Property Tax Alert: Minnesota

March 2006

An appeal of a Minnesota property tax assessment was properly denied because the taxpayer failed to provide information on real estate-related expenses as required by the 60-day rule. Under the rule, a taxpayer must provide the county with information on tenant-paid real estate expenses within 60 days after filing a chapter 278 petition. The taxpayer, a retail store that rented the property, failed to report expenses for taxes, insurances, utilities, maintenance, and repair. The taxpayer claimed that it did not have to report these expenses because the statute only requires the owner, and not the tenant, of the property to make such disclosures. The 60-day rule focuses on the expenses, however, and not on which party has paid them. Accordingly, because tenant-paid real estate expenses are relevant to the process of appraising the value of rental property, the taxpayer violated the 60-day rule by not disclosing any tenant-paid real estate expenses. Furthermore, the taxpayer's argument that the ruling should have been applied prospectively was denied because the taxpayer failed to provide any recognized theory of law that would support its request.

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