Category Archives: tax appeals

tax appeals, taxes

Gas station property awarded tax judgement

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The City Council last week approved more than $9,000 in credits for overpayment of taxes to a St. Georges Avenue gas station, as a result of a judgement in tax court. The governing body on July 8 approved AR-149-13, which awarded a credit for the 2011 and 2012 tax years to Lukoil North America at 490 St. Georges Ave., (Block 15, Lot 1).

Credits for overpayment of taxes
* 2011, $3,574.30 (~16 percent)
* 2012, $5,578.16 (~24 percent)
Total, $9,152.46 (~20 percent)

The 0.4-acre property at the corner of West Inman Avenue is assessed at $394,500 and paid about $23,043 in property taxes last year, so the credits represent an approximately 16-percent credit on its 2011 taxes and a 24-percent credit on the 2012 tax bill; or an average 20 percent over two years.

The city had a record number of tax appeals filed and won last year, which affected the municipal budget by an estimated $25 for the average home’s tax bill.

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City Council, tax appeals

Hamilton Apartments successful in tax judgment

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A Hamilton Street apartment complex was awarded a roughly 13 percent refund on its property tax bill over two years after a judgment by the state Tax Court.

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City Council, tax appeals, taxes

City budget estimates average $116 tax increase

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A municipal budget presented Monday night forecasts an average $116 increase in the city’s portion of the tax bill.

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City Council, tax appeals, taxes

2012 tax appeals cost city half-million dollars

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Successful tax appeals this year will cost the city a half-million dollars in refunds to more than 350 properties, dropping the city’s assessed value by $8 million. City Council at its November meeting approved the refunding of taxes due to tax appeal judgments by the county Board of Taxation.

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tax appeals

Best Independent Blog? Yes, please

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The New Jersey chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists awarded Rahway Rising the winner of the Independent (non-media affiliated) Blog category in the 2011 Excellence in Journalism Awards.

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City Council, tax appeals

Almost $1 million in PILOTs in 2012 budget

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The $49-million municipal budget anticipates almost $1 million of revenue from various PILOT (Payment In Lieu of Taxes) agreements, including the first from one of the Park Square properties.

The total $961,000 in PILOT revenue is up from the $783,000 in the 2011 budget and breaks down as follows:

* Lower Essex St – Denholz Management (Rahway Plaza Apartments) – $366,000
* Landmark – $150,000
* Parking Authority (River Place) — $170,000
* Rosegate — $25,000
* Senior citizen housing — $250,000

Landmark, which broke ground on the Irving Street side of Park Square (2 Park Square) in 2006, appealed its assessment in Tax Court, getting it reduced from $6.05 million to $4.077 million.
The Main Street side (1 Park Square) is assessed at $8.965 million.

The PILOT agreement had the developer paying taxes on the assessed value of the parcels as they previously existed. Landmark will begin paying 20 percent of its assessment this year, which will rise 20 percent each year until it reaches 100 percent (which would be 2016).

River Place was constructed on property owned by the Parking Authority, which receives an annual payment from the development’s owner and splits it roughly in half with the city.

The city budget also anticipates $660,000 in revenue from red light camera fines. About $1 million was realized in the Transitional Year budget, which covered the six months of July-December 2011.

The amount to be raised by taxes in the budget is $33.455 million. The proposed municipal tax rate for 2012 is 2.287 (per $100 of assessed value), so the average assessed home ($133,000) would see municipal taxes of $3,042, compared with $3,046 estimated last year. (Remember, municipal taxes make up only a portion of your overall property tax bill; the others being schools and county). Presented to City Council by the administration in February, the municipal budget will be up for a public hearing and vote at the March 12 meeting.

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City Council, tax appeals, taxes

Another look at Merck’s tax appeal settlement

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The city’s tax appeal settlement with Merck & Co. added approximately $400 to the average home over three years, according to my estimate. Merck & Co’s tax appeal settlement that was approved a year ago cut the property tax bill for the pharmaceutical giant by at least $4.5 million over three years, reducing its overall tax assessment in Rahway by $82 million, or more than 26 percent.

The appeal affected the tax years 2010-2012 and my estimate includes some assumptions based on 2011 tax rates for 2012. The biggest hit looks like 2011 (see the end of this post). My estimate doesn’t include some other costs the city might have incurred, such as appraisals, litigation and borrowing, only an attempt to quantify how much the new assessments affected the average home.

Overall, the city’s valuation dipped from $1.549 billion to $1.486 billion in 2011 and $1.467 billion in 2012 as a result of the settlement, according to the letter sent to residents last year, explaining the settlement.

As part of the settlement, Merck withdrew its appeal in 2009 and received a cash refund of overpayment of taxes that year of $1.6 million. All told, that’s at least $4.5 million, based on 2011 tax rates, that had to be made up somewhere on the tax rolls.
Some explanation of how I arrived at this estimate: The average home in Rahway is assessed at $133,000. Every $13.30 in municipal taxes on the average home generates about $149,000 in tax revenue. Feel free to check my work in this Excel file; the key figures also are listed below (tax rates can be found on the city’s website). For 2012, I used the 2011 tax rate since the county and schools have not set their tax rate, while the municipal tax rate has only just been proposed.

Merck’s overall assessment was reduced from $312,368,300 to:
– $280,878,500 for 2010 (-$31,489,800)
– $249,699,700 for 2011 (-$31,178,800)

– $230,000,000 for 2012 (-$19,699,700)

Merck’s property tax bill shrank approximately:
– $1,614,797 in 2010 [$144 for average home]
– $1,797,458 in 2011 [$161 for average home]
– $1,135,688 in 2012 [$101 for average home]

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