5096. Any taxes paid before or after delinquency shall be refunded
if they were:
(a) Paid more than once.
(b) Erroneously or illegally collected.
(c) Illegally assessed or levied.
(d) Paid on an assessment in excess of the ratio of assessed value
to the full value of the property as provided in Section 401 by
reason of the assessor's clerical error or excessive or improper
assessments attributable to erroneous property information supplied
by the assessee.
(e) Paid on an assessment of improvements when the improvements
did not exist on the lien date.
(f) Paid on an assessment in excess of the equalized value of the
property as determined pursuant to Section 1610.8 by the county board
of equalization.
(g) Paid on an assessment in excess of the value of the property
as determined by the assessor pursuant to Section 469.
5096.1. Except as hereinafter provided, taxes collected on behalf
of a local agency from a taxpayer whose property has been annexed to
a second local agency but was not detached from the first local
agency due to error or inadvertence shall be deemed to have been
erroneously collected for purposes of Section 5096 if the governing
board of the first local agency makes a finding by resolution that
detachment proceedings were not commenced due to excusable neglect.
If the first local agency is a fire protection district the governing
body of the annexing agency may make the finding by resolution that
detachment proceedings were not commenced following annexation due to
excusable neglect. For purposes of determining the amount of the
refund the property shall be deemed to have been detached from the
first local agency on the date annexation proceedings were completed.
This section shall not apply to taxes which would be collectible
under authority of Government Code Section 56492 even though the
annexed property had been detached from the special district.
5096.3. (a) To dispose of certain lawsuits and assessment appeals
that have been filed, and to preclude the filing of other claims
relating to (1) the assessment, equalization, and assessability of
certain possessory interests in publicly owned airports and (2)
aircraft valuation and equalization by Alaska Airlines, Inc.,
American Airlines, Inc., Continental Airlines, Inc., Delta Air Lines,
Inc., Federal Express Corporation, Northwest Airlines, Inc., Trans
World Airlines, Inc., United Airlines, Inc., United Parcel Service,
U.S. Airways, Inc., Wings West Airlines, Southwest Airlines, America
West Airlines, in their own right or as successors in interest,
counties shall provide future tax credits in the following amounts:
Alameda................ $ 4,455,110
Contra Costa............ 1,000
El Dorado............... 1,000
Fresno.................. 264,630
Humboldt................ 500
Kern.................... 33,540
Los Angeles............. 18,335,720
Monterey................ 148,560
Orange.................. 2,916,995
Riverside............... 435,780
Sacramento.............. 1,070,185
San Bernardino.......... 1,991,405
San Diego............... 4,262,610
San Joaquin............. 1,000
San Mateo............... 13,544,005
Santa Barbara........... 167,880
Santa Clara............. 2,369,080
Solano.................. 1,000
(b) The credits identified in subdivision (a) will be allowed in
equal amounts for the 1998-99 fiscal year to the 2002-03 fiscal year,
inclusive, and may be credited by the counties against one or more
tax bills of the airline entitled to the credit. The credits
identified in subdivision (a) shall be allocated among the airlines
in accordance with a schedule to be established and agreed upon by
the airlines identified in subdivision (a). The airlines shall,
through a designated representative, provide to each county listed in
subdivision (a), before the effective date of this measure, the
detail of the allocation of the credits among the various airlines.
In no instance shall a county be required to provide a credit to any
airline in any year that exceeds the total tax due from that airline
to that county for that year. The airlines' designated representative
may submit revised instructions not later than June 30 preceding the
beginning of the fiscal year in which the credits are to be
adjusted, but in no event may the credit for any county in any year
be increased beyond the levels set out in subdivisions (a) and (b)
for any fiscal year.
(c) In addition to the credits provided in subdivision (a), each
county shall allow a credit against any escape assessment upon
certificated aircraft levied on or after April 1, 1998, under
subdivision (b) of Section 401.15 for tax years up to and including
the 1997-98 fiscal year to the extent the escape assessment is based
upon the cost established in sale/leaseback or assignment of purchase
rights transaction. The amount of the credit shall be equal to the
tax on one-half of the value increase, plus interest and penalties
attributable to use of the sale/leaseback or assignment of purchase
rights transaction amount to determine value pursuant to subdivision
(b) of Section 401.15.
(d) Upon enrollment of any escape assessment contemplated in
subdivision (a) of Section 401.15, the county assessor shall provide
the county auditor with the information necessary to calculate the
credit required in subdivision (c) of this section.
(e) No county shall be required to provide the credits specified
in subdivisions (a) and (b) unless all airlines named in subdivision
(a) who also have assessments in that county have entered into a
settlement agreement or executed a waiver with that county. No county
shall be required to provide the credits specified in subdivision
(c) unless the airline otherwise entitled to that credit has entered
into a settlement agreement or executed a waiver with that county.
The settlement agreement or waiver shall include a waiver of all
statutory and constitutional rights with respect to pending and
future challenges to valuation and equalization of certificated
aircraft through the 2003-04 fiscal year, provided that the
assessments are established in conformance with Section 401.15, and
all statutory and constitutional rights to challenge valuation,
equalization and assessability of possessory interests in publicly
owned airports (other than interests stated in a written agreement
for terminal, cargo, hangar, automobile parking lots, storage and
maintenance facilities, and other buildings and the land thereunder
leased in whole or in part by an airline), provided that the
valuations made for the 1998-99 fiscal year and thereafter are
established in conformance with Section 107.9. At the discretion of a
county, the airlines may be required to file waivers in that county
in lieu of entering into a settlement agreement. Upon the execution
of a settlement agreement or waiver by the airlines named in
subdivision (a) that also have assessments in a county, that county
listed in subdivision (a) shall be required to provide the credits
set out in this section. Nothing in this section precludes claims
concerning allocation of aircraft values.
