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2003S0167-1 01/30/03
By: Staples S.B. No. 340
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the rendition of property for ad valorem tax purposes;
providing civil penalties.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 22.01, Tax Code, is amended by amending
Subsection (a) and adding Subsections (f) through (i) to read as
follows:
(a) Except as provided by Chapter 24 [of this code], a
person shall render for taxation all tangible personal property
used for the production of income that the person [he] owns or that
the person [he] manages and controls as a fiduciary on January 1. A
rendition statement shall contain:
(1) the name and address of the property owner;
(2) a description of the property by type or category;
(3) if the property is inventory, a description of the
type and a general estimate of the quantity of the property;
(4) the physical location or situs of the property;
and
(5) the property owner's good faith estimate of the
market value of the property or, at the option of the property
owner, the historical cost when new and the year of acquisition of
the property.
(f) Notwithstanding Subsections (a) and (b), a person who
owns tangible personal property used for the production of income
located in the appraisal district that, in the owner's opinion, has
an aggregate value of less than $20,000 is only required to render
the name and address of the property owner and the physical location
or situs of the property.
(g) A person's good faith estimate of the market value of
the property under Subsection (a)(5) is solely for the purpose of
compliance with the requirement to render tangible personal
property and is inadmissible in any subsequent protest, hearing,
appeal, suit, or other proceeding involving the property, except
for a proceeding to determine whether the person complied with this
section.
(h) If the property that is the subject of the rendition is
regulated by the Public Utility Commission of Texas, the Railroad
Commission of Texas, the federal Surface Transportation Board, or
the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the owner of the property
is deemed to have complied with the requirements of this section if
the owner provides to the chief appraiser, on written request of the
chief appraiser, a copy of the annual regulatory report covering
the property and sufficient information to enable the chief
appraiser to allocate the value of the property among the
appropriate taxing jurisdictions in the appraisal district.
(i) Subsection (a) does not apply to a property owner whose
property is subject to appraisal by a third party retained by the
appraisal district if the property owner provides information
regarding the property directly to the third party appraiser.
SECTION 2. Section 22.07, Tax Code, is amended by adding
Subsection (c) to read as follows:
(c) The chief appraiser may request, either in writing or by
electronic means, that the property owner provide a statement
containing supporting information indicating how the owner's good
faith estimate of value rendered under Section 22.01(a)(5) was
determined. The property owner shall provide the statement, either
in writing or by electronic means, not later than the 15th day after
the date the chief appraiser's request is received. The owner's
statement is solely for informational purposes and is not
admissible as evidence in any subsequent protest, suit, appeal, or
other proceeding involving the property.
SECTION 3. Subsection (b), Section 22.23, Tax Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(b) On written request [For good cause shown in writing] by
the property owner, the chief appraiser shall [may] extend a
deadline for filing a rendition statement or property report [by
written order] to May 15 [a date not later than April 30]. The chief
appraiser [However, if the property that is the subject of the
rendition is regulated by the Public Utility Commission of Texas or
the Railroad Commission of Texas, the chief appraiser, upon written
request by the property owner, shall extend the filing deadline
until April 30, and] may further extend the deadline an additional
15 days upon good cause shown in writing by the property owner.
SECTION 4. Subsections (b), (c), and (d), Section 22.24,
Tax Code, are amended to read as follows:
(b) A person filing a rendition or report shall include all
information required by Section 22.01 [the form].
(c) The comptroller may prescribe or approve different
forms for different kinds of property but shall ensure that each
form requires a property owner to furnish the information necessary
to identify the property and to determine its ownership,
taxability, and situs. A form may not require but may permit a
property owner to furnish information not specifically required by
this chapter to be reported [relevant to the appraisal of property
for tax purposes or to the assessment or collection of property
taxes].
(d) Except as required by Section 22.01(a), a [A] rendition
or report form shall permit but [may] not require a property owner
to state the owner's good faith estimate of [his opinion about] the
market value of the [his] property.
SECTION 5. Subchapter B, Chapter 22, Tax Code, is amended by
adding Sections 22.28, 22.29, and 22.30 to read as follows:
Sec. 22.28. PENALTY FOR DELINQUENT REPORT. Except as
otherwise provided by Section 22.30, the chief appraiser may impose
a penalty of 10 percent of the amount of the tax due on a person who
fails to timely file a rendition statement or property report
required by this chapter.
Sec. 22.29. PENALTY FOR FRAUD OR INTENT TO EVADE TAX. The
chief appraiser shall impose an additional penalty of 50 percent of
the amount of the tax due if it is finally determined by a court of
competent jurisdiction that:
(1) the person filed a false statement or report with
the intent to commit fraud or to evade the tax; or
(2) the person alters, destroys, or conceals any
record, document, or thing, or presents to the chief appraiser any
altered or fraudulent record, document, or thing, or otherwise
engages in fraudulent conduct, for the purpose of affecting the
course or outcome of an inspection, investigation, determination,
or other proceeding before the appraisal district.
Sec. 22.30. WAIVER OF PENALTY. (a) The chief appraiser
shall waive the penalty imposed by Section 22.28 or 22.29 if the
person exercised reasonable diligence to comply with or has
substantially complied with the requirements of this chapter. A
written request, accompanied by supporting documentation, stating
the grounds on which penalties should be waived must be sent to the
chief appraiser not later than the 30th day after the date the
person received notification of the imposition of the penalty. The
chief appraiser shall make a determination of the penalty waiver
request based on the information submitted.
(b) The chief appraiser shall notify the person of the chief
appraiser's determination regarding the penalty waiver request
after considering:
(1) the person's compliance history with respect to
paying taxes and filing statements or reports;
(2) the type, nature, and taxability of the specific
property involved;
(3) the nature, size, and sophistication of the
person's business or other entity for which property is rendered;
(4) the completeness of the person's records;
(5) the person's reliance on advice provided by the
appraisal district that may have contributed to the person's
failure to comply and the imposition of the penalty;
(6) any change in appraisal district policy during the
current or immediately preceding tax year that may affect how
property is rendered; and
(7) any other factors that may have caused the person
to fail to timely file a statement or report.
SECTION 6. Section 25.19, Tax Code, is amended by adding
Subsection (k) to read as follows:
(k) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section,
the chief appraiser may not deliver a written notice concerning
property that is required to be rendered under Chapter 22 until the
applicable deadline for filing the rendition statement has passed.
SECTION 7. Section 41.43, Tax Code, is amended by amending
Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (d) to read as follows:
(a) Except as provided by Subsection (d), in [In] a protest
authorized by Section 41.41(a)(1) [41.41(1)] or (2), the appraisal
district has the burden of establishing the value of the property by
a preponderance of the evidence presented at the hearing. If the
appraisal district fails to meet that standard, the protest shall
be determined in favor of the property owner.
(d) If the property owner fails to deliver, before the date
of the hearing, a rendition statement or property report required
by Chapter 22, the property owner has the burden of establishing the
value of the property by a preponderance of the evidence presented
at the hearing. If the property owner fails to meet that standard,
the protest shall be determined in favor of the appraisal district.
SECTION 8. This Act takes effect January 1, 2004, and
applies only to the rendition of property for ad valorem tax
purposes for a tax year that begins on or after that date.