2006 Ohio Revised Code - [4503.06.6] 4503.066.Application for reduction; notice of change in eligibility.

[§ 4503.06.6] § 4503.066. Application for reduction; notice of change in eligibility.
 

(A) (1)  To obtain a reduction in the assessable value of a manufactured or mobile home under section 4503.065 of the Revised Code, the owner of the home shall file an application with the county auditor of the county in which the home is located. An application for reduction in assessable value based upon a physical disability shall be accompanied by a certificate signed by a physician, and an application for reduction in assessable value based upon a mental disability shall be accompanied by a certificate signed by a physician or psychologist licensed to practice in this state. The certificate shall attest to the fact that the applicant is permanently and totally disabled, shall be in a form that the department of taxation requires, and shall include the definition of totally and permanently disabled as set forth in section 4503.064 of the Revised Code. An application for reduction in assessable value based upon a disability certified as permanent and total by a state or federal agency having the function of so classifying persons shall be accompanied by a certificate from that agency. 

(2) Each application shall constitute a continuing application for a reduction in assessable value for each year in which the manufactured or mobile home is occupied by the applicant and in which the amount of the reduction in assessable value does not exceed either the amount or per cent of the reduction for the year in which the application was first filed. Failure to receive a new application or notification under division (B) of this section after a certificate of reduction has been issued under section 4503.067 of the Revised Code is prima-facie evidence that the original applicant is entitled to the reduction in assessable value calculated on the basis of the information contained in the original application. The original application and any subsequent application shall be in the form of a signed statement and shall be filed not later than the first Monday in June. The statement shall be on a form, devised and supplied by the tax commissioner, that shall require no more information than is necessary to establish the applicant's eligibility for the reduction in assessable value and the amount of the reduction to which the applicant is entitled. The form shall contain a statement that signing such application constitutes a delegation of authority by the applicant to the county auditor to examine any financial records that relate to income earned by the applicant as stated on the application for the purpose of determining eligibility under, or possible violation of, division (C) or (D) of this section. The form also shall contain a statement that conviction of willfully falsifying information to obtain a reduction in assessable value or failing to comply with division (B) of this section shall result in the revocation of the right to the reduction for a period of three years. 

(3) A late application for a reduction in assessable value for the year preceding the year for which an original application is filed may be filed with an original application. If the auditor determines that the information contained in the late application is correct, the auditor shall determine both the amount of the reduction in assessable value to which the applicant would have been entitled for the current tax year had the application been timely filed and approved in the preceding year, and the amount the taxes levied under section 4503.06 of the Revised Code for the current year would have been reduced as a result of the reduction in assessable value. When an applicant is permanently and totally disabled on the first day of January of the year in which the applicant files a late application, the auditor, in making the determination of the amounts of the reduction in assessable value and taxes under division (A) (3) of this section, is not required to determine that the applicant was permanently and totally disabled on the first day of January of the preceding year. 
 

The amount of the reduction in taxes pursuant to a late application shall be treated as an overpayment of taxes by the applicant. The auditor shall credit the amount of the overpayment against the amount of the taxes or penalties then due from the applicant, and, at the next succeeding settlement, the amount of the credit shall be deducted from the amount of any taxes or penalties distributable to the county or any taxing unit in the county that has received the benefit of the taxes or penalties previously overpaid, in proportion to the benefits previously received. If, after the credit has been made, there remains a balance of the overpayment, or if there are no taxes or penalties due from the applicant, the auditor shall refund that balance to the applicant by a warrant drawn on the county treasurer in favor of the applicant. The treasurer shall pay the warrant from the general fund of the county. If there is insufficient money in the general fund to make the payment, the treasurer shall pay the warrant out of any undivided manufactured or mobile home taxes subsequently received by the treasurer for distribution to the county or taxing district in the county that received the benefit of the overpaid taxes, in proportion to the benefits previously received, and the amount paid from the undivided funds shall be deducted from the money otherwise distributable to the county or taxing district in the county at the next or any succeeding distribution. At the next or any succeeding distribution after making the refund, the treasurer shall reimburse the general fund for any payment made from that fund by deducting the amount of that payment from the money distributable to the county or other taxing unit in the county that has received the benefit of the taxes, in proportion to the benefits previously received. On the second Monday in September of each year, the county auditor shall certify the total amount of the reductions in taxes made in the current year under division (A) (3) of this section to the tax commissioner who shall treat that amount as a reduction in taxes for the current tax year and shall make reimbursement to the county of that amount in the manner prescribed in section 4503.068 of the Revised Code, from moneys appropriated for that purpose. 

(B)  If in any year after an application has been filed under division (A) of this section the owner no longer qualifies for the reduction in assessable value for which the owner was issued a certificate or qualifies for a reduction that is less than either the per cent or amount of the reduction to which the owner was entitled in the year the application was filed, the owner shall notify the county auditor that the owner is not qualified for a reduction in the assessable value of the home or file a new application under division (A) of this section. 
 

During January of each year, the county auditor shall furnish each person issued a certificate of reduction in value, by ordinary mail, a form on which to report any changes in total income that would have the effect of increasing or decreasing the reduction to which the person is entitled, changes in ownership of the home, including changes in or revocation of a revocable inter vivos trust, changes in disability, and other changes in the information earlier furnished the auditor relative to the application. The form shall be completed and returned to the auditor not later than the first Monday in June if the changes would affect the level of reduction in assessable value. 

(C)  No person shall knowingly make a false statement for the purpose of obtaining a reduction in assessable value under section 4503.065 of the Revised Code. 

(D)  No person shall knowingly fail to notify the county auditor of any change required by division (B) of this section that has the effect of maintaining or securing a reduction in assessable value of the home in excess of the reduction allowed under section 4503.065 of the Revised Code. 

(E)  No person shall knowingly make a false statement or certification attesting to any person's physical or mental condition for purposes of qualifying such person for tax relief pursuant to sections 4503.064 to 4503.069 of the Revised Code. 

(F)  Whoever violates division (C), (D), or (E) of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor of the fourth degree. 
 

HISTORY: 141 v H 182 (Eff 3-13-87); 142 v H 693 (Eff 3-17-89); 144 v H 641 (Eff 10-6-92); 147 v S 142. Eff 3-30-99; 149 v S 123, § 1, eff. 1-1-04.
 

The effective date is set by section 4 of S.B. 123. 

See provisions, § 5 of S.B. 123 (149 v  - ), following RC § 4501.01. 

See provisions, § 3(B) of SB 6 (148 v  - ), following RC § 4503.06.4. 

 

Effect of Amendments

S.B. 123, Acts 2002, effective January 1, 2004, added (F).