(f) With respect to America West Airlines only, the waiver or
settlement agreement required by subdivision (e) may exclude the
claims that America West Airlines has already raised in the adversary
proceedings in the bankruptcy proceeding entitled "In Re America
West Airlines, Inc., Case No. 91-07505 PHX-RGM" against the Counties
of Orange, San Bernardino, Sacramento, San Mateo, Alameda, and San
Diego, provided that the settlement agreements or waivers under
subdivision (e) provide that the resolution of any of America West's
adversary claims will have no legal effect for any tax year not at
issue in those adversary proceedings. This section and Sections 107.9
and 401.15 do not abrogate, rescind, preclude, or otherwise affect
any separate settlement agreement entered into prior to the effective
date of this section between a county and an airline concerning the
subject matter of this section and Sections 107.9 and 401.15 with
respect to those tax years expressly settled by any agreement as so
described. However, no settlement agreement as so described may be
used to challenge the assessment and valuation provided by these
sections for any tax year after the 1997-98 fiscal year or any tax
year not expressly settled by that agreement.
5096.5. Any taxes paid which were not erroneously or illegally
collected under the law as it existed at the time of collection, but
for which an exemption is provided by a retroactive constitutional
amendment, shall be refunded after compliance with the provisions of
this article, except that the claim for refund may be filed at any
time within four years after the date such amendment became
effective, or the date that this section became effective, whichever
is later.
5096.7. If taxes have been paid on property acquired by negotiated
purchase by any public entity designated in Section 5081 after the
commencement of the fiscal year for which the taxes are a lien on the
property, the portion of such taxes which are allocable to that part
of the fiscal year which begins on the date of apportionment
determined pursuant to Section 5082 and made uncollectible if unpaid
by virtue of Section 5086, shall be deemed erroneously collected and
shall be refunded to the person who has paid the tax, where the
person was not otherwise reimbursed for that portion of the taxes by
the public entity which acquired the property.
Refunds under this section shall be applicable to taxes paid on
either the secured or unsecured rolls.
5096.8. (a) In the case where a reduction in a base year value of
real property results in a supplemental assessment for the value of
the reduction being levied and charged to a subsequent owner of that
property, that portion of any refund, due and owing to a former owner
of that property, in the amount of the taxes on the reduction in
base value after the former owner sold or transferred ownership of
the property, shall be applied to satisfy that supplemental
assessment.
(b) Any person claiming a refund due to a reduction in base year
value shall certify under penalty of perjury whether he or she has
sold or transferred ownership of the property to any other person,
and if so, the date of sale or transfer.
(c) This section shall not apply in any county unless the board of
supervisors adopts a resolution by majority vote to make the
provisions of this section applicable in the county.
5097. (a) No order for a refund under this article shall be made,
except on a claim:
(1) Verified by the person who paid the tax, his or her guardian,
executor, or administrator.
(2) Except as provided in paragraph (3), filed within four years
after making the payment sought to be refunded, or within one year
after the mailing of notice as prescribed in Section 2635, or the
period agreed to as provided in Section 532.1, or within 60 days of
the date of the notice prescribed by subdivision (a) of Section 4836,
whichever is later.
(3) (A) Filed within one year, if an application for a reduction
in an assessment or an application for equalization of an assessment
has been filed pursuant to Section 1603 and the applicant does not
state in the application that the application is intended to
constitute a claim for a refund, of either of the following events,
whichever occurs first:
(i) After the county assessment appeals board makes a final
determination on the application for reduction in assessment or on
the application for equalization of an escape assessment of the
property, and mails a written notice of its determination to the
applicant and the notice does not advise the applicant to file a
claim for refund.
(ii) After the expiration of the time period specified in
subdivision (c) of Section 1604 if the county assessment appeals
board fails to hear evidence and fails to make a final determination
on the application for reduction in assessment or on the application
for equalization of an escape assessment of the property.
(B) Filed within six months, if an application for a reduction in
an assessment or an application for equalization of an assessment has
been filed pursuant to Section 1603 and the applicant does not state
in the application that the application is intended to constitute a
claim for a refund, after the county assessment appeals board makes a
final determination on the application for reduction in assessment
or on the application for equalization of an escape assessment, and
mails a written notice of its determination to the applicant and the
notice advises the applicant to file a claim for refund within six
months of the date of the county assessment appeals board's final
determination.
(b) An application for a reduction in an assessment filed pursuant
to Section 1603 shall also constitute a sufficient claim for refund
under this section if the applicant states in the application that
the application is intended to constitute a claim for refund. If the
applicant does not so state, he or she may thereafter and within the
period provided in paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) file a separate
claim for refund of taxes extended on the assessment which the
applicant applied to have reduced pursuant to Section 1603 or Section
1604.
(c) If an application for equalization of an escape assessment is
filed pursuant to Section 1603, a claim may be filed on any taxes
resulting from the escape assessment or the original assessment to
which the escape relates within the period provided in paragraph (3)
of subdivision (a).
