Property taxation.

(1) Existing law authorizes the tax collector to apply any refund due a taxpayer, or a taxpayer's agent, to specified delