HF 1959

as introduced - 85th Legislature (2007 - 2008) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

A bill for an act
relating to property taxation; providing for a school bond agricultural credit;
appropriating money; amending Minnesota Statutes 2006, sections 273.1393;
275.065, subdivision 3; 275.07, subdivision 2; 275.08, subdivision 1b; 276.04,
subdivision 2; proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 273.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

new text begin [273.1387] SCHOOL BOND AGRICULTURAL CREDIT.
new text end

new text begin Subdivision 1. new text end

new text begin Eligibility. new text end

new text begin All class 2 property under section 273.13, subdivision 23,
except for (1) property consisting of the house, garage, and immediately surrounding one
acre of land of an agricultural homestead, and (2) property classified under section 273.13,
subdivision 23, paragraph (b), clause (4), is eligible to receive the credit under this section.
new text end new text begin new text end

new text begin Subd. 2. new text end

new text begin Credit amount. new text end

new text begin For each qualifying property, the school bond agricultural
credit is equal to 33 percent of the property's eligible net tax capacity multiplied by the
school debt tax rate determined under section 275.08, subdivision 1b.
new text end new text begin new text end

new text begin Subd. 3. new text end

new text begin Credit reimbursements. new text end

new text begin The county auditor shall determine the tax
reductions allowed under this section within the county for each taxes payable year and
shall certify that amount to the commissioner of revenue as a part of the abstracts of tax
lists submitted under section 275.29. Any prior year adjustments shall also be certified on
the abstracts of tax lists. The commissioner shall review the certifications for accuracy,
and may make such changes as are deemed necessary, or return the certification to the
county auditor for correction. The credit under this section must be used to reduce the
school district net tax capacity-based property tax as provided in section 273.1393.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 4. new text end

new text begin Payment. new text end

new text begin The commissioner of revenue shall certify the total of the tax
reductions granted under this section for each taxes payable year within each school
district to the commissioner of education, who shall pay the reimbursement amounts to
each school district as provided in section 273.1392.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 5. new text end

new text begin Appropriation. new text end

new text begin An amount sufficient to make the payments required
by this section is annually appropriated from the general fund to the commissioner of
education.
new text end

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section is effective for taxes payable in 2008 and
thereafter.
new text end

Sec. 2.

Minnesota Statutes 2006, section 273.1393, is amended to read:

273.1393 COMPUTATION OF NET PROPERTY TAXES.

Notwithstanding any other provisions to the contrary, "net" property taxes are
determined by subtracting the credits in the order listed from the gross tax:

(1) disaster credit as provided in section 273.123;

(2) powerline credit as provided in section 273.42;

(3) agricultural preserves credit as provided in section 473H.10;

(4) enterprise zone credit as provided in section 469.171;

(5) disparity reduction credit;

(6) conservation tax credit as provided in section 273.119;

(7) homestead and agricultural credits as provided in section 273.1384;

new text begin (8) school bond agricultural credit as provided in section 273.1387;
new text end

deleted text begin (8) deleted text end new text begin (9) new text end taconite homestead credit as provided in section 273.135; and

deleted text begin (9) deleted text end new text begin (10) new text end supplemental homestead credit as provided in section 273.1391.

The combination of all property tax credits must not exceed the gross tax amount.

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section is effective for taxes payable in 2008 and
thereafter.
new text end

Sec. 3.

Minnesota Statutes 2006, section 275.065, subdivision 3, is amended to read:

Subd. 3.

Notice of proposed property taxes.

(a) The county auditor shall prepare
and the county treasurer shall deliver after November 10 and on or before November 24
each year, by first class mail to each taxpayer at the address listed on the county's current
year's assessment roll, a notice of proposed property taxes.

(b) The commissioner of revenue shall prescribe the form of the notice.

