Start Date
13-12-2018 4:00 PM
End Date
13-12-2018 5:00 PM
Description
Equalization is a process by which valuation decisions made by a primary assessing authority are superseded, in whole or in part, by an oversight entity. This presentation will explore legal and technical aspects of three major types of equalization and processes used to implement these equalization systems in the U.S. and Canada: 1. direct equalization, in which the oversight agency’s adjustments are applied throughout a class of property or jurisdiction, the resulting values being used for all property tax purposes, 2. indirect equalization, in which adjustments are used to determine the market value of an underlying school or other taxing district to create a level playing field for the distribution of intergovernmental funds, and, 3. equalization of railroads and other centrally assessed property to prevent assessment discrimination between locally and centrally assessed property. The presentation will describe each of these concepts and review case law relating to jurisdictional authority and statistical processes. Recommendations found in IAAO standards will also be noted. Specific challenges to be explored include: 1. developing representative samples for ratio studies, 2. determining appropriate statistical measures, and 3. determining the comparison population for establishing assessment discrimination with respect to centrally assessed property.
Recommended Citation
Dornfest, Alan, "Legal and technical aspects of equalization: A new look at an old subject" (2018). IAAO Annual Legal Seminar. 8.
https://researchexchange.iaao.org/legal/legal18/sessions/8
Legal and technical aspects of equalization: A new look at an old subject
Equalization is a process by which valuation decisions made by a primary assessing authority are superseded, in whole or in part, by an oversight entity. This presentation will explore legal and technical aspects of three major types of equalization and processes used to implement these equalization systems in the U.S. and Canada: 1. direct equalization, in which the oversight agency’s adjustments are applied throughout a class of property or jurisdiction, the resulting values being used for all property tax purposes, 2. indirect equalization, in which adjustments are used to determine the market value of an underlying school or other taxing district to create a level playing field for the distribution of intergovernmental funds, and, 3. equalization of railroads and other centrally assessed property to prevent assessment discrimination between locally and centrally assessed property. The presentation will describe each of these concepts and review case law relating to jurisdictional authority and statistical processes. Recommendations found in IAAO standards will also be noted. Specific challenges to be explored include: 1. developing representative samples for ratio studies, 2. determining appropriate statistical measures, and 3. determining the comparison population for establishing assessment discrimination with respect to centrally assessed property.