Property Tax Alert–New Jersey

April 2005

When a taxpayer, in good faith, responds to a Chapter 91 request and, through no fault or negligence of the taxpayer, the assessor does not receive the response; the severe limitation on appeal rights contained in Chapter 91 should not be imposed. Therefore, a municipality's motion to dismiss a taxpayer's appeal of a property tax assessment for failure to respond to the local tax assessor's Chapter 91 request for information was denied because the taxpayer neither failed nor refused to respond to the request. The taxpayer mailed, by regular mail, an adequate and timely response to the Chapter 91 request for information, but the assessor did not receive the response. The limitation is appropriate only when a taxpayer has, in the words of the statute, "failed or refused to respond" to the assessor's request.

Please contact Rash & Associates for more information.