(c) The notice must inform taxpayers that it contains the amount of property taxes
each taxing authority proposes to collect for taxes payable the following year. In the case
of a town, or in the case of the state general tax, the final tax amount will be its proposed
tax. In the case of taxing authorities required to hold a public meeting under subdivision 6,
the notice must clearly state that each taxing authority, including regional library districts
established under section 134.201, and including the metropolitan taxing districts as
defined in paragraph (i), but excluding all other special taxing districts and towns, will
hold a public meeting to receive public testimony on the proposed budget and proposed or
final property tax levy, or, in case of a school district, on the current budget and proposed
property tax levy. It must clearly state the time and place of each taxing authority's
meeting, a telephone number for the taxing authority that taxpayers may call if they have
questions related to the notice, and an address where comments will be received by mail.

(d) The notice must state for each parcel:

(1) the market value of the property as determined under section 273.11, and used
for computing property taxes payable in the following year and for taxes payable in the
current year as each appears in the records of the county assessor on November 1 of the
current year; and, in the case of residential property, whether the property is classified as
homestead or nonhomestead. The notice must clearly inform taxpayers of the years to
which the market values apply and that the values are final values;

(2) the items listed below, shown separately by county, city or town, and state
general tax, net of the residential and agricultural homestead credit under section 273.1384 new text begin
and the school bond agricultural credit under section 273.1387 new text end , voter approved school
levy, other local school levy, and the sum of the special taxing districts, and as a total
of all taxing authorities:

(i) the actual tax for taxes payable in the current year; and

(ii) the proposed tax amount.

If the county levy under clause (2) includes an amount for a lake improvement
district as defined under sections 103B.501 to 103B.581, the amount attributable for that
purpose must be separately stated from the remaining county levy amount.

In the case of a town or the state general tax, the final tax shall also be its proposed
tax unless the town changes its levy at a special town meeting under section 365.52. If a
school district has certified under section 126C.17, subdivision 9, that a referendum will
be held in the school district at the November general election, the county auditor must
note next to the school district's proposed amount that a referendum is pending and that,
if approved by the voters, the tax amount may be higher than shown on the notice. In
the case of the city of Minneapolis, the levy for the Minneapolis Library Board and the
levy for Minneapolis Park and Recreation shall be listed separately from the remaining
amount of the city's levy. In the case of the city of St. Paul, the levy for the St. Paul
Library Agency must be listed separately from the remaining amount of the city's levy.
In the case of Ramsey County, any amount levied under section 134.07 may be listed
separately from the remaining amount of the county's levy. In the case of a parcel where
tax increment or the fiscal disparities areawide tax under chapter 276A or 473F applies,
the proposed tax levy on the captured value or the proposed tax levy on the tax capacity
subject to the areawide tax must each be stated separately and not included in the sum of
the special taxing districts; and

(3) the increase or decrease between the total taxes payable in the current year and
the total proposed taxes, expressed as a percentage.

For purposes of this section, the amount of the tax on homesteads qualifying under
the senior citizens' property tax deferral program under chapter 290B is the total amount
of property tax before subtraction of the deferred property tax amount.

(e) The notice must clearly state that the proposed or final taxes do not include
the following:

(1) special assessments;

(2) levies approved by the voters after the date the proposed taxes are certified,
including bond referenda and school district levy referenda;

(3) a levy limit increase approved by the voters by the first Tuesday after the first
Monday in November of the levy year as provided under section 275.73;

(4) amounts necessary to pay cleanup or other costs due to a natural disaster
occurring after the date the proposed taxes are certified;

(5) amounts necessary to pay tort judgments against the taxing authority that become
final after the date the proposed taxes are certified; and

(6) the contamination tax imposed on properties which received market value
reductions for contamination.

(f) Except as provided in subdivision 7, failure of the county auditor to prepare or
the county treasurer to deliver the notice as required in this section does not invalidate the
proposed or final tax levy or the taxes payable pursuant to the tax levy.

(g) If the notice the taxpayer receives under this section lists the property as
nonhomestead, and satisfactory documentation is provided to the county assessor by the
applicable deadline, and the property qualifies for the homestead classification in that
assessment year, the assessor shall reclassify the property to homestead for taxes payable
in the following year.

