2020 Georgia Code
Title 48 - Revenue and Taxation
Chapter 5 - Ad Valorem Taxation of Property
Article 1 - General Provisions
§ 48-5-1. Legislative Intent

The intent and purpose of the tax laws of this state are to have all property and subjects of taxation returned at the value which would be realized from the cash sale, but not the forced sale, of the property and subjects as such property and subjects are usually sold except as otherwise provided in this chapter.

(Ga. L. 1909, p. 36, § 22; Civil Code 1910, § 1004; Code 1933, § 92-5702; Ga. L. 1968, p. 358, § 1; Ga. L. 1975, p. 96, § 1; Ga. L. 1978, p. 1950, § 1; Code 1933, § 91A-1001, enacted by Ga. L. 1978, p. 309, § 2; Ga. L. 1991, p. 1903, § 1.)

- Ga. L. 1991, p. 1903, § 15, not codified by the General Assembly, provides that the amendment to this Code section shall be applicable beginning January 1, 1992, with respect to ad valorem taxation of timber and shall be applicable beginning January 1, 1992, for all other purposes. Taxation for prior periods shall continue to be governed by prior law.

- Taxation of standing timber, Official Compilation of the Rules and Regulations of the State of Georgia, Department of Revenue, Local Government Services Division, Chapter 560-11-5.

Conservation use property, Official Compilation of the Rules and Regulations of the State of Georgia, Department of Revenue, Local Government Services Division, Chapter 560-11-6.

Appraisal procedures manual, Official Compilation of the Rules and Regulations of the State of Georgia, Department of Revenue, Local Government Services Division, Chapter 560-11-10.

Forest land protection, Official Compilation of the Rules and Regulations of the State of Georgia, Department of Revenue, Local Government Services Division, Chapter 560-11-11.

- For article surveying developments in Georgia local government law from mid-1980 through mid-1981, see 33 Mercer L. Rev. 187 (1981). For article surveying developments in Georgia real property law from mid-1980 through mid-1981, see 33 Mercer L. Rev. 219 (1981). For annual survey on local government law, see 68 Mercer L. Rev. 199 (2016). For annual survey on local government law, see 71 Mercer L. Rev. 189 (2019).

JUDICIAL DECISIONS

Construction.

- The language in O.C.G.A. § 48-5-1 that exempts forced sales from determining the tax value of a property is limited by the "notwithstanding any other provision" language in O.C.G.A. § 48-5-2 (3) as well as by its own terms "except as otherwise provided in this chapter." Thus, foreclosure sales can be arm's length, bona fide sales and these properties can not be taxed at fair market values higher than the amounts paid at public auctions. DeKalb County Bd. of Tax Assessors v. Astor Atl, LLC, 349 Ga. App. 867, 826 S.E.2d 685 (2019).

Fact that property may be rented for amount which is disproportionate to "fair market value" does not, in and of itself, entitle the owner to an assessment based on some other method of valuation. Williamson v. DeKalb County Bd. of Tax Assessors, 168 Ga. App. 47, 308 S.E.2d 55 (1983).

- Statute merely states a rule to be applied by municipalities in arriving at the value at which taxable property shall be assessed for the purposes of taxation, and does not purport to limit investigations or the manner or agencies by which the municipal authorities shall inquire into such value of taxable property. Tietjen v. Mayor of Savannah, 161 Ga. 125, 129 S.E. 653 (1925).

Land should be assessed at market value without entering into a determination of the value only of a life estate placed thereon. Loudermilk v. Cobb County Bd. of Tax Assessors, 155 Ga. App. 591, 271 S.E.2d 723 (1980).

Market value of property, not the fractional interest is evaluated in determining the tax base. Loudermilk v. Cobb County Bd. of Tax Assessors, 155 Ga. App. 591, 271 S.E.2d 723 (1980).

- Trial court erred by determining that the sheriff's sale of certain real property was not an arm's length, bona fide sale under O.C.G.A. § 48-5-2(3) because the sheriff's sale of the subject property was a distress sale and public auction; thus, it was an arm's length, bona fide sale under the plain terms of § 48-5-2(.1). Park Solutions, LLC v. DeKalb County Bd. of Tax Assessors, 336 Ga. App. 832, 783 S.E.2d 453 (2016).

- Although the taxpayers' memberships in a club were not subject to taxation, if a taxpayer relinquished that membership upon sale of the taxpayer's real estate, the buyer could apply for immediate membership, and such an application would normally be granted. Therefore, a county board of tax assessors would have violated Ga. Const. 1983, Art. VII, Sec. I, Para. III and O.C.G.A. § 48-5-1 if the board excluded the enhanced value of the properties attributable to the right to apply for such memberships from ad valorem taxation because it was part of the properties' fair market value. Morton v. Glynn County Bd. of Tax Assessors, 294 Ga. App. 901, 670 S.E.2d 528 (2008).

- Life estate is not a restrictive covenant or condition in a deed and does not affect the rate of taxation on the land. Loudermilk v. Cobb County Bd. of Tax Assessors, 155 Ga. App. 591, 271 S.E.2d 723 (1980).

Life interest in an individual does not constitute a restriction dedicating the property to a particular use. Loudermilk v. Cobb County Bd. of Tax Assessors, 155 Ga. App. 591, 271 S.E.2d 723 (1980).

Cited in Evans v. Board of Tax Assessors, 168 Ga. App. 792, 310 S.E.2d 562 (1983); Nat'l Tax Funding, L.P. v. Harpagon Co., 277 Ga. 41, 586 S.E.2d 235 (2003).

22B Am. Jur. Pleading and Practice Forms, State and Local Taxation, §§ 1, 6.

- 82 C.J.S., Statutes, § 402, 410 et seq. 84 C.J.S., Taxation, §§ 89 et seq., 145 et seq., 166 et seq., 230 et seq.