL LVIUHELOR,Cift ofofth"`e Fjord
�Of Supervisors and County Pdmhinktraator
Uepur.
DEC=`r4-1993 17:07 CITY ATTY FOX 8TH FL 4155543888 P.02
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CLERK 130.4FiD
CONT OF SUP'
ERP
REF-M , cosTq C�iSORg .
TO: Board of Supervisors
City and County of
;an Francisco, California
The underaignod, ac the authorized agent for Talevisi.on
Signal Corporation, dba Viacom Cablevision ("C aimant" ) , hereby
makes this claim for refund of taxes, plus appropriate interest
at ten percent (10t) per annum, ("Claim") on behalf Of Claimant ` .
pursuant to California Revenue and Taxation Code 55 5096 and 5097' .
and requests the Hoard of supervisors make ita order directing
the controller of the above-referenced County ("Countylr) to
refund to Claimant certain property taxes and interest levied and
collected from Claimant for the fiscal years 1987-881
1g$g.--8p and 1.990-91 as act forth below. in support of this
Claim, the undersigned states:'
r
1. Claimant is a California corporation duly
r
qualigied to do business and doing businaos in tho County.
2 . During the fiscal years 1987-88 through the
current fiscal year, Claimant has owned Certain property
luQaLed in the County.
3. During the assessment period for fiscal •year
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299 .-92, the county Aseassor reassesspid certain property
owned by Claimant and located in the County as .a result of a
"change in ownership" with respect to such property .which
pccuri,ua on J'uns 9, 1987. The County Assessor Onri ll'ad
increased assessments with respect to such propexty .for the
fiscal, years 1987-88 through and including 1'991+82-.
4. claimant received tax bill,s' ftot the. Cduntyfa. tax
collector for (a) unsecured taxes due on which °are
identified as "supplemental assessments" tor 'fiscal year
,1987-88, ()j) unsecured taxes due On cGoape 'ass'ess%antS also
for fiscal year 1.987--88, and (c) unsecured taxesdue .on
escape assessments enrolled for fiscal years .1.988-89 through
1990-91., True and correct cops" of these tax bills for the
1.987-88 "supplemental, assessments", the- 1987-88 escape
assessments, the 1988-89 escape assessments, the 1989-90
escape assessments, and the 1.990-91 enoaps masbcamonte,.
which are the subject of this Claim, are attaehed hsreto and
marked as Exhibits -1, A-2. B, C,.an Dr respectively, and
incorporated in full herein by reference.
5. As required by Revenue and Taxation Code § 4837•.5 ,
("Section 4837,5") , the tax collector sent ,to' claimant a .
notice with respect to the, avullability or the Installment
payment provisions of Section 4837.5, a copy of which
notice is attached hereto as Exhib E•. 1n that notice the
tax collector stated -that only the tax bills ,for, the-,r1scal
years 1988-89, 1989-90 and 1990-91 (and not 1987-88) .could
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be paid by Claimant on the installment basis. . The tax
collector's notice also stated that the initial "instiallinent
payment was due no later than August -31# 3..991 and that the
remdining four installment payments will. be due 'on
August 31, 1992, August 31, 1993, August 31, 1994 'and
August 31, 1995.
6. Pursuant to the tax collector's notide, ClaiMant
elected the installment payment option prov'id'ed. under
Section 4837.5 and paid the initial 20% installment of taxes
for Exh1bj ts, $. C and D, in the aggregates amount of
$1,235, 004.74 on or about August 27, 1991. True And correct
copies of Claimant's letter of request and corresponding
payment is d Ct:ached hereto and markbd ao b. t X.' Bacaus a.
the tax collector refused to allow Claimant to elect to pay
the 1987-88 taxes on an installment basis., ClaJidnt ,paid 5,0,E
of the taxes billed for Exhibit A-1 in' the amount '.bf
,$995, 168. 18 on or about December 6', 198i, with a balance of
$995, 168. 18 due on April 10, 1992, and 100% of the taxes '
billed for Exhibit A- 01-1- or about August 26, 101. in, the
amount: of $368,143.68.
7. claimant is entitled to, and hereby requests, a
refund of all of the taxes and interest' paid: as described in
paragraph 6 above, amounting to a total of $2,598,318..56,
plus appropriate interest at ten percent •(10t) per.:arinum, on
the following grounds:
(a) with respect to the taxes shown on the tax
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DEC-14-1993 17:08 CITY ATTY FOX 6TH FL 4155543808 P.05
bills attached as Exhibit A_ for fiscal year.. 1987-88:,',
these assessments and corresponding taxes .have: beer
illegally enrolled and collected as 'supplemental
assessments- " Rather, the taxes duo on' these tax bills ,. „
are for escape assessments.
Taxes due on supplemental assessments: are. to
promote increased equity among taxpayero by onro•lli:ng
taxes resulting from changes in assessed value due to '
changes in ownership at the. ,t e thgy .odcur. .(See,
Preamble to Chapter 3.5, of Part 0.5,,-of Divi.sian 1, of
the Revenue and Taxation Code) . The purpose of a
supplemental assessment is to accelerate the asstasment
and collection of taxes attributable to a change in
ownership.
on the other hand, taxes. due ori' escape •assessments'..
are retroactive, levied in a .,later year; retleptxng the .
amount by which property has been underassessed.
