CopyCited 2 times | Published | Florida 1st District Court of Appeal
...∗ We agree with the trial court’s
conclusion that Genesis was not entitled to exemption from ad
valorem taxes from 2005 to 2012. However, as to the 2013 tax
year, because the property appraiser failed to comply with the
statutory notice requirements of section 196.193(5), Florida
Statutes (2013), the property appraiser improperly denied
Genesis’s existing tax exemption for 2013....
...at 1077 (citing Chihocky v.
Crapo,
632 So. 2d 230, 232-33 (Fla. 1st DCA 1994)). We remanded
3
the case, noting that further record development was necessary to
determine whether the property appraiser complied with the
requirements of section
196.193(5), Florida Statutes (2013)....
...tian church or
school and instead used the property for the purpose of obtaining
substantial lease income. As to the denial of the 2013 tax
exemption, the parties disputed whether the property appraiser
satisfied the statutory notice requirements of section 196.193(5),
Florida Statutes.
The trial court granted summary judgment in favor of the
property appraiser, finding Genesis was not entitled to the tax
exemption because it held the real property for the production of
commercial rent....
...exemption was invalid as a matter of law because the property
5
appraiser failed to comply with the statutory notice requirements.
In order to revoke an existing tax exemption, the property
appraiser must follow the notice requirements outlined in section
196.193(5), Florida Statutes (2013). As we explained in Genesis I,
“section
196.193(1)(c) necessarily contemplates that the property
appraiser is required to provide notice in accordance with
subsection (5) when denying an existing religious exemption.”
186
So. 3d at 1081. Although dicta, we added that the “Legislature has
made clear that the property appraiser’s failure to comply with the
notice requirements in section
196.193(5) has consequences . . .
[the] statutory provision would be meaningless if, as Appellees
argue, Genesis was barred from challenging the denial of its
exemption for 2013 when it was not provided notice of the denial.”
Id. at 1082; §
196.193(5)(b), Fla....
...undisputed that the property appraiser failed to provide Genesis
with the proper notice. The property appraiser’s February 26,
2013 letter to Genesis did not notify Genesis of its right to appeal
the property appraiser’s revocation to the value adjustment board.
See § 196.193(5)(c), Fla. Stat. (2013). And the Truth in Millage
Notice, delivered after the July 1 deadline did not cure the
deficiency in the notice. See § 196.193(5)(a), Fla....
CopyCited 2 times | Published | Florida 1st District Court of Appeal | 2016 WL 606685
...s.6
B. 2013 Taxes
Genesis contends that the trial court erred in dismissing its challenge to the
2013 taxes under section
194.171(2) because the property appraiser did not provide
the notice required by section
196.193(5)7 before “revoking” its religious exemption
6
In reaching this decision, we did not overlook the property appraiser’s “tipsy
coachman” argument that dismissal of Genesis’ challenge to the 2005 to 2012 taxes
was also mandated by section
194.171(5)....
... to the religious use exemption that it received in those years. Additionally, even if
the Tax Lien could somehow be construed to deny Genesis’ religious exemption for
2013, it does not provide any explanation as to why the exemption was denied as
required by section 196.193(5)(b),8 nor does it advise Genesis of its right to appeal
the property appraiser’s determination to the value adjustment board as required by
section 196.193(5)(c)....
...raiser’s determination that Genesis is
not entitled to the religious exemption, it does not advise Genesis of its right to
appeal that determination to the value adjustment board and, moreover, the letter
was issued after the July 1 deadline in section 196.193(5)(a) and after the
certification of the 2013 tax rolls.
At oral argument, the property appraiser argued for the first time that the
notice requirements in section 196.193(5) do not apply in this case because that
statute only applies to the denial of an initial application for an exemption, not the
“revocation” of a previously-granted exemption....
...exemption “For Reasons Stated in the Exemption Removal Notice,” but as noted
above, the Exemption Removal Notice was not attached to the Tax Lien nor is it
contained in the record on appeal.
14
Notwithstanding the title of section 196.193 (“Exemption applications; review
by property appraiser.”), the scope of the statute is not limited to initial applications
for an exemption or exemptions that require an annual application. The notice
provisions in section 196.193 broadly apply when “the property appraiser
determines that any property claimed as wholly or partially exempt under this section
is not entitled to any exemption.” § 196.193(5)(a), Fla. Stat.
Moreover, section 196.193(1) specifically addresses property “exempted
from the annual application requirement,” which includes property used for religious
purposes.9 Paragraph (1)(a) provides that such property “shall be returned, but shall
be grante...
...otice
provided by the property appraiser: “With respect to an issue involving the denial
of an exemption, . . . the petition must be filed . . . on or before the 30th day following
the mailing of the notice by the property appraiser under . . . s.
196.193.” The only
notice-mailing requirements in section
196.193 are those contained in subsection
(5). Thus, by virtue of section
196.193(1)(c)’s implicit reference to the value
adjustment board appeal procedures in section
194.011(3)(d), we conclude that
section
196.193(1)(c) necessarily contemplates that the property appraiser is
required to provide notice in accordance with subsection (5) when denying an
existing religious exemption.