5097.02. The claim shall be in writing, specifying:
(a) Whether the whole assessment is claimed to be void or, if only
a part, what portion.
(b) The grounds on which the claim is founded.
5097.03. When a claim for refund of taxes is filed, the amount of
tax computed on the portion of the assessment not in dispute shall
not be impounded.
5097.2. Notwithstanding Sections 5096 and 5097, any taxes paid
before or after delinquency may be refunded by the county tax
collector or the county auditor, within four years after the date of
payment, if:
(a) Paid more than once.
(b) The amount paid exceeds the amount due on the property as
shown on the roll.
(c) The amount paid exceeds the amount due on the property as the
result of corrections to the roll or cancellations after those taxes
were paid.
(d) In any other case, where the claim for refund is made under
penalty of perjury and is for an amount less than ten dollars ($10).
(e) The amount paid exceeds the amount due on the property as the
result of a reduction attributable to a hearing before an assessment
appeals board or an assessment hearing officer.
5099. The refund ordered by the board of supervisors may include
county taxes and taxes collected by county officers for a city or
revenue district.
5100. The part of the refund representing amounts paid to the State
shall be paid from the county general fund and, when the auditor
renders the report which he is required to make to the Controller
showing the amount due the State as of the last day of the month
preceding the settlement which the county treasurer is required to
have with the Controller, the auditor shall certify this amount
refunded to the Controller, in the form prescribed by the Controller.
On the next settlement of the county treasurer with the State, the
Controller, if satisfied of the legality of the refund, shall give
the county treasurer credit for the State's portion of the refund.
5101. Refunds ordered by the board of supervisors under this
article in respect of county taxes shall be paid by warrant drawn
upon the appropriate fund by the county auditor. Refunds ordered in
respect of revenue districts, except chartered cities, may be paid by
a warrant drawn by the county auditor, upon such available funds, if
any, as the revenue district may have on deposit in the county
treasury, or in the event such funds are insufficient, then out of
funds subsequently accruing to such revenue district and on deposit
in the county treasury. Refunds ordered in respect of chartered
cities shall be paid in the manner provided for their payment in the
charter or ordinances of the city. Neither any county nor its
officers shall refund amounts on behalf of a revenue district from
county funds.
5102. If any payment may be refunded under this article and no
claim is filed within the time allowed, the payment may be
transferred to the county general fund on order of the board of
supervisors.
5103. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a taxpayer and
the county or city and county may enter into a written settlement
agreement to substitute credits against a taxpayer's future tax
liabilities for the payment by the county or city and county to that
taxpayer of refunds of tax and any interest accrued thereon. Interest
may continue to accrue upon a substituted credit until that credit
has been fully offset against future tax liabilities. The authority
of a county or city and county to provide for tax credits in
accordance with this section shall be vested in that branch of the
county or city and county government that is authorized to settle
legal disputes on behalf of the county or city and county.
5104. Any refund of taxes or assessments authorized pursuant to
this article as a result of a reduction in the value of taxable
property or as the result of corrections to the roll or cancellations
after taxes or assessments were paid, may be paid to the latest
recorded owner of that property as shown on the tax roll, rather than
to the individual or entity who paid the amount of tax or assessment
to be refunded, if both of the following conditions are met:
(a) There has been no transfer of the property during or since the
fiscal year for which the taxes subject to refund were levied.
(b) The amount of the refund is less than five thousand dollars
($5,000).
5106. Where the taxes sought to be refunded or recovered have been
paid after delinquency, the amount of penalties, interest or costs
refundable or recoverable under this article shall be computed only
on the taxes refunded or recovered.
5107. As used in this article, "tax" or "taxes" includes penalties,
interest, and costs.
5096. Any taxes paid before or after delinquency shall be refunded
if they were:
(a) Paid more than once.
(b) Erroneously or illegally collected.
(c) Illegally assessed or levied.
(d) Paid on an assessment in excess of the ratio of assessed value
to the full value of the property as provided in Section 401 by
reason of the assessor's clerical error or excessive or improper
assessments attributable to erroneous property information supplied
by the assessee.
(e) Paid on an assessment of improvements when the improvements
did not exist on the lien date.
(f) Paid on an assessment in excess of the equalized value of the
property as determined pursuant to Section 1610.8 by the county board
of equalization.
(g) Paid on an assessment in excess of the value of the property
as determined by the assessor pursuant to Section 469.
5096.1. Except as hereinafter provided, taxes collected on behalf
of a local agency from a taxpayer whose property has been annexed to
a second local agency but was not detached from the first local
agency due to error or inadvertence shall be deemed to have been
erroneously collected for purposes of Section 5096 if the governing
board of the first local agency makes a finding by resolution that
detachment proceedings were not commenced due to excusable neglect.
If the first local agency is a fire protection district the governing
body of the annexing agency may make the finding by resolution that
detachment proceedings were not commenced following annexation due to
excusable neglect. For purposes of determining the amount of the
refund the property shall be deemed to have been detached from the
first local agency on the date annexation proceedings were completed.
This section shall not apply to taxes which would be collectible
under authority of Government Code Section 56492 even though the
annexed property had been detached from the special district.
