Louisiana Revised Statutes 47:1989 – A. Within ten days of receipt of the assessment lists as certified by the local board of review, the tax commission shall conduct public hearings to hear real and personal property a
Terms Used In Louisiana Revised Statutes 47:1989
- Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
- Appraisal: A determination of property value.
- Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
- Docket: A log containing brief entries of court proceedings.
- 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.
- Personal property: All property that is not real property.
- Property: includes every form, character and kind of property, real, personal, and mixed, tangible and intangible, corporeal and incorporeal, and every share, right, title or interest therein or thereto, and every right, privilege, franchise, patent, copyright, trade-mark, certificate, or other evidence of ownership or interest; bonds, notes, judgments, credits, accounts, or other evidence of indebtedness, and every other thing of value, in possession, on hand, or under the control, at any time during the calendar year for which taxes are levied, within the State of Louisiana, of any person, firm, partnership, association of persons, or corporation, foreign or domestic whether the same be held, possessed, or controlled, as owner, agent, pledgee, mortgagee, or legal representative, or as president, cashier, treasurer, liquidator, assignee, master, superintendent, manager, sequestrator, receiver, trustee, stakeholder, depository, warehouseman, keeper, curator, executor, administrator, legatee, heir, beneficiary, parent, attorney, usufructuary, mandatary, fiduciary, or other capacity, whether the owner be known or unknown; except in the cases of fire, life, or other insurance companies, the notes, judgments, accounts, and credits of nonresident persons, firms, corporations, partnerships, associations, or companies doing business in the State of Louisiana, originating from the business done in this state, are hereby declared to be property with its situs within this state. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 47:1702
- Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
- Remand: When an appellate court sends a case back to a lower court for further proceedings.
- taxpayers: includes firms, companies, associations and corporations; all words importing the masculine gender apply to females also, and all words in the plural number apply to single individuals in all cases in which the spirit and intent of this Chapter require it. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 47:1702
- Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
- Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
- Writ: A formal written command, issued from the court, requiring the performance of a specific act.
- Writ of certiorari: An order issued by the Supreme Court directing the lower court to transmit records for a case for which it will hear on appeal.
A. Within ten days of receipt of the assessment lists as certified by the local board of review, the tax commission shall conduct public hearings to hear real and personal property appeals of taxpayers, bona fide representatives of an affected tax-recipient body, or assessors, from the action of the board of review.
B. The Louisiana Tax Commission shall consider the appeal of any taxpayer, bona fide representative of an affected tax-recipient body, or assessor dissatisfied with the determination of a local board of review. All documents, except confidential forms as provided in La. Rev. Stat. 47:2327, filed in connection with any appeal shall be available for public inspection during the regular business hours of the Louisiana Tax Commission.
C.(1) All appeal hearings shall be conducted in accordance with this Section and the Administrative Procedure Act. In all other matters regarding the conduct of its hearings, the Louisiana Tax Commission may prescribe and promulgate rules not inconsistent with the provisions of this Section or other law.
(2)(a)(i) Review of the correctness of an assessment by an assessor shall be confined to review of evidence presented to the assessor prior to the close of the deadline for filing a complaint with the board of review provided for in La. Rev. Stat. 47:1992. If a taxpayer makes application to present additional evidence before the date set for hearing on the appeal and the Louisiana Tax Commission finds that the additional evidence is material and that there were good reasons for failure to timely present it to the assessor, the Louisiana Tax Commission may order that the additional evidence be taken by the assessor. The assessor may modify the assessment by reason of the additional evidence and shall notify the Louisiana Tax Commission of any modifications to the assessment within fifteen calendar days of receipt of the additional evidence. The Louisiana Tax Commission may then order any evidence that is otherwise admissible be admitted for the purposes of review.
(ii) For purposes of this Subparagraph, good reason for failure to timely present information to the assessor shall be presumed to exist for reports and related attachments of any appraiser or other expert ordered prior to the deadline for filing a complaint with the board of review if the report and attachments are submitted to the assessor within thirty days of receipt of the reports and attachments by the taxpayer and at least twenty-five days prior to a hearing before the Louisiana Tax Commission. Nothing in this Item shall be construed to limit the ability of the Louisiana Tax Commission to find good reason to admit other expert reports pursuant to the other provisions of this Subparagraph.
(iii) Nothing in this Item shall be construed to limit the ability of the Louisiana Tax Commission to find good reason to admit otherwise admissible documents or evidence pursuant to this Subparagraph. For purposes of this Subparagraph, good reason for failure to timely present documents or evidence shall always be presumed to exist when the otherwise admissible document or evidence is either of the following:
(aa) Not available to the taxpayer at the time of the deadline for submission to the assessor but is provided to the assessor within fifteen days of availability including but not limited to financial or accounting documents, financial statements, information regarding the useful life of property, depreciation schedules, other records of income data, or environmental assessments or reports relating to the property.
(bb) Consists of documents or records of income or expenses concerning the valuation of oil and gas property when the taxpayer has timely provided all information required by rule and the documents or records are supplemental to the submission. The presumption provided for in this Subitem shall not apply to documents or records specifically required to be provided by rule or expressly requested by the assessor pursuant to La. Rev. Stat. 47:1957(C) if the documents were available to the taxpayer but not timely provided in response to the assessor’s request.
(iv) Witnesses may be utilized to authenticate or explain evidence which is otherwise admissible pursuant to the provisions of this Subsection. Nothing in this Item shall be construed to limit otherwise admissible witness testimony evidence.
