Values of property for property taxation purposes determined by the division or the county assessor are presumed to be correct. Determinations of tax rates, classification, allocations of net taxable values of property to governmental units and the computation and determination of property taxes made by the officer or agency responsible therefor under the Property Tax Code are presumed to be correct.
History: 1953 Comp., § 72-31-6, enacted by Laws 1973, ch. 258, § 46; 1981, ch. 37, § 67.
ANNOTATIONSAssessor's valuation sufficient evidence to support decision. — Since the assessor's valuation is presumed to be correct, it is sufficient evidence, where uncontradicted, to support the board's decision. Peterson Props. v. Valencia Cnty. Valuation Protests Bd., 1976-NMCA-043, 89 N.M. 239, 549 P.2d 1074.
Application of presumption. — The question whether property is entitled to the special valuation method in Section 7-36-20 NMSA 1978 is a question of classification; property that is classified as agricultural is entitled to the benefit of that section, whereas other property is not. Jicarilla Apache Nation v. Rodarte, 2004-NMSC-035, 136 N.M. 630, 103 P.3d 554, rev'g 2004-NMCA-055, 135 N.M. 630, 92 P.3d 642.
Presumption in this section is applicable only to the value of property and inapplicable when the question is whether a taxpayer is entitled to the special method of valuation provided for in 7-36-20 NMSA 1978. Jicarilla Apache Nation v. Rio Arriba Cnty. Assessor, 2004-NMCA-055, 135 N.M. 630, 92 P.3d 642, rev'd 2004-NMSC-035, 136 N.M. 630, 103 P.3d 554.
Presumption is rebuttable and is best characterized as a prima facie inference in that it shifts the burden of going forward with the evidence to the taxpayer to prove the contrary. Petition of Kinscherff, 1976-NMCA-097, 89 N.M. 669, 556 P.2d 355, cert. denied, 90 N.M. 8, 558 P.2d 620; N.M. Baptist Found. v. Bernalillo Cnty. Assessor, 1979-NMCA-102, 93 N.M. 363, 600 P.2d 309.
Presumption of correctness can be overcome by taxpayer's showing that an assessor did not follow the statutory provisions of the act or by presenting evidence tending to dispute the factual correctness of the valuation. N.M. Baptist Found. v. Bernalillo Cnty. Assessor, 1979-NMCA-102, 93 N.M. 363, 600 P.2d 309; La Jara Land Developers, Inc. v. Bernalillo County Assessor, 1982-NMCA-006, 97 N.M. 318, 639 P.2d 605.
Overcoming the statutory presumption of correctness afforded to the assessor's valuation. — Where appellant sought review of the Bernalillo county valuation protests board's (protests board) valuation of appellant's commercial property, where appellant offered evidence of value tending to dispute the factual correctness of the county assessor's method of valuation, where the county assessor did not offer expert testimony disputing that appellant's method of valuation was a generally accepted appraisal technique, and where neither the protests board nor the district court ruled that appellant failed to overcome the statutory presumption of correctness afforded to the assessor's valuation, the appellant overcame the statutory presumption of correctness and the burden shifted to the assessor to prove that his or her method of valuation utilized a generally accepted appraisal technique. 2727 San Pedro LLC v. Bernalillo Cty. Assessor, 2017-NMCA-008.
Since taxpayer overcame presumption, burden rested on assessor. — This presumption is rebuttable and is best characterized as a prima facie inference in that it shifts the burden of going forward with the evidence to the taxpayer to prove the contrary; where taxpayer's protest and evidence overcame the presumption the burden rested on the county assessor to meet the contentions of the taxpayer. San Pedro S. Group v. Bernalillo Cnty. Valuation Protest Bd., 1976-NMCA-116, 89 N.M. 784, 558 P.2d 53.
Since taxpayer overcame presumption, burden rested on assessor. — While the county assessor's valuation is presumed to be correct, this presumption is rebuttable, and, once rebutted, the burden shifts to the county assessor to show the correct valuation. Bakel v. Bernalillo Cnty. Assessor, 1980-NMCA-173, 95 N.M. 723, 625 P.2d 1240; Protest of Plaza Del Sol Ltd. P'ship v. Assessor for Cnty. of Bernalillo, 1986-NMCA-022, 104 N.M. 154, 717 P.2d 1123.
This section places the burden on the taxpayer to overcome the presumption of correctness, but, the burden shifted to the county assessor to show a correct valuation once that burden of correctness is overcome. Cibola Energy Corp. v. Roselli, 1987-NMCA-055, 105 N.M. 774, 737 P.2d 555.
Since taxpayer's valuation is supported by the whole record in that after rebutting the assessor's valuation and presenting a prima facie case for its own valuation the board failed to rebut taxpayer's appraisal, the decision of the board will be reversed and remanded with instructions that the board enter judgment for taxpayer in favor of its valuations. Cibola Energy Corp. v. Roselli, 1987-NMCA-055, 105 N.M. 774, 737 P.2d 555.
Taxpayer effectively rebutted presumption. — Since taxpayers presented uncontradicted evidence that access to their property was physically blocked and also offered the only substantial evidence of the fair market value of the property in the form of testimony by a real estate appraiser that because of the lack of access the highest and best use that the property could be put to was as grazing land by one of the adjoining landowners, and that as such it had a fair market value of $18.00 per acre, or $2034 and $5022 respectively for the two tracts, they effectively rebutted the presumption of this section that the county assessor's valuations of $313,875 and $169,500 were correct. Petition of Kinscherff, 1976-NMCA-097, 89 N.M. 669, 556 P.2d 355, cert. denied, 90 N.M. 8, 558 P.2d 620.
When presumption unrebutted by lack of comparable sales evidence. — Since the documents relied upon by a taxpayer as evidence of comparable sales are documents dealing with the sale of that very improvement whose valuation is the subject of the present dispute and the only evidence submitted by the taxpayer failed to present any evidence of sales of comparable property and the evidence submitted does not establish a market value under Section 7-36-15B NMSA 1978 and the statutory presumption of correctness still stands. N.M. Baptist Found. v. Bernalillo Cnty. Assessor, 1979-NMCA-102, 93 N.M. 363, 600 P.2d 309.
Presumption of assessor's valuation not overcome. — Since taxpayer failed to present any evidence of sales of comparable property or evidence of value based on generally accepted appraisal techniques, and its only evidence, the purchase price of its land in question, did not establish a market value under Section 7-36-15 NMSA 1978, the presumption of the correctness of the assessor's valuation was not overcome. Peterson Props. v. Valencia Cnty. Valuation Protests Bd., 1976-NMCA-043, 89 N.M. 239, 549 P.2d 1074.
Failure to overcome presumption. — Taxpayers' offer of the price for which they had purchased the property in question as evidence of fair market value failed to overcome the presumption of the correctness of the assessor's valuation where the sales price was not the result of an arms'-length transaction because of the taxpayers' mailing campaign to convince landowners to sell their property to the taxpayers at below market prices. In re Cobb, 1991-NMCA-122, 113 N.M. 251, 824 P.2d 1053, cert. denied, 113 N.M. 44, 822 P.2d 1127.
Taxpayers challenge of their property assessment, which proposed an alternative assessment method, failed to present sufficient evidence to overcome the presumption that the original assessment was correct. Hannahs v. Anderson, 1998-NMCA-152, 126 N.M. 1, 966 P.2d 168, cert. denied, 126 N.M. 532, 972 P.2d 351.
Am. Jur. 2d, A.L.R. and C.J.S. references. — 72 Am. Jur. 2d State and Local Taxation §§ 713, 780.