Montana Code 15-24-1607. Disqualification and penalty
15-24-1607. Disqualification and penalty. (1) Following certification and during the period of tax abatement, a property that is altered in a way that adversely affects those elements that qualify it as historically contributing must be disqualified from receiving the tax abatement.
Terms Used In Montana Code 15-24-1607
- Certification: means approval by the board or state historic preservation office of a property's qualification for the property tax abatement under the terms of this part. See Montana Code 15-24-1602
- Contributing: means a building, site, structure, or object with historic architectural qualities, historic association, or archaeological value for which a property is significant because:
(a)it was present during a period of significant local or state history and possesses historic design or architectural integrity reflecting its character at that time or is capable of yielding important information about the period; or
(b)it independently meets the criteria for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. See Montana Code 15-24-1602
- Property: means real and personal property. See Montana Code 1-1-205
- Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
- Real property: means lands, tenements, hereditaments, and possessory title to public lands. See Montana Code 1-1-205
(2)If a historic property that has received a tax abatement under this part is disqualified, the owner is liable for back taxes, interest, and a penalty. These assessments must be extended against the property on the next general real property tax roll, to be collected and distributed in the same manner as the currently assessed real property tax. The back taxes, interest, and penalty must equal the sum of the following:
(a)the difference in the total real property taxes due during the years the tax abatement was in effect and the total real property taxes which would have been due had the special assessment not been in effect for those years;
(b)interest on the amount calculated in subsection (2)(a) at the rate for delinquent property taxes provided for in 15-16-102; plus
(c)a penalty of 15% on the sum of subsections (2)(a) and (2)(b).
(3)Back taxes, interest, or penalty may not be imposed on a property transferred to an ownership that makes the property exempt from property taxation or if the property is destroyed by fire or an act of God.