5096.3. (a) To dispose of certain lawsuits and assessment appeals
that have been filed, and to preclude the filing of other claims
relating to (1) the assessment, equalization, and assessability of
certain possessory interests in publicly owned airports and (2)
aircraft valuation and equalization by Alaska Airlines, Inc.,
American Airlines, Inc., Continental Airlines, Inc., Delta Air Lines,
Inc., Federal Express Corporation, Northwest Airlines, Inc., Trans
World Airlines, Inc., United Airlines, Inc., United Parcel Service,
U.S. Airways, Inc., Wings West Airlines, Southwest Airlines, America
West Airlines, in their own right or as successors in interest,
counties shall provide future tax credits in the following amounts:
Alameda................ $ 4,455,110
Contra Costa............ 1,000
El Dorado............... 1,000
Fresno.................. 264,630
Humboldt................ 500
Kern.................... 33,540
Los Angeles............. 18,335,720
Monterey................ 148,560
Orange.................. 2,916,995
Riverside............... 435,780
Sacramento.............. 1,070,185
San Bernardino.......... 1,991,405
San Diego............... 4,262,610
San Joaquin............. 1,000
San Mateo............... 13,544,005
Santa Barbara........... 167,880
Santa Clara............. 2,369,080
Solano.................. 1,000
(b) The credits identified in subdivision (a) will be allowed in
equal amounts for the 1998-99 fiscal year to the 2002-03 fiscal year,
inclusive, and may be credited by the counties against one or more
tax bills of the airline entitled to the credit. The credits
identified in subdivision (a) shall be allocated among the airlines
in accordance with a schedule to be established and agreed upon by
the airlines identified in subdivision (a). The airlines shall,
through a designated representative, provide to each county listed in
subdivision (a), before the effective date of this measure, the
detail of the allocation of the credits among the various airlines.
In no instance shall a county be required to provide a credit to any
airline in any year that exceeds the total tax due from that airline
to that county for that year. The airlines' designated representative
may submit revised instructions not later than June 30 preceding the
beginning of the fiscal year in which the credits are to be
adjusted, but in no event may the credit for any county in any year
be increased beyond the levels set out in subdivisions (a) and (b)
for any fiscal year.
(c) In addition to the credits provided in subdivision (a), each
county shall allow a credit against any escape assessment upon
certificated aircraft levied on or after April 1, 1998, under
subdivision (b) of Section 401.15 for tax years up to and including
the 1997-98 fiscal year to the extent the escape assessment is based
upon the cost established in sale/leaseback or assignment of purchase
rights transaction. The amount of the credit shall be equal to the
tax on one-half of the value increase, plus interest and penalties
attributable to use of the sale/leaseback or assignment of purchase
rights transaction amount to determine value pursuant to subdivision
(b) of Section 401.15.
(d) Upon enrollment of any escape assessment contemplated in
subdivision (a) of Section 401.15, the county assessor shall provide
the county auditor with the information necessary to calculate the
credit required in subdivision (c) of this section.
(e) No county shall be required to provide the credits specified
in subdivisions (a) and (b) unless all airlines named in subdivision
(a) who also have assessments in that county have entered into a
settlement agreement or executed a waiver with that county. No county
shall be required to provide the credits specified in subdivision
(c) unless the airline otherwise entitled to that credit has entered
into a settlement agreement or executed a waiver with that county.
The settlement agreement or waiver shall include a waiver of all
statutory and constitutional rights with respect to pending and
future challenges to valuation and equalization of certificated
aircraft through the 2003-04 fiscal year, provided that the
assessments are established in conformance with Section 401.15, and
all statutory and constitutional rights to challenge valuation,
equalization and assessability of possessory interests in publicly
owned airports (other than interests stated in a written agreement
for terminal, cargo, hangar, automobile parking lots, storage and
maintenance facilities, and other buildings and the land thereunder
leased in whole or in part by an airline), provided that the
valuations made for the 1998-99 fiscal year and thereafter are
established in conformance with Section 107.9. At the discretion of a
county, the airlines may be required to file waivers in that county
in lieu of entering into a settlement agreement. Upon the execution
of a settlement agreement or waiver by the airlines named in
subdivision (a) that also have assessments in a county, that county
listed in subdivision (a) shall be required to provide the credits
set out in this section. Nothing in this section precludes claims
concerning allocation of aircraft values.
(f) With respect to America West Airlines only, the waiver or
settlement agreement required by subdivision (e) may exclude the
claims that America West Airlines has already raised in the adversary
proceedings in the bankruptcy proceeding entitled "In Re America
West Airlines, Inc., Case No. 91-07505 PHX-RGM" against the Counties
of Orange, San Bernardino, Sacramento, San Mateo, Alameda, and San
Diego, provided that the settlement agreements or waivers under
subdivision (e) provide that the resolution of any of America West's
adversary claims will have no legal effect for any tax year not at
issue in those adversary proceedings. This section and Sections 107.9
and 401.15 do not abrogate, rescind, preclude, or otherwise affect
any separate settlement agreement entered into prior to the effective
date of this section between a county and an airline concerning the
subject matter of this section and Sections 107.9 and 401.15 with
respect to those tax years expressly settled by any agreement as so
described. However, no settlement agreement as so described may be
used to challenge the assessment and valuation provided by these
sections for any tax year after the 1997-98 fiscal year or any tax
year not expressly settled by that agreement.
5096.5. Any taxes paid which were not erroneously or illegally
collected under the law as it existed at the time of collection, but
for which an exemption is provided by a retroactive constitutional
amendment, shall be refunded after compliance with the provisions of
this article, except that the claim for refund may be filed at any
time within four years after the date such amendment became
effective, or the date that this section became effective, whichever
is later.
