RETURNS



 



§246-40  Returns, made when; form; open to
public.  Whenever the department of taxation finds that the filing of
returns under this paragraph is advisable for the making of assessments and so
orders, the assessor shall give, to the taxpayers of the assessor's district
during the month of December of the year the order is made, public notice at
least three times on different days during the month, in the district requiring
the taxpayers to file with the assessor, on or before January 15 of the succeeding
year, returns in the manner and form required by this section.  After the
notice, every person owning, or having possession, custody, or control of, real
property in the district, whether entitled to exemption or not, during the
month of January, shall file upon forms prescribed by the department and in the
manner required by the forms, a return signed as provided in section 231-15
setting forth the description and location of all real property in the district
belonging to the person or of which the person had possession, custody, or
control on January 1, and setting forth the taxpayer's opinion of the fair
market value thereof as of January 1.  It shall be sufficient to describe the
person's property by setting forth the location and a brief description in
sufficient detail to identify the property.



Whenever the department shall determine that
there are not sufficient evidences of value to form the basis of a sound
appraisal, for assessment purposes, of the value of the real property or real
properties, or portions thereof, of any taxpayer upon notice of not less than
thirty days, it may require the taxpayer to file a return as described in the
foregoing paragraph.



All returns made under this section shall be
open to inspection by the public, and shall be admissible in evidence against
the person making the return, in any state court in any action wherein the
value of the real property, or portion thereof, covered by the return, may be
in dispute.



Returns made under this section shall be taken
into consideration by the tax assessor in making appraisals for assessment
purposes; the opinion of any taxpayer as to fair market value shall not be
binding upon the assessor, but no taxpayer shall be deemed to be aggrieved by
any assessment made upon the taxpayer's property which is based upon the
opinion of value set forth in the taxpayer's return unless the taxpayer shows
lack of uniformity or inequality as set forth in section 232-3.  The opinion of
value shall constitute a rebuttable presumption that the fair market value of
the real property on the date of the return was not greater than the value
stated in the return in any subsequent proceeding brought to condemn the
property or any part thereof for public purposes.



Failure to file a return required under this
section shall render the taxpayer liable for payment of an added tax as defined
in and prescribed by section 231-39(b)(1). [L 1932 2d, c 40, §28; RL 1935,
§1928; am L 1939, c 208, §2; am L 1943, c 4, §§1 to 5; RL 1945, §5155; RL 1955,
§128-23; am L Sp 1957, c 1, §14(f); am L Sp 1959 1st, c 28, §13; am L Sp 1959
2d, c 1, §16; am L 1963, c 143, §2; am L 1967, c 37, §1; HRS §246-40; am L
1969, c 170, §18; am L 1975, c 157, §18; gen ch 1985; am L 1998, c 2, §68]



 



Case Notes



 



  Cited:  33 H. 214,
215; 34 H. 515, 530.