The parties have not cited, nor has our research located...
...requirements would appear to be consistent with the legislative
purpose.
Id. at 233 (emphasis in original).
The same is true here. The Legislature has made clear that the property
appraiser’s failure to comply with the notice requirements in section 196.193(5) has
17
consequences: “If a property appraiser fails to provide a notice that complies with
this subsection, any denial of an exemption or an attempted denial of an exemption
is invalid.” § 196.193(5)(b), Fla....
CopyPublished | Florida 3rd District Court of Appeal | 2017 WL 1076899, 2017 Fla. App. LEXIS 3788
...4
position is nevertheless unavailing, because the City did not provide any Class
member with a notice of denial of tax exemption in accordance with state law or in
compliance with the City’s own ordinance. Section 196.193(5), Florida Statutes,
which is part of the same statutory framework encompassing section 191.171,
provides:
(5)(a) If the property appraiser determines that any property
claimed as wholly or partially exempt...
...etermination on the basis of
information supplied by the property appraiser or such other
information on file with the board.
(Emphasis added.)
It is undisputed that the City did not provide notice in compliance with
section 196.193(5)....
...However, a
similar argument was rejected by the First District in Genesis Ministries, Inc. v.
Brown,
186 So. 3d 1074 (Fla. 1st DCA 2016). In Genesis, the First District held
that the failure of a property appraiser to strictly comply with statutory notice
provisions in section
196.193(5) tolled the running of the sixty-day period within
which to bring an action contesting a tax assessment....
...This is commonly referred to as a “TRIM”
(TRuth In Millage) notice.
7
The Legislature has made clear that the property
appraiser's failure to comply with the notice requirements
in section 196.193(5) has consequences: “If a property
appraiser fails to provide a notice that complies with this
subsection, any denial of an exemption or an attempted
denial of an exemption is invalid.” § 196....
CopyPublished | Florida 1st District Court of Appeal
...Ronald and Karen Rogers appeal a final judgment entered for
the Walton County Property Appraiser denying their twenty-year-
old homestead property tax exemption. Appellants argue that the
Property Appraiser failed to provide them the notice required by
§ 196.193(5), Florida Statutes, before denying the exemption. The
trial court rejected that argument, concluding that § 196.193(5)’s
notice requirement doesn’t apply to homestead property tax
exemptions, and that, even if it did apply, the Property Appraiser
complied with it. We reverse because the notice requirements in
§ 196.193(5) applied to the denial of Appellants’ homestead
exemption and were not complied with.
I.
In 1996, Appellants applied for and received a homestead
property tax exemption on their residential property in Walton
County....
...Appellants filed a circuit court action contesting the denial of
their homestead property tax exemption. Ultimately, both parties
sought summary judgment and the trial court ruled that only the
notice requirements in §
196.151 apply. It added that if the notice
requirements of §
196.193(5) also apply, then the Property
Appraiser’s notice satisfied both requirements....
...processes administered under the revenue laws of this state.”
§
192.0105, Fla. Stat. And taxpayers’ “RIGHT TO KNOW” rights
include, for instance: “[t]he right of an exemption recipient . . . to
notice of denial of the exemption (see ss.
196.011(6),
196.131(1),
196.151, and
196.193(1)(c) and (5)).” §
192.0105(1)(f), Fla....
...Stat.; see
also Art. I, § 25, Fla. Const.
3
This case involves the applicability of notice rights in two of
the statutes referred to in §
192.0105(1)(f). Appellants argue that
the heightened notice requirements in §
196.193(5) apply to the
denial of its homestead exemption....
...his or her reasons therefor, a copy of which notice must be
served upon the applicant by the property appraiser
either by personal delivery or by registered mail to the
post office address given by the applicant.
* * *
196.193 Exemption applications; review by
property appraiser.—
(1)(a) All property exempted from the annual application
requirement of s....
...exemption is invalid.
(Emphasis added).
In this case, the Property Appraiser provided Appellants
notice of his decision to deny their homestead exemption. But
Appellants assert that the notice lacked the specific information
required by § 196.193(5). Two requirements in § 196.193(5) loom
large here. First, there is an explicit notice deadline requirement.
Property appraisers must notify a property owner of a
determination to deny an exemption “in writing on or before July
1 of [the relevant tax year].” § 196.193(5)(a), Fla. Stat. Second, the
notice must contain certain information, including the “specific
facts . . . used to determine that the applicant failed to meet the
statutory requirements.” § 196.193(5)(b), Fla....
...iser fails to provide a
notice that complies with this subsection, any denial of an
exemption or an attempted denial of an exemption is invalid.” See
Genesis Ministries, Inc. v. Brown (Genesis II),
250 So. 3d 865, 869
(Fla. 1st DCA 2018) (applying §
196.193(5)(b) and reversing a
property appraiser’s exemption denial).
