Maine Revised Statutes Title 36. Taxation § 843. Appeals

1. Municipalities. If a municipality has adopted a board of assessment review and the assessors or the municipal officers refuse to make the abatement asked for, the applicant may apply in writing to the board of assessment review within 60 days after notice of the decision from which the appeal is being taken or after the application is deemed to have been denied, and, if the board thinks the applicant is over-assessed, the applicant is granted such reasonable abatement as the board thinks proper. Except with regard to nonresidential property or properties with an equalized municipal valuation of $1,000,000 or greater either separately or in the aggregate, either party may appeal from the decision of the board of assessment review directly to the Superior Court, in accordance with Rule 80B of the Maine Rules of Civil Procedure. If the board of assessment review fails to give written notice of its decision within 60 days of the date the application is filed, unless the applicant agrees in writing to further delay, the application is deemed denied and the applicant may appeal to Superior Court as if there had been a written denial.

1-A. Nonresidential property of $1,000,000 or greater. With regard to nonresidential property or properties with an equalized municipal valuation of $1,000,000 or greater either separately or in the aggregate, either party may appeal the decision of the local board of assessment review or the primary assessing area board of assessment review to the State Board of Property Tax Review within 60 days after notice of the decision from which the appeal is taken or after the application is deemed to be denied, as provided in subsections 1 and 2. The board shall hold a hearing de novo. If the board thinks that the applicant is over-assessed, it shall grant such reasonable abatement as the board thinks proper. For the purposes of this section, “nonresidential property” means property that is used primarily for commercial, industrial or business purposes, excluding unimproved land that is not associated with a commercial, industrial or business use.

2. Primary assessing areas. If a primary assessing area has adopted a board of assessment review and the assessors or municipal officers refuse to make the abatement asked for, the applicant may apply in writing to the board of assessment review within 60 days after notice of the decision from which the appeal is being taken or after the application is deemed to have been denied, and if the board thinks the applicant is over-assessed, the applicant is granted such reasonable abatement as the board thinks proper. Except with regard to nonresidential property or properties with an equalized municipal valuation of $1,000,000 or greater, either separately or in the aggregate, either party may appeal the decision of the board of assessment review directly to the Superior Court, in accordance with the Maine Rules of Civil Procedure, Rule 80B. If the board of assessment review fails to give written notice of its decision within 60 days of the date the application was filed, unless the applicant agrees in writing to further delay, the application is deemed denied and the applicant may appeal to the Superior Court as if there had been a written denial.

3. Notice of decision. Any agency to which an appeal is made under this section is subject to the provisions for notice of decision in section 842.

4. Payment requirements for taxpayers. If the taxpayer has filed an appeal under this section without having paid an amount of current taxes equal to the amount of taxes paid in the immediately preceding tax year, as long as that amount does not exceed the amount of taxes due in the current tax year or the amount of taxes in the current tax year not in dispute, whichever is greater, by or after the due date or according to a payment schedule mutually agreed to in writing by the taxpayer and the municipal officers, the appeal process must be suspended until the taxes, together with any accrued interest and costs, have been paid. If an appeal is in process upon expiration of a due date or written payment schedule date for payment of taxes in a particular municipality, without the appropriate amount of taxes having been paid, whether the taxes are due for the year under appeal or a subsequent tax year, the appeal process must be suspended until the appropriate amount of taxes described in this subsection, together with any accrued interest and costs, has been paid. This subsection does not apply to property with a valuation of less than $500,000.