New Jersey Statutes 54:4-23.14. Application form; contents; violations, penalties
Terms Used In New Jersey Statutes 54:4-23.14
- assessor: when used in relation to the assessment of taxes or water rents or other public assessments, includes all officers, boards or commissions charged with the duty of making such assessments, unless a particular officer, board or commission is specified. See New Jersey Statutes 1:1-2
- Devise: To gift property by will.
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- State: extends to and includes any State, territory or possession of the United States, the District of Columbia and the Canal Zone. See New Jersey Statutes 1:1-2
- sworn: includes "affirmed. See New Jersey Statutes 1:1-2
In the case of land that is the subject of a forest stewardship plan approved by the Department of Environmental Protection pursuant to section 3 of P.L.2009, c.256 (C. 13:1L-31) which is fully implemented, and otherwise qualifies under the “Farmland Assessment Act of 1964,” P.L.1964, c.48 (C. 54:4-23.1 et seq.), for valuation, assessment and taxation as land in agricultural or horticultural use pursuant to section 3 of P.L.1964, c.48 (C. 54:4-23.3), no proofs required pursuant to this subsection of gross sales, payments, fees, or imputed income, or of clear evidence of anticipated yearly gross sales, payments, fees, or imputed income, need be included with the form or otherwise submitted. However, the applicant shall include documentation demonstrating implementation of the forest stewardship plan, including documentation of scheduled activities, a forest inventory and yield parameters to document forest productivity, and inspections performed, in accordance with rules and regulations adopted for the forest stewardship program by the Department of Environmental Protection.
b. A certification by the landowner that the facts set forth in the application are true may be prescribed by the director to be in lieu of a sworn statement to that effect. Statements so certified shall be considered as if made under oath and subject to the same penalties as provided by law for perjury.
In addition, for a gross and intentional misrepresentation on the application, the landowner shall be subject to a civil penalty of up to $5,000. Any such civil penalty may be imposed and collected by the municipality, the county, or the State, with costs, in a summary proceeding pursuant to the “Penalty Enforcement Law of 1999,” P.L.1999, c.274 (C. 2A:58-10 et seq.). The Superior Court and the municipal court shall have jurisdiction to enforce the provisions of the “Penalty Enforcement Law of 1999” in connection with this subsection. One-half of any civil penalties so collected by a municipality or county shall be dedicated and used by the municipality or county in administering and enforcing the provisions of the “Farmland Assessment Act of 1964,” P.L.1964, c.48 (C. 54:4-23.1 et seq.) in the municipality or county. The remaining one-half of any civil penalties so collected by a municipality or county shall be paid by the municipality or county to the State, and together with any civil penalties so collected directly by the State, shall be dedicated and used by the Department of Agriculture and the Division of Taxation in administering and enforcing the provisions of P.L.1964, c.48.
c. Any landowner, except those who have submitted a woodland management plan or a forest stewardship plan pursuant to section 3 of P.L.1964, c.48 (C. 54:4-23.3), who is an applicant for valuation, assessment and taxation pursuant to P.L.1964, c.48 (C. 54:4-23.1 et seq.) for lands not previously qualified under P.L.1964, c.48 shall submit with the application a map of land use classes and soil groups that conforms with standards established by the Division of Taxation in consultation with the State Board of Agriculture.
d. For any landowner whose farm management unit is less than seven acres in size, the landowner shall submit with the application form a narrative describing the agricultural or horticultural uses on the farm management unit, the number of acres that will be actively devoted to those uses, and a sketch of the location on the farm management unit of those uses. For the purposes of this subsection, “farm management unit” means a parcel or parcels of land, whether contiguous or noncontiguous, together with agricultural or horticultural buildings, structures and facilities, producing agricultural or horticultural products, and operated as a single enterprise.
e. The director, after consultation with the State Board of Agriculture, shall include with each application a letter or other document explaining any changes to the law, rules, regulations, and guidelines on the valuation, assessment and taxation of land pursuant to P.L.1964, c.48 (C. 54:4-23.1 et seq.) that have occurred in the prior tax year and which shall be newly in effect in the tax year for which the application is being submitted.
f. The director shall devise a form for the extension of filing time for the valuation application, which form shall include the name and address of the applicant, the reason for the extension, and a space for the approval or rejection of the assessor.
L.1964, c.48, s.14; amended 1987, c.418, s.4; 1995, c.276, s.7; 2009, c.256, s.15; 2013, c.43, s.4.