54:4-23.10 - Determination of true value of land for purposes of state school aid and determining apportionment valuation
54:4-23.10. Determination of true value of land for purposes of state school aid and determining apportionment valuation
The Director of the Division of Taxation in equalizing the value of land assessed and taxed under this act for the purposes of State school aid, and each county board of taxation in equalizing such land for the purposes of determining the "apportionment valuation" under section 54:4-49 of the Revised Statutes, shall determine the true value of such land on the basis of its agricultural or horticultural use. The director shall promulgate rules and regulations to effectuate the purposes of this section.
L.1964, c. 48, s. 10.
54:4-23.11.Area of land included11. In determining the total area of land actively devoted to agricultural or horticultural use there shall be included the area of all land under barns, sheds, seasonal farm marketsselling predominantly agricultural products, seasonal agricultural labor housing, silos, cribs, greenhouses and like structures, lakes, dams, ponds, streams, irrigation ditches and like facilities, but land under and such additional land as may be actually used in connection with the farmhouse shall be excluded in determining such total area.
L.1964,c.48,s.11; amended 1995,c.276,s.3.
54:4-23.12.Structures valued, assessed and taxed; "single use agricultural or horticultural facility defined; rules, regulations
12. a. All structures, which are located on land in agricultural or horticultural use and the farmhouse and the land on which the farmhouse is located, together with the additional land used in connection therewith, shall be valued, assessed and taxed by the same standards, methods and procedures as other taxable structures and other land in the taxing district, regardless of the fact that the land is being valued, assessed and taxed pursuant to P.L.1964, c.48 (C.54:4-23.1 et seq.); provided, however, that the term "structures" shall not include "single-use agricultural or horticultural facilities." As used in this act, "single-use agricultural or horticultural facility" means property employed in farming operations and commonly used for either storage or growing, which is designed or constructed so as to be readily dismantled and is of a type which can be marketed or sold separately from the farmland and buildings and shall include, but not be limited to, temporary demountable plastic covered framework made up of portable parts with no permanent understructures or related apparatus, commonly known as seed starting plastic greenhouses, or other readily dismantled silos, greenhouses, grain bins, manure handling equipment, and impoundments, but shall not include a structure that encloses a space within its walls used for housing, shelter, or working, office or sales space, whether or not removable.
b. The Director of the Division of Taxation shall adopt, in consultation with the Secretary of Agriculture and in accordance with the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), rules and regulations establishing criteria for the assessment of all farm structures.
L.1964,c.48,s.12; amended 1979,c.70; 1993,c.251; 1995,c.276,s.4.
54:4-23.13.Determination of eligibility of land for valuation, assessment, taxation
13. Eligibility of land for valuation, assessment and taxation under this act shall be determined for each tax year separately. Application shall be submitted by the owner to the assessor of the taxing district in which such land is situated on or before August 1 or September 1, if an extension of time has been granted by the assessor under section 6 of P.L.1964, c.48 (C.54:4-23.6), of the year immediately preceding the tax year for which such valuation, assessment and taxation are sought. If the application is filed by delivery through the mails or a commercial courier or messenger service, compliance with the time limit for filing shall be established if there is satisfactory evidence that it was committed for delivery to the United States Postal Service or the courier or messenger service within the time allowed for filing. In the case of a courier or messenger service, the application shall be received by the tax assessor of the taxing district within three days after the statutory filing date. An application once filed with the assessor for the ensuing tax year may not be withdrawn by the applicant after August 1 or after September 1, in cases where an extension of time for filing the application has been granted by the assessor, of the pretax year.
If a change in use of the land occurs between August 1 and December 31 of the pretax year, either the assessor or the county board of taxation shall deny or nullify such application and, after examination and inquiry, shall determine the full and fair value of said land under the valuation standard applicable to other land in the taxing district and shall assess the same, according to such value. If, notwithstanding such change of use, the land is valued, assessed and taxed under the provisions of this act in the ensuing year, the assessor shall enter an assessment, as an added assessment against such land, in the "Added Assessment List" for the particular year involved in the manner prescribed in P.L.1941, c.397 (C.54:4-63.1 et seq.). The amount of the added assessment shall be in an amount equal to the difference, if any, between the assessment imposed under this act and the assessment which would have been imposed had the land been valued and assessed as other land in the taxing district. The enforcement and collection of additional taxes resulting from any additional assessments so imposed shall be as provided by said chapter. The additional assessment imposed under this section shall not affect the roll-back taxes, if any, under section 8 of this act.
The application review shall include an on-site inspection of the land at least once every three years. The municipality may impose a fee for an on-site inspection of not more than $25, except that contiguous and non-contiguous parcels of land owned by the same owner would be subject to a single fee.
L.1964,c.48,s.13; amended 1972,c.146,s.1; 1982,c.72,s.1; 1987,c.418,s.2; 1995,c.276,s.5.