(h) In the case of class 4 residential property used as a residence for lease or rental
periods of 30 days or more, the taxpayer must either:

(1) mail or deliver a copy of the notice of proposed property taxes to each tenant,
renter, or lessee; or

(2) post a copy of the notice in a conspicuous place on the premises of the property.

The notice must be mailed or posted by the taxpayer by November 27 or within
three days of receipt of the notice, whichever is later. A taxpayer may notify the county
treasurer of the address of the taxpayer, agent, caretaker, or manager of the premises to
which the notice must be mailed in order to fulfill the requirements of this paragraph.

(i) For purposes of this subdivision, subdivisions 5a and 6, "metropolitan special
taxing districts" means the following taxing districts in the seven-county metropolitan area
that levy a property tax for any of the specified purposes listed below:

(1) Metropolitan Council under section 473.132, 473.167, 473.249, 473.325,
473.446, 473.521, 473.547, or 473.834;

(2) Metropolitan Airports Commission under section 473.667, 473.671, or 473.672;
and

(3) Metropolitan Mosquito Control Commission under section 473.711.

For purposes of this section, any levies made by the regional rail authorities in the
county of Anoka, Carver, Dakota, Hennepin, Ramsey, Scott, or Washington under chapter
398A shall be included with the appropriate county's levy and shall be discussed at that
county's public hearing.

(j) The governing body of a county, city, or school district may, with the consent
of the county board, include supplemental information with the statement of proposed
property taxes about the impact of state aid increases or decreases on property tax
increases or decreases and on the level of services provided in the affected jurisdiction.
This supplemental information may include information for the following year, the current
year, and for as many consecutive preceding years as deemed appropriate by the governing
body of the county, city, or school district. It may include only information regarding:

(1) the impact of inflation as measured by the implicit price deflator for state and
local government purchases;

(2) population growth and decline;

(3) state or federal government action; and

(4) other financial factors that affect the level of property taxation and local services
that the governing body of the county, city, or school district may deem appropriate to
include.

The information may be presented using tables, written narrative, and graphic
representations and may contain instruction toward further sources of information or
opportunity for comment.

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section is effective for taxes payable in 2008 and
thereafter.
new text end

Sec. 4.

Minnesota Statutes 2006, section 275.07, subdivision 2, is amended to read:

Subd. 2.

School district deleted text begin in more than one county deleted text end new text begin levies; special requirements new text end .

new text begin (a)
new text end In school districts lying in more than one county, the clerk shall certify the tax levied to the
auditor of the county in which the administrative offices of the school district are located.

new text begin (b) The clerk shall identify the portion of the school district levy that is levied for the
purposes specified in section 123B.53, subdivision 5, as the school debt levy at the time
that the levy is certified under this section.
new text end

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section is effective for taxes payable in 2008 and
thereafter.
new text end

Sec. 5.

Minnesota Statutes 2006, section 275.08, subdivision 1b, is amended to read:

Subd. 1b.

Computation of tax rates.

new text begin (a) new text end The amounts certified to be levied against
net tax capacity under section 275.07 by an individual local government unit shall be
divided by the total net tax capacity of all taxable properties within the local government
unit's taxing jurisdiction. The resulting ratio, the local government's local tax rate,
multiplied by each property's net tax capacity shall be each property's net tax capacity tax
for that local government unit before reduction by any credits.

new text begin (b) The auditor shall also determine the school debt tax rate for each school district
equal to the school debt levy certified under section 275.07 divided by the total net tax
capacity of all taxable property within the district.
new text end

new text begin (c) new text end Any amount certified to the county auditor to be levied against market value shall
be divided by the total referendum market value of all taxable properties within the taxing
district. The resulting ratio, the taxing district's new referendum tax rate, multiplied by
each property's referendum market value shall be each property's new referendum tax
before reduction by any credits. For the purposes of this subdivision, "referendum market
value" means the market value as defined in section 126C.01, subdivision 3.