5096.7. If taxes have been paid on property acquired by negotiated
purchase by any public entity designated in Section 5081 after the
commencement of the fiscal year for which the taxes are a lien on the
property, the portion of such taxes which are allocable to that part
of the fiscal year which begins on the date of apportionment
determined pursuant to Section 5082 and made uncollectible if unpaid
by virtue of Section 5086, shall be deemed erroneously collected and
shall be refunded to the person who has paid the tax, where the
person was not otherwise reimbursed for that portion of the taxes by
the public entity which acquired the property.
Refunds under this section shall be applicable to taxes paid on
either the secured or unsecured rolls.
5096.8. (a) In the case where a reduction in a base year value of
real property results in a supplemental assessment for the value of
the reduction being levied and charged to a subsequent owner of that
property, that portion of any refund, due and owing to a former owner
of that property, in the amount of the taxes on the reduction in
base value after the former owner sold or transferred ownership of
the property, shall be applied to satisfy that supplemental
assessment.
(b) Any person claiming a refund due to a reduction in base year
value shall certify under penalty of perjury whether he or she has
sold or transferred ownership of the property to any other person,
and if so, the date of sale or transfer.
(c) This section shall not apply in any county unless the board of
supervisors adopts a resolution by majority vote to make the
provisions of this section applicable in the county.
5097. (a) No order for a refund under this article shall be made,
except on a claim:
(1) Verified by the person who paid the tax, his or her guardian,
executor, or administrator.
(2) Except as provided in paragraph (3), filed within four years
after making the payment sought to be refunded, or within one year
after the mailing of notice as prescribed in Section 2635, or the
period agreed to as provided in Section 532.1, or within 60 days of
the date of the notice prescribed by subdivision (a) of Section 4836,
whichever is later.
(3) (A) Filed within one year, if an application for a reduction
in an assessment or an application for equalization of an assessment
has been filed pursuant to Section 1603 and the applicant does not
state in the application that the application is intended to
constitute a claim for a refund, of either of the following events,
whichever occurs first:
(i) After the county assessment appeals board makes a final
determination on the application for reduction in assessment or on
the application for equalization of an escape assessment of the
property, and mails a written notice of its determination to the
applicant and the notice does not advise the applicant to file a
claim for refund.
(ii) After the expiration of the time period specified in
subdivision (c) of Section 1604 if the county assessment appeals
board fails to hear evidence and fails to make a final determination
on the application for reduction in assessment or on the application
for equalization of an escape assessment of the property.
(B) Filed within six months, if an application for a reduction in
an assessment or an application for equalization of an assessment has
been filed pursuant to Section 1603 and the applicant does not state
in the application that the application is intended to constitute a
claim for a refund, after the county assessment appeals board makes a
final determination on the application for reduction in assessment
or on the application for equalization of an escape assessment, and
mails a written notice of its determination to the applicant and the
notice advises the applicant to file a claim for refund within six
months of the date of the county assessment appeals board's final
determination.
(b) An application for a reduction in an assessment filed pursuant
to Section 1603 shall also constitute a sufficient claim for refund
under this section if the applicant states in the application that
the application is intended to constitute a claim for refund. If the
applicant does not so state, he or she may thereafter and within the
period provided in paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) file a separate
claim for refund of taxes extended on the assessment which the
applicant applied to have reduced pursuant to Section 1603 or Section
1604.
(c) If an application for equalization of an escape assessment is
filed pursuant to Section 1603, a claim may be filed on any taxes
resulting from the escape assessment or the original assessment to
which the escape relates within the period provided in paragraph (3)
of subdivision (a).
5097.02. The claim shall be in writing, specifying:
(a) Whether the whole assessment is claimed to be void or, if only
a part, what portion.
(b) The grounds on which the claim is founded.
5097.03. When a claim for refund of taxes is filed, the amount of
tax computed on the portion of the assessment not in dispute shall
not be impounded.
5097.2. Notwithstanding Sections 5096 and 5097, any taxes paid
before or after delinquency may be refunded by the county tax
collector or the county auditor, within four years after the date of
payment, if:
(a) Paid more than once.
(b) The amount paid exceeds the amount due on the property as
shown on the roll.
(c) The amount paid exceeds the amount due on the property as the
result of corrections to the roll or cancellations after those taxes
were paid.
(d) In any other case, where the claim for refund is made under
penalty of perjury and is for an amount less than ten dollars ($10).
(e) The amount paid exceeds the amount due on the property as the
result of a reduction attributable to a hearing before an assessment
appeals board or an assessment hearing officer.
5099. The refund ordered by the board of supervisors may include
county taxes and taxes collected by county officers for a city or
revenue district.
5100. The part of the refund representing amounts paid to the State
shall be paid from the county general fund and, when the auditor
renders the report which he is required to make to the Controller
showing the amount due the State as of the last day of the month
preceding the settlement which the county treasurer is required to
have with the Controller, the auditor shall certify this amount
refunded to the Controller, in the form prescribed by the Controller.
On the next settlement of the county treasurer with the State, the
Controller, if satisfied of the legality of the refund, shall give
the county treasurer credit for the State's portion of the refund.
