Indiana Code § 6-1.1-15-17.2
applies where “the assessment that is the subject of the review or appeal
increased the assessed value of the assessed property by more than five percent
(5%) over the assessed value determined by the county assessor or township assessor
(if any) for the immediately preceding assessment date for the same property.”
Ind. Code § 6-1.1-15-17.2. … Under the plain language of Indiana Code §
6-1.1-15-17.2, the burden shifts to the assessor when the assessed value of the
same property increases by more than five percent. Therefore, because
the property’s 2010 assessment accounted for the improvements made to the
property; whereas the property was not assessed for those updates in 2009, the
assessor was not assessing the “same property” in 2010 as she did in 2009.
Thus, Indiana Code § 6-1.1-15-17.2 does not apply in this case.
The Petitioners failed to
provide sufficient evidence to establish a prima facie case that their property
was over-assessed in 2010. The Board reached this decision for the following
reasons:
…
Here, the Petitioners argue
that their property was over-valued based on a comparable market analysis
prepared by a real estate agent. Petitioner Exhibit 1. In her analysis,
the agent identified seven properties built between 1850 and 1980 in Jefferson,
Harrison, and Jackson townships that sold in 2008, 2009 and 2010. Id.
…Because the Petitioners made
no attempt to identify the similarities in the properties or to value the
differences between the properties, their sales comparable analysis has little
probative value.
To the extent that the
Petitioners can be seen as arguing that their purchase price somehow proves
their property is over-valued, the Board finds this argument likewise
unpersuasive. Regardless of the method used to prove a property’s true tax
value, a party must explain how its evidence relates to the subject property’s
market value-in-use as of the relevant valuation date. O’Donnell v. Dep’t of
Local Gov’t Fin., 854 N.E.2d 90, 95 (Ind. Tax Ct. 2006); see also Long
v. Wayne Township Assessor, 821 N.E.2d 466, 471 (Ind. Tax Ct. 2005). For
the March 1, 2010, assessment, the valuation date was March 1, 2010. Ind. Code
§ 6-1.1-4-4.5 (f); 50 IAC 27-5-2 (c). Here, the Petitioners purchased the
subject property in 2002, but they made no attempt to relate the property’s
2002 purchase price to the March 1, 2010, valuation date. Mrs. Badillo argued
that they bought the property during an “economic boom” and the property would
not sell for its purchase price in today’s market, but she presented no
evidence to support her contention. Statements that are unsupported by
probative evidence are conclusory and of no value to the Board in making its
determination. Whitley Products, Inc. v. State Bd. of Tax Comm’rs, 704
N.E.2d 1113, 1118 (Ind. Tax Ct. 1998).
