Two weeks ago, the State Tax Commission ordered Jackson County to reduce all assessments to no more than a 15 percent increase above 2022 levels, and the County has said it would fight back against that order. Tens of thousands of taxpayers, hoping for refunds, were told by the County to forget it because the money was already spent.
Preston Smith | Columnist
Under the STC order, and state law, there is a way taxpayers can demand that the County send refunds—at least IOUs at the start—to them. I am introducing a form, copied from one used in Boone County, to send to the county collector. That form can be downloaded from this site.
The state law, 139.031(5), requires that the county collector send a refund or a warrant (IOU) to taxpayers when the assessments is “mistakenly or erroneously levied.” The State Tax Commission order gives several examples of evidence considered in the 2022 Jackson County assessment that was “mistakenly or erroneously levied.”
Jackson_County_notice of credit – refund request -fillable online
The State Tax Commission faulted the Jackson County Board of Equalization for holding appeals that provided taxpayers with insufficient or misleading information. The BOE appeals process at the downtown building provided insufficient physical accommodations for ADA persons. In some cases, the BOE members told taxpayers, contrary to state law, that the burden of proof at hearings was on the taxpayer. The BOE refused to recognize evidence as to valid comparable sales provided by some taxpayers and permitted the Assessor’s office to have undue interference.
Under the state law, the BOE is supposed to be an independent body, separate from any influence from the Assessor’s office. But in 2023 and 2024, that is not the case.
For most of this summer, I served as the key expert witness for the Attorney General in the trial against Jackson County in the tax assessments. I analyzed millions of records from the County and its contractor, Tyler Technologies. I found that the County did not perform required inspections, and likely focused the largest percentage increases in valuations in neighborhoods where poor or elderly persons lived, who were more likely not to appeal versus more affluent neighborhoods. One inspector supposedly inspected more than 300 parcels in one day; another inspected hundreds a day at only 56 seconds each. I also found a $200,000 house in Lees’ Summit that was taken off the tax rolls because the Assessor reclassified it as a “traffic median.”
In order to make application for your refund, I also recommend that you send proof of payment of taxes in question, document why the tax was erroneously levied, include any correspondence from the Assessor’s office and provide a notarized affidavit. The affidavit should state that you paid taxes in 2023, that you have provided documentation that shows the value placed on the property was mistakenly and erroneously levied, and send that to this address: Jackson County Collection Department, Scott Lankin, Collector, 415 E 12th St, Kansas City, MO 64106.
For step-by-step information, and some podcasts to give you more information about the information that I provided the State Tax Commission before they issued their order against Jackson County, or to find out more about how to get the rebate/IOU from the County, please visit www.wethepeopleofjcmo.com.
–Preston Smith | Metro Voice Local News Analysis