5101. Refunds ordered by the board of supervisors under this
article in respect of county taxes shall be paid by warrant drawn
upon the appropriate fund by the county auditor. Refunds ordered in
respect of revenue districts, except chartered cities, may be paid by
a warrant drawn by the county auditor, upon such available funds, if
any, as the revenue district may have on deposit in the county
treasury, or in the event such funds are insufficient, then out of
funds subsequently accruing to such revenue district and on deposit
in the county treasury. Refunds ordered in respect of chartered
cities shall be paid in the manner provided for their payment in the
charter or ordinances of the city. Neither any county nor its
officers shall refund amounts on behalf of a revenue district from
county funds.
5102. If any payment may be refunded under this article and no
claim is filed within the time allowed, the payment may be
transferred to the county general fund on order of the board of
supervisors.
5103. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a taxpayer and
the county or city and county may enter into a written settlement
agreement to substitute credits against a taxpayer's future tax
liabilities for the payment by the county or city and county to that
taxpayer of refunds of tax and any interest accrued thereon. Interest
may continue to accrue upon a substituted credit until that credit
has been fully offset against future tax liabilities. The authority
of a county or city and county to provide for tax credits in
accordance with this section shall be vested in that branch of the
county or city and county government that is authorized to settle
legal disputes on behalf of the county or city and county.
5104. Any refund of taxes or assessments authorized pursuant to
this article as a result of a reduction in the value of taxable
property or as the result of corrections to the roll or cancellations
after taxes or assessments were paid, may be paid to the latest
recorded owner of that property as shown on the tax roll, rather than
to the individual or entity who paid the amount of tax or assessment
to be refunded, if both of the following conditions are met:
(a) There has been no transfer of the property during or since the
fiscal year for which the taxes subject to refund were levied.
(b) The amount of the refund is less than five thousand dollars
($5,000).
5106. Where the taxes sought to be refunded or recovered have been
paid after delinquency, the amount of penalties, interest or costs
refundable or recoverable under this article shall be computed only
on the taxes refunded or recovered.
5107. As used in this article, "tax" or "taxes" includes penalties,
interest, and costs.
5096. Any taxes paid before or after delinquency shall be refunded
if they were:
(a) Paid more than once.
(b) Erroneously or illegally collected.
(c) Illegally assessed or levied.
(d) Paid on an assessment in excess of the ratio of assessed value
to the full value of the property as provided in Section 401 by
reason of the assessor's clerical error or excessive or improper
assessments attributable to erroneous property information supplied
by the assessee.
(e) Paid on an assessment of improvements when the improvements
did not exist on the lien date.
(f) Paid on an assessment in excess of the equalized value of the
property as determined pursuant to Section 1610.8 by the county board
of equalization.
(g) Paid on an assessment in excess of the value of the property
as determined by the assessor pursuant to Section 469.
5096.1. Except as hereinafter provided, taxes collected on behalf
of a local agency from a taxpayer whose property has been annexed to
a second local agency but was not detached from the first local
agency due to error or inadvertence shall be deemed to have been
erroneously collected for purposes of Section 5096 if the governing
board of the first local agency makes a finding by resolution that
detachment proceedings were not commenced due to excusable neglect.
If the first local agency is a fire protection district the governing
body of the annexing agency may make the finding by resolution that
detachment proceedings were not commenced following annexation due to
excusable neglect. For purposes of determining the amount of the
refund the property shall be deemed to have been detached from the
first local agency on the date annexation proceedings were completed.
This section shall not apply to taxes which would be collectible
under authority of Government Code Section 56492 even though the
annexed property had been detached from the special district.
5096.3. (a) To dispose of certain lawsuits and assessment appeals
that have been filed, and to preclude the filing of other claims
relating to (1) the assessment, equalization, and assessability of
certain possessory interests in publicly owned airports and (2)
aircraft valuation and equalization by Alaska Airlines, Inc.,
American Airlines, Inc., Continental Airlines, Inc., Delta Air Lines,
Inc., Federal Express Corporation, Northwest Airlines, Inc., Trans
World Airlines, Inc., United Airlines, Inc., United Parcel Service,
U.S. Airways, Inc., Wings West Airlines, Southwest Airlines, America
West Airlines, in their own right or as successors in interest,
counties shall provide future tax credits in the following amounts:
Alameda................ $ 4,455,110
Contra Costa............ 1,000
El Dorado............... 1,000
Fresno.................. 264,630
Humboldt................ 500
Kern.................... 33,540
Los Angeles............. 18,335,720
Monterey................ 148,560
Orange.................. 2,916,995
Riverside............... 435,780
Sacramento.............. 1,070,185
San Bernardino.......... 1,991,405
San Diego............... 4,262,610
San Joaquin............. 1,000
San Mateo............... 13,544,005
Santa Barbara........... 167,880
Santa Clara............. 2,369,080
Solano.................. 1,000
(b) The credits identified in subdivision (a) will be allowed in
equal amounts for the 1998-99 fiscal year to the 2002-03 fiscal year,
inclusive, and may be credited by the counties against one or more
tax bills of the airline entitled to the credit. The credits
identified in subdivision (a) shall be allocated among the airlines
in accordance with a schedule to be established and agreed upon by
the airlines identified in subdivision (a). The airlines shall,
through a designated representative, provide to each county listed in
subdivision (a), before the effective date of this measure, the
detail of the allocation of the credits among the various airlines.
In no instance shall a county be required to provide a credit to any
airline in any year that exceeds the total tax due from that airline
to that county for that year. The airlines' designated representative
may submit revised instructions not later than June 30 preceding the
beginning of the fiscal year in which the credits are to be
adjusted, but in no event may the credit for any county in any year
be increased beyond the levels set out in subdivisions (a) and (b)
for any fiscal year.