The Property Appraiser argues that §
196.193(5) doesn’t apply
to the denial of homestead exemptions but only to religious- and
5
educational-type institutional exemptions. But his arguments
against applying §
196.193(5) don’t stand up to the statutory text.
Nothing in §
196.193(5) limits its application to institutional
entities. Indeed, we have recognized that §
196.193(5)’s “any
property” provision extends “broadly” to the denial of exemptions
involving any property addressed by the statute. Genesis
Ministries, Inc. v. Brown (Genesis I),
186 So. 3d 1074, 1080-81 (Fla.
1st DCA 2016) (“The notice provisions in section
196.193 broadly
apply when the property appraiser determines that any property
claimed as wholly or partially exempt under this section is not
entitled to any exemption.”). The broad application of subsection
(5) is consistent with the breadth of the rest of §
196.193.
Subsection (1)(a), for instance, refers to a broad class of property
exemptions that don’t require an annual application under
§
196.011, which includes homestead exemptions. See §
196.011(9)(a), Fla. Stat. (including homestead property owners
among the taxpayers who needn’t file a new application each year
to receive an exemption). * Section
196.193(2) similarly extends to
homestead exemptions with its reference to “[a]pplications
required by this chapter.” See §
196.121, Fla. Stat. (a chapter 196
provision addressing the forms required to claim a homestead
exemption). In sum, there is nothing carving out homestead
exemptions from the terms of §
196.193, or from subsection (5) in
particular. And so, we agree with Appellants and the Department
of Revenue that the exemption denial-related requirements in
§
196.193(5) apply to homestead exemptions.
Applying §
196.193 to Appellants’ circumstances, the Property
Appraiser’s June 30th denial notice failed to “include the specific
facts the property appraiser used to determine that the applicant
failed to meet the statutory requirements.” §
196.193(5)(b), Fla.
Stat....
...It wasn’t until after
Appellants questioned the validity of the notice that the Property
Appraiser supplied the statutorily required information. By then,
however, the Property Appraiser had missed the July 1st deadline
for providing proper notice. Documents issued after the
§ 196.193(5)(a) deadline cannot cure a notice deficiency....
...3d at 869 (reversing in favor of the taxpayer where proper
notice curing a notice deficiency wasn’t provided until after the
July 1st deadline). And so, the Property Appraiser’s noncompliant
notice requires invalidation of its decision to deny Appellants’
exemption, the penalty expressly established by §
196.193(5)(b).
Cf., Genesis II,
250 So. 3d at 869 (applying the same penalty).
In reaching this decision, we understand the Property
Appraiser’s argument that §
196.151 controls because it expressly
addresses homestead exemptions and conflicts with §
196.193.
Where possible, however, we read related statutes in pari materia
and interpret them together....
...together so as to harmonize both statutes and give effect to the
Legislature’s intent.”). Appellants and the Florida Department of
Revenue assert that nothing in §
196.151’s treatment of homestead
exemptions precludes the application of the more detailed notice
provisions in §
196.193. We agree with them because §
196.151 sets
forth only a modest requirement to give notice and reasons for
denying a homestead exemption application. By contrast,
§
196.193(5)(b) requires that additional, specific information
related to the property appraiser’s decision be contained in a denial
notice. Compliance with the informational requirements in
§
196.193(5)(b) fits easily with §
196.151’s more basic notice
requirement. As there is no conflict in their requirements, both
apply.
Finally, we see no support for affirming on the basis that the
Property Appraiser’s June 30th denial notice complied with
§
196.193(5)(b). The trial court didn’t explain its alternative
finding that the Property Appraiser’s denial notice complied with
§
196.193(5)(b)....
...didn’t include any “specific facts” regarding his evaluation of
Appellants’ circumstances.
III.
Because the Property Appraiser’s denial of Appellants’
homestead property tax exemption did not comply with the notice
requirements of § 196.193(5)(b), it is invalid....
CopyPublished | Florida 1st District Court of Appeal
...Under section
196.011(1)(a), Florida Statutes, appellee had to file its
renewal application for the tax exemption by March 1, 2013, unless certain
statutory exceptions were applicable. Under sections
196.011(6)(a) and
4
196.193(5)(a), Florida Statutes, the property appraiser had until July 1, 2013, to
deny appellee’s application....
...Accordingly, I respectfully dissent.
No exemption from ad valorem taxation exists unless a property owner
makes timely application, see §
196.011(1)(a), Fla. Stat. (2013), and the property
appraiser grants the application (or fails to deny it by July 1). See §
196.193(5)(a),
(b), Fla....
...in writing
on or before July 1 of the same year if the property appraiser determines that the
applicant’s property is “not entitled to any exemption or is entitled to an exemption
to an extent other than that requested in the application.” § 196.193(5)(a), Fla.
Stat.
Also on or before July 1, the property appraiser must assess the value of all
real property, and submit the assessment roll with the amount of each exemption to
the Department of Revenue for review....