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section is effective for taxes payable in 2008 and
thereafter.
new text end

Sec. 6.

Minnesota Statutes 2006, section 276.04, subdivision 2, is amended to read:

Subd. 2.

Contents of tax statements.

(a) The treasurer shall provide for the
printing of the tax statements. The commissioner of revenue shall prescribe the form
of the property tax statement and its contents. The statement must contain a tabulated
statement of the dollar amount due to each taxing authority and the amount of the state
tax from the parcel of real property for which a particular tax statement is prepared. The
dollar amounts attributable to the county, the state tax, the voter approved school tax, the
other local school tax, the township or municipality, and the total of the metropolitan
special taxing districts as defined in section 275.065, subdivision 3, paragraph (i), must
be separately stated. The amounts due all other special taxing districts, if any, may be
aggregated except that any levies made by the regional rail authorities in the county of
Anoka, Carver, Dakota, Hennepin, Ramsey, Scott, or Washington under chapter 398A
shall be listed on a separate line directly under the appropriate county's levy. If the county
levy under this paragraph includes an amount for a lake improvement district as defined
under sections 103B.501 to 103B.581, the amount attributable for that purpose must be
separately stated from the remaining county levy amount. In the case of Ramsey County,
if the county levy under this paragraph includes an amount for public library service
under section 134.07, the amount attributable for that purpose may be separated from the
remaining county levy amount. The amount of the tax on homesteads qualifying under the
senior citizens' property tax deferral program under chapter 290B is the total amount of
property tax before subtraction of the deferred property tax amount. The amount of the
tax on contamination value imposed under sections 270.91 to 270.98, if any, must also
be separately stated. The dollar amounts, including the dollar amount of any special
assessments, may be rounded to the nearest even whole dollar. For purposes of this section
whole odd-numbered dollars may be adjusted to the next higher even-numbered dollar.
The amount of market value excluded under section 273.11, subdivision 16, if any, must
also be listed on the tax statement.

(b) The property tax statements for manufactured homes and sectional structures
taxed as personal property shall contain the same information that is required on the
tax statements for real property.

(c) Real and personal property tax statements must contain the following information
in the order given in this paragraph. The information must contain the current year tax
information in the right column with the corresponding information for the previous year
in a column on the left:

(1) the property's estimated market value under section 273.11, subdivision 1;

(2) the property's taxable market value after reductions under section 273.11,
subdivisions 1a and 16;

(3) the property's gross tax, calculated by adding the property's total property tax to
the sum of the aids enumerated in clause (4);

(4) a total of the following aids:

(i) education aids payable under chapters 122A, 123A, 123B, 124D, 125A, 126C,
and 127A;

(ii) local government aids for cities, towns, and counties under sections 477A.011 to
477A.04; and

(iii) disparity reduction aid under section 273.1398;

(5) for homestead residential and agricultural properties, the credits under deleted text begin section deleted text end new text begin
sections new text end 273.1384 new text begin and 273.1387 new text end ;

(6) any credits received under sections 273.119; 273.123; 273.135; 273.1391;
273.1398, subdivision 4; 469.171; and 473H.10, except that the amount of credit received
under section 273.135 must be separately stated and identified as "taconite tax relief"; and

(7) the net tax payable in the manner required in paragraph (a).

(d) If the county uses envelopes for mailing property tax statements and if the county
agrees, a taxing district may include a notice with the property tax statement notifying
taxpayers when the taxing district will begin its budget deliberations for the current
year, and encouraging taxpayers to attend the hearings. If the county allows notices to
be included in the envelope containing the property tax statement, and if more than
one taxing district relative to a given property decides to include a notice with the tax
statement, the county treasurer or auditor must coordinate the process and may combine
the information on a single announcement.

The commissioner of revenue shall certify to the county auditor the actual or
estimated aids enumerated in paragraph (c), clause (4), that local governments will receive
in the following year. The commissioner must certify this amount by January 1 of each
year.

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section is effective for taxes payable in 2008 and
thereafter.
new text end