(v) For purposes of this Subparagraph, the phrase “otherwise admissible” shall mean evidence admissible pursuant to any provision of this Subsection and admissible pursuant to relevant provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act and Code of Evidence.
(vi) Nothing in this Subparagraph shall be construed to limit any of the following otherwise admissible data, guides, and resources that are publicly accessible:
(aa) Aerial or other photography.
(bb) Public records of clerks of court or other political subdivisions in the parish of the assessment, including but not limited to building permits, conveyance records, city directories, occupancy permits, or demolition permits.
NOTE: Subitem (C)(2)(a)(vi)(cc) eff. until Jan. 10, 2024. See Acts 2023, No. 150.
(cc) Public records of the Department of Natural Resources including but not limited to data from the Strategic Online Natural Resource Information System (SONRIS).
NOTE: Subitem (C)(2)(a)(vi)(cc) as amended by Acts 2023, No. 150, eff. Jan. 10, 2024.
(cc) Public records of the Department of Energy and Natural Resources including but not limited to data from the Strategic Online Natural Resource Information System (SONRIS).
(dd) Sales data including but not limited to multiple listing service reports.
(ee) Published cost data or cost guides and their related sources.
(ff) Rules, advisories, or guidance promulgated by the Louisiana Tax Commission.
(b) A decision of the Louisiana Tax Commission to deny a taxpayer’s application to present additional evidence pursuant to Subparagraph (a) of this Paragraph shall, at the option of the taxpayer, be considered a final determination for purposes of appeal as provided for in La. Rev. Stat. 47:1998 to be decided by preference and priority within twenty-one days and thereafter be subject to review by priority in the same manner as a nonappealable interlocutory judgment, or be subject to immediate review by application for supervisory writ in the same manner as provided for in Rule 4 of the Uniform Rules of Louisiana Courts of Appeal. Except as ordered by a court of appeal, no stay of the proceedings before the Louisiana Tax Commission may be issued pursuant to an action pursuant to this Subparagraph. This Subparagraph shall not apply to an application to present additional evidence not timely filed pursuant to the rules of the Louisiana Tax Commission.
(c) Notwithstanding the provisions of Subparagraph (a) of this Paragraph, in an appeal of the correctness of an assessment of real property, the Louisiana Tax Commission may independently appraise the property utilizing the criteria set forth in La. Rev. Stat. 47:2323 and may enter that appraisal into evidence for consideration on review of the correctness of the assessment.
(d) The Louisiana Tax Commission may promulgate rules related to the disclosure of evidence to the opposing party and the consideration of evidentiary disputes, and no provision of this Paragraph shall extend any deadline beyond the date that would be applicable pursuant to Louisiana Tax Commission rules.
(3) The Louisiana Tax Commission may affirm the correctness of the assessment, it may remand the matter for further consideration by the assessor, or it may reverse or modify the assessment because the assessment is any of the following:
(a) In violation of constitutional or statutory provisions.
(b) In excess of the authority of the assessor.
(c) Made upon an unlawful procedure.
(d) Affected by another error of law.
(e) Arbitrary or capricious or characterized by abuse of discretion or clearly unwarranted exercise of discretion.
(f) Not supported and sustainable by a preponderance of evidence as determined by the Louisiana Tax Commission. If the Louisiana Tax Commission finds that an assessment is not supported and sustainable by a preponderance of evidence, the Louisiana Tax Commission shall make its own determination and conclusions of fact by a preponderance of evidence based upon its own evaluation of the record evidence reviewed in its entirety including otherwise admissible first-hand witness testimony.
D.(1) All decisions by the tax commission are final unless appealed to the district court within thirty days.
(2) The proceedings in such suit shall be tried by preference, whether or not out of term time1, at such time as fixed by the district court. No new trial or rehearing shall be allowed.
(3) Any appeal from a judgment of the district court shall be heard by preference within sixty days of the lodging of the record in the court of appeal. The appeal shall be taken thirty days from the date the judgment of the district court is rendered. If such appeal is timely filed, any amount of taxes that were paid under protest pursuant to La. Rev. Stat. 47:1856(E) shall remain segregated and invested pursuant to that Subsection and no bond or other security shall be necessary to perfect such appeal.
(4) In the event the supreme court grants a writ of certiorari, the court shall hear the appeal on the next regular docket of the court.
E. The assessment lists, together with any changes in connection therewith, shall be certified and returned to each assessor on or before October 15 of each year.
F. Within one hundred eighty days after receipt of a written protest from a public service property taxpayer, the Louisiana Tax Commission shall conduct public hearings to hear public service appeals of taxpayers, bona fide representatives of an affected tax recipient body, or assessors.
G. Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, a taxpayer challenging the correctness of an assessment pursuant to La. Const. Art. VII, § 18(E) or other applicable law is not required to make a payment under protest or post security while the correctness challenge is pending before the commission or during the pendency of an appeal of the commission’s determination brought by any party other than the taxpayer. When a taxpayer appeals the commission’s determination, the amount of the payment under protest or alternate security shall be based upon the commission’s determination.
Amended by Acts 1972, Ex.Sess., No. 14, §1; Acts 1977, No. 384, §1, eff. July 10, 1977; Acts 1988, No. 588, §1, eff. July 14, 1988; H.C.R. No. 88, 1993 R.S., eff. May 30, 1993; H.C.R. No. 1, 1994 R.S., eff. May 11, 1994; Acts 2000, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 74, §1, eff. April 17, 2000; Acts 2021, No. 343, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 2022; Acts 2023, No. 150, §18, eff. Jan. 10, 2024; Acts 2023, No. 284, §1.