Escape assessments are intended to rectify gai:ssions or :*., .
errors in the original assessment of •property.
~ (Blackwell Homes v. county _af .Santa' Claia '(1991) .226
Cal.App.3d 1009, 1016, 277 Cal.4ptr: 2511•' Ehrman &
Flavin, 1 Taxing Calif. Prop. §' 14:01 '(3d. 1wd. ].989j ) '7
By the foregoing reasoning, 'Exhibit Awl ' is. barred
by the four year statute of limitations apol ica.ble to
escape assessments and base year value corrections
under Revenue and Taxation Code SS '532 and '51:5,
4
Y
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because the deadline for Oiling "cape nssibsmentss and
base year valuation corrections for the 1987-88 -fi0cal
year expired July 1, 1991.
Alternatively, even .if LxhsbitAi1 .is 'not .barred
by the statutes of limitations, since the bi1.lt are
taxes on escapes, Claimant is entitled to pay such
taxes in installments under section 4837. 5. The Tax
Collector has illegally denied Clalmant' the right to
elect installment payment of these taxes.
(b) With respect to the taxes shoWn 'on the tax
bill -attached as Exhibit A!2 for the fiscal year
1987-88, these taxes on escape assessments are eligible.
for installment payment under Section 4837.5. ' The tax
collector has illegally denied installinent payment
treatment to Claimant. lntetest, in the amount of
$84 , 956.23, was also illegally imposed.
Revenue and Taxation code . § 506 provides-' for the
imposition of interest only where a taxpayer, after
written request by the assessor, fails to provide �. .
information required by law (Rev. & Tax. C. 9 501.) or
fails to yeport the cost of property accurately (R6V. &
Tar.. C. 5 531.3) . The tax coxlectak .is `further :using
these sections of the Revenue and Taxation code to deny
Claimant the right to elect installment payments.
Claimant has not violated the reguiremeAs ofeither
Rev. & Tax. C. is 501 or S 531.3 and therefore-'the
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impositinn of interest under Keri. Tax. ' C.• S. .50'6 and
the denial of the opportunity to pay 'Ag bit k-2 in'
installments was improper and illegal.
(c) with respect to the 20% initial ihstallmerit:
payments of the taxes shown on the tax bills att'ached'
as Exhibits B. G.and D for the fiscal- years 19$889`,
1.989-90, and 1990-91, this payment• Was .Plot due until
April 10, 1992 but the tax collector, il.legally required
claimant to make this payment ori or befoire August 31,
1991. setting those, premature dua dates has damaged
Claimant because the installment paymahts. under
Section 4837.5 are interest-free. At the-time' Claimant
received theoe tax bills and elected the, in-stal.:17nent
payment option under Section 4837..5, Section 483.7.5
provided that the deadline for the initial i.nBtallidant
of taxes due, "wheth+ar eocured or unaeotrL*d,10' wa.q the
"delinquency date of the second illstallment of current
taxes on the secured roll, " which for the 1991-92
fiscal year is April 10, 1992. (Section 48'37•.5 further
r provided that the deadline for installment .paytents iri-
succeeding fiscal years also is' the de1in40en6y. date..of
ULU second installment of taxer, ori the cecutod ro'll far
those years, namely April. 10, 19.93, 1994, 1595- and-
1996.
9.9.5and1995. Thus, the tax collact'or's not'ice', ( a ) .
also illegally requires premature•*D�ayameirit' of
installments in future years.) Effedti.ve s'anit'ary I
6
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19gf2, section 4837.5 has been .amended ,to require
installment payments of .unsecured taxes by 'the:
delinquency date for unsecured taxes, which generally.
i.s August: 31. of the relevant fiscal year. However,
this change in Section 4837.5 does ,not. apply to-
Clainantfs installment payments .because Clai*ahtO's tax-
bills
ax bills were issued and Claimant made its . insta•llment
Payment election before the effective date of that
change.
8. No refund of the taxes 61aimpd herein; .•or ,any palm .
thereof, has previously been received 'by•Claimant.
9. Claimant has filed applications for reductions of
moococmcnt under Ravenue and TaxAt9.on Code § 1.6U3, together
with corresponding claims for refund, withrespedt 'td all of
the assessments reflected on the tax bills attacher as
Exhi pito A-1, A-2, a,. C and i?, as wall as. the 1,9
assessments. Hearings on these applicatioris for reduced
assessments have not yet been scheduled before the county
a5sesamerit appoala board. This Claim, howeVj+r- pets forth
separate and independent grounds on which Claimant believes
.h
a refund of tabes paid is appropriate, regardless of the
ult.imaLe outcome of the pending applications-for reduction
of assessment. Nothing herein shall constitute• ars :admi.ssioh
of the correctness or legality of any suchassessments•, .:or° .&, .
waiver of any rights by Claimant with reepsdt to said
applications for reduction of assessment or the claims for
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refund which accompanied those applications.
I declare under penalty of perjury that the .forecj6ih: 'is
true and correct. _
TN WITNESS WHPRFbF, T have executed this Claim for Wund.`car
March 1i, 1992, at Faster City, California.
McCRACKEN, BYERS & MAgTTN
AA D• L. MART111
Attorneys. for .MaItipts
8
TOTAL P.09
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