(c) In addition to the credits provided in subdivision (a), each
county shall allow a credit against any escape assessment upon
certificated aircraft levied on or after April 1, 1998, under
subdivision (b) of Section 401.15 for tax years up to and including
the 1997-98 fiscal year to the extent the escape assessment is based
upon the cost established in sale/leaseback or assignment of purchase
rights transaction. The amount of the credit shall be equal to the
tax on one-half of the value increase, plus interest and penalties
attributable to use of the sale/leaseback or assignment of purchase
rights transaction amount to determine value pursuant to subdivision
(b) of Section 401.15.
(d) Upon enrollment of any escape assessment contemplated in
subdivision (a) of Section 401.15, the county assessor shall provide
the county auditor with the information necessary to calculate the
credit required in subdivision (c) of this section.
(e) No county shall be required to provide the credits specified
in subdivisions (a) and (b) unless all airlines named in subdivision
(a) who also have assessments in that county have entered into a
settlement agreement or executed a waiver with that county. No county
shall be required to provide the credits specified in subdivision
(c) unless the airline otherwise entitled to that credit has entered
into a settlement agreement or executed a waiver with that county.
The settlement agreement or waiver shall include a waiver of all
statutory and constitutional rights with respect to pending and
future challenges to valuation and equalization of certificated
aircraft through the 2003-04 fiscal year, provided that the
assessments are established in conformance with Section 401.15, and
all statutory and constitutional rights to challenge valuation,
equalization and assessability of possessory interests in publicly
owned airports (other than interests stated in a written agreement
for terminal, cargo, hangar, automobile parking lots, storage and
maintenance facilities, and other buildings and the land thereunder
leased in whole or in part by an airline), provided that the
valuations made for the 1998-99 fiscal year and thereafter are
established in conformance with Section 107.9. At the discretion of a
county, the airlines may be required to file waivers in that county
in lieu of entering into a settlement agreement. Upon the execution
of a settlement agreement or waiver by the airlines named in
subdivision (a) that also have assessments in a county, that county
listed in subdivision (a) shall be required to provide the credits
set out in this section. Nothing in this section precludes claims
concerning allocation of aircraft values.
(f) With respect to America West Airlines only, the waiver or
settlement agreement required by subdivision (e) may exclude the
claims that America West Airlines has already raised in the adversary
proceedings in the bankruptcy proceeding entitled "In Re America
West Airlines, Inc., Case No. 91-07505 PHX-RGM" against the Counties
of Orange, San Bernardino, Sacramento, San Mateo, Alameda, and San
Diego, provided that the settlement agreements or waivers under
subdivision (e) provide that the resolution of any of America West's
adversary claims will have no legal effect for any tax year not at
issue in those adversary proceedings. This section and Sections 107.9
and 401.15 do not abrogate, rescind, preclude, or otherwise affect
any separate settlement agreement entered into prior to the effective
date of this section between a county and an airline concerning the
subject matter of this section and Sections 107.9 and 401.15 with
respect to those tax years expressly settled by any agreement as so
described. However, no settlement agreement as so described may be
used to challenge the assessment and valuation provided by these
sections for any tax year after the 1997-98 fiscal year or any tax
year not expressly settled by that agreement.
5096.5. Any taxes paid which were not erroneously or illegally
collected under the law as it existed at the time of collection, but
for which an exemption is provided by a retroactive constitutional
amendment, shall be refunded after compliance with the provisions of
this article, except that the claim for refund may be filed at any
time within four years after the date such amendment became
effective, or the date that this section became effective, whichever
is later.
5096.7. If taxes have been paid on property acquired by negotiated
purchase by any public entity designated in Section 5081 after the
commencement of the fiscal year for which the taxes are a lien on the
property, the portion of such taxes which are allocable to that part
of the fiscal year which begins on the date of apportionment
determined pursuant to Section 5082 and made uncollectible if unpaid
by virtue of Section 5086, shall be deemed erroneously collected and
shall be refunded to the person who has paid the tax, where the
person was not otherwise reimbursed for that portion of the taxes by
the public entity which acquired the property.
Refunds under this section shall be applicable to taxes paid on
either the secured or unsecured rolls.
5096.8. (a) In the case where a reduction in a base year value of
real property results in a supplemental assessment for the value of
the reduction being levied and charged to a subsequent owner of that
property, that portion of any refund, due and owing to a former owner
of that property, in the amount of the taxes on the reduction in
base value after the former owner sold or transferred ownership of
the property, shall be applied to satisfy that supplemental
assessment.
(b) Any person claiming a refund due to a reduction in base year
value shall certify under penalty of perjury whether he or she has
sold or transferred ownership of the property to any other person,
and if so, the date of sale or transfer.
(c) This section shall not apply in any county unless the board of
supervisors adopts a resolution by majority vote to make the
provisions of this section applicable in the county.
5097. (a) No order for a refund under this article shall be made,
except on a claim:
(1) Verified by the person who paid the tax, his or her guardian,
executor, or administrator.
(2) Except as provided in paragraph (3), filed within four years
after making the payment sought to be refunded, or within one year
after the mailing of notice as prescribed in Section 2635, or the
period agreed to as provided in Section 532.1, or within 60 days of
the date of the notice prescribed by subdivision (a) of Section 4836,
whichever is later.
