Title 44
Taxation

Chapter 5
Levy and Assessment of Local Taxes

§ 44-5-26. Petition in superior court for relief from assessment.

(a) Any person aggrieved on any ground whatsoever by any assessment of taxes against him or her in any city or town, or any tenant or group of tenants, of real estate paying rent therefrom, and under obligation to pay more than one-half (½) of the taxes thereon, may, on or before November 15 of each year, but not less than ninety (90) days after the first tax payment is due, file an appeal in the local office of tax assessment; provided, if the person to whom a tax on real estate is assessed chooses to file an appeal, the appeal filed by a tenant or group of tenants will be void. For the purposes of this section, the tenant(s) has the burden of proving financial responsibility to pay more than one-half (½) of the taxes. The assessor has until December 31 of that year to review appeals, render decisions, and notify taxpayers of the decisions. The taxpayer, if still aggrieved, after the decision by the tax assessor, or in the event that the assessor does not render a decision by December 31, but not less than forty-five (45) days after the appeal was filed, may appeal to the local tax board of review; provided; however, appeals to the local tax board of review are to be filed not more than thirty (30) days after the assessor renders a decision and notifies the taxpayer thereof, or if the assessor does not render a decision by December 31, not later than January 31 of the next year. The local tax board of review shall, within ninety (90) days of the filing of the appeal, hear the appeal and render a decision within forty-five (45) days of the date of the close of the hearing.

(b) Appeals to the local office of tax assessment are to be on an application form which has been approved by the department of revenue in consultation with the Rhode Island League of Cities and Towns. In the event of an appeal to the local tax board of review, the taxpayer or the local office of tax assessment at the request by the taxpayer, shall forward the application form to the local tax board of review within the time period set forth in this section.

(c) Said application must include:

(1) The applicant’s opinion of value, fair market value, class, and assessed value of said property as of December 31 of the year of the last update or revaluation for real estate and as of December 31 of the tax year for tangible personal property; and

(2) For income-producing residential real estate of six (6) units or more, and commercial, industrial, or mixed-use real estate, fifty percent (50%) or more of which real estate was leased, or was available to be leased, in an arm’s length transaction during the prior year, a statement of rental income and related expenses, if any, for said real estate. Said statement of income and expenses shall cover the most recent twelve-month (12) period preceding said December 31 date; provided, however, if such a statement of income and expenses is not yet available for said most recent twelve-month (12) period, the statement of income and expenses covering the next most recent twelve-month (12) period preceding said December 1 date shall be provided.

(d) Said application form shall provide that the applicant may file a single appeal for multiple parcels of real estate if such parcels are contiguous and used as an aggregate site.

(e) Said application form shall also notify applicants that any global extension granted pursuant to subsection (h) of this section will be posted on the department of revenue, division of municipal finance website.

(f) Failure to provide such statement of income and expenses shall be grounds for denial of the appeal and such taxpayer shall not have the right to petition for relief in the superior court.

(g) If a person has not filed a required account for tangible personal property, or filed an appeal first with the local office of tax assessment and then the local tax board of review, that person shall not have the benefit of the remedy provided in this section and/or in §§ 44-5-27 — 44-5-31, unless the tax assessed is illegal in whole or in part; and that person’s remedy is limited to a review of the assessment with respect to the illegal tax.

(h) The assessor for any city or town may request and receive from the director of the department of revenue one or more ninety-day (90) global extensions of time (i.e., extensions which include all such appeals pending before the local tax board of review) to the December 31 date referenced in subsection (a) of this section. All such extensions shall be in writing and posted on the department of revenue, division of municipal finance website.

(i) In the event that the local tax board of review does not hear a matter within ninety (90) days of the filing of the appeal or, after the close of the hearing does not render a written decision within forty-five (45) days of the date of the close of the hearing and there is no global extension in effect, the city or town may request and receive from the director of the department of revenue one or more extensions of time to either hear the matter and/or render a decision. The local board of review shall notify the taxpayer in the event the director of the department of revenue grants a city or town’s request for an extension to hear the taxpayer’s appeal and/or render a decision thereon. Nothing herein shall prevent the local tax board of review and the taxpayer from mutually agreeing to an extension of time for the matter to be heard and/or decision rendered.

(j) Any person still aggrieved on any ground whatsoever by an assessment of taxes against him or her in any city or town may file, within thirty (30) days of the tax board of review’s written decision and notice thereof, or in the event that the board has neither held a hearing nor issued a decision within the above referenced time frames and has not sought and received an extension of time from the director of the department of revenue to do so, a petition in a superior court for the county in which the city or town lies for relief from the assessment. The assessor of taxes of the city or town in office at the time the petition is filed shall be named as a respondent in said action.

(k) The petition and accompanying summons/citation shall be served upon the assessors in the manner set forth in rule 4 of the Rhode Island superior court rules of civil procedure governing service of process.

(l) A plaintiff may amend a petition filed in the superior court seeking relief from a tax assessment so as to include an appeal of the assessment of the same real estate for tax years subsequent to the tax year which is the subject of said petition but prior to the tax year covered by the next revaluation, statistical revaluation or update. Such amendment must be filed on or before November 15 of the tax year for which the relief is being sought. Said taxpayer shall not be required to first file an appeal with either the local tax assessor or local tax board for such tax years prior to amending said petition.

(m) A petitioner may file a single petition for multiple parcels of real estate if those parcels are contiguous and used as an aggregate site.