Tax Abatement

Massachusetts Court of Appeals Finds in Favor of Taxpayer in Tax Abatement Case

Published on: October 5, 2015 | by Pulgini & Norton, LLP

The Massachusetts Court of Appeals reviewed a decision by the Appellate Tax Board in Russell Block Associates v. Board of Assessors of Worcester, ultimately affirming its determination granting the taxpayer a tax abatement on a parking garage. The primary issue in the case was whether the garage was a multiple-use property appropriately classified as part residential and part commercial.

In 1992, the taxpayer constructed a residential building and the five-story, 300-parking space garage at issue in the case, which is located across a side street from the residential building. Between 100 and 250 parking spaces in the garage are reserved for exclusive use by tenants of the residential building. The Worcester board of assessors had classified the garage as a mixed-use property, taxing 85 percent of its value at the lower residential rate since it was built. In 2012, however, the assessors changed its classification to be entirely commercial. The taxpayer appealed, and the Appellate Tax Board granted an abatement.

Classification for purposes of determining tax rates depends on the use of the real property as residential, open space, commercial, or industrial. The law also defines a mixed-use category of real property, which allocates the percentage of valuation on each portion of the property devoted to that particular use. The assessors argued that the parking garage at issue is not used for habitation and does not satisfy the requirements of the statute. However, the Court of Appeals disagreed, recognizing that the statute’s definition of residential includes accessory land, buildings, or improvements incidental to such habitation. The court went on to explain that the parking garage was part of the development plan of the residential building, and the residents of the building needed parking just as any other resident would. The garage was built to serve these needs, meeting the zoning and lending requirements for the development of the residential building. Therefore, the parking garage was incidental to habitation within the meaning of the law.

Appeals Court of Massachusetts Affirms Denial of Tax Abatement in Real Estate Case

Published on: June 17, 2015 | by Pulgini & Norton, LLP

In a very recent decision, Dinno vs. Bd. of Assessors of Sudbury, App. Ct. Mass. (2015), the Appeals Court of Massachusetts had before it an appeal from a decision reached by the Appellate Tax Board, which affirmed the town of Sudbury’s denial of certain abatements regarding property taxes for a two-year period.

The plaintiffs took title to two vacant adjacent lots as trustees, with a quitclaim deed being recorded the day after the transfer of title took place. There was no address provided on the deed. The plaintiffs claimed that they were unaware of taxes that were subsequently owed on the property until they were alerted by the prior owner.

Massachusetts Appeals Court Upholds ATB Decision in Tax Abatement Case

Published on: March 19, 2015 | by Pulgini & Norton, LLP

In the recent real estate case, Roman Catholic Bishop of Fall River v. Board of Assessors of Attleboro, App. Ct. Mass. (2014), the Appeals Court of Massachusetts had before it the issue of a requested tax abatement for a church property.

The plaintiff timely paid the assessed tax and filed a request for an abatement, claiming that the portion of the property that was assessed a tax was also entitled to exemption, because it was dedicated to cemetery use. (It is worth pointing out here that in order to file for an abatement, you must first pay the taxes owing, or else you will not be able to file. If the abatement is granted, you will be refunded the relevant amount that is adjusted.)

The plaintiff appealed the Appellate Tax Board’s determination of taxes owed on its property. The plaintiff is the owner of a two-acre parcel, which contains a cemetery, composed of graves and unimproved land dedicated to cemetery use. The remainder of the land had a church building, which closed some two years prior to the tax assessment, and two other unused structures.