(3) (A) Filed within one year, if an application for a reduction
in an assessment or an application for equalization of an assessment
has been filed pursuant to Section 1603 and the applicant does not
state in the application that the application is intended to
constitute a claim for a refund, of either of the following events,
whichever occurs first:
(i) After the county assessment appeals board makes a final
determination on the application for reduction in assessment or on
the application for equalization of an escape assessment of the
property, and mails a written notice of its determination to the
applicant and the notice does not advise the applicant to file a
claim for refund.
(ii) After the expiration of the time period specified in
subdivision (c) of Section 1604 if the county assessment appeals
board fails to hear evidence and fails to make a final determination
on the application for reduction in assessment or on the application
for equalization of an escape assessment of the property.
(B) Filed within six months, if an application for a reduction in
an assessment or an application for equalization of an assessment has
been filed pursuant to Section 1603 and the applicant does not state
in the application that the application is intended to constitute a
claim for a refund, after the county assessment appeals board makes a
final determination on the application for reduction in assessment
or on the application for equalization of an escape assessment, and
mails a written notice of its determination to the applicant and the
notice advises the applicant to file a claim for refund within six
months of the date of the county assessment appeals board's final
determination.
(b) An application for a reduction in an assessment filed pursuant
to Section 1603 shall also constitute a sufficient claim for refund
under this section if the applicant states in the application that
the application is intended to constitute a claim for refund. If the
applicant does not so state, he or she may thereafter and within the
period provided in paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) file a separate
claim for refund of taxes extended on the assessment which the
applicant applied to have reduced pursuant to Section 1603 or Section
1604.
(c) If an application for equalization of an escape assessment is
filed pursuant to Section 1603, a claim may be filed on any taxes
resulting from the escape assessment or the original assessment to
which the escape relates within the period provided in paragraph (3)
of subdivision (a).
5097.02. The claim shall be in writing, specifying:
(a) Whether the whole assessment is claimed to be void or, if only
a part, what portion.
(b) The grounds on which the claim is founded.
5097.03. When a claim for refund of taxes is filed, the amount of
tax computed on the portion of the assessment not in dispute shall
not be impounded.
5097.2. Notwithstanding Sections 5096 and 5097, any taxes paid
before or after delinquency may be refunded by the county tax
collector or the county auditor, within four years after the date of
payment, if:
(a) Paid more than once.
(b) The amount paid exceeds the amount due on the property as
shown on the roll.
(c) The amount paid exceeds the amount due on the property as the
result of corrections to the roll or cancellations after those taxes
were paid.
(d) In any other case, where the claim for refund is made under
penalty of perjury and is for an amount less than ten dollars ($10).
(e) The amount paid exceeds the amount due on the property as the
result of a reduction attributable to a hearing before an assessment
appeals board or an assessment hearing officer.
5099. The refund ordered by the board of supervisors may include
county taxes and taxes collected by county officers for a city or
revenue district.
5100. The part of the refund representing amounts paid to the State
shall be paid from the county general fund and, when the auditor
renders the report which he is required to make to the Controller
showing the amount due the State as of the last day of the month
preceding the settlement which the county treasurer is required to
have with the Controller, the auditor shall certify this amount
refunded to the Controller, in the form prescribed by the Controller.
On the next settlement of the county treasurer with the State, the
Controller, if satisfied of the legality of the refund, shall give
the county treasurer credit for the State's portion of the refund.
5101. Refunds ordered by the board of supervisors under this
article in respect of county taxes shall be paid by warrant drawn
upon the appropriate fund by the county auditor. Refunds ordered in
respect of revenue districts, except chartered cities, may be paid by
a warrant drawn by the county auditor, upon such available funds, if
any, as the revenue district may have on deposit in the county
treasury, or in the event such funds are insufficient, then out of
funds subsequently accruing to such revenue district and on deposit
in the county treasury. Refunds ordered in respect of chartered
cities shall be paid in the manner provided for their payment in the
charter or ordinances of the city. Neither any county nor its
officers shall refund amounts on behalf of a revenue district from
county funds.
5102. If any payment may be refunded under this article and no
claim is filed within the time allowed, the payment may be
transferred to the county general fund on order of the board of
supervisors.
5103. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a taxpayer and
the county or city and county may enter into a written settlement
agreement to substitute credits against a taxpayer's future tax
liabilities for the payment by the county or city and county to that
taxpayer of refunds of tax and any interest accrued thereon. Interest
may continue to accrue upon a substituted credit until that credit
has been fully offset against future tax liabilities. The authority
of a county or city and county to provide for tax credits in
accordance with this section shall be vested in that branch of the
county or city and county government that is authorized to settle
legal disputes on behalf of the county or city and county.
5104. Any refund of taxes or assessments authorized pursuant to
this article as a result of a reduction in the value of taxable
property or as the result of corrections to the roll or cancellations
after taxes or assessments were paid, may be paid to the latest
recorded owner of that property as shown on the tax roll, rather than
to the individual or entity who paid the amount of tax or assessment
to be refunded, if both of the following conditions are met:
(a) There has been no transfer of the property during or since the
fiscal year for which the taxes subject to refund were levied.
(b) The amount of the refund is less than five thousand dollars
($5,000).
5106. Where the taxes sought to be refunded or recovered have been
paid after delinquency, the amount of penalties, interest or costs
refundable or recoverable under this article shall be computed only
on the taxes refunded or recovered.
5107. As used in this article, "tax" or "taxes" includes penalties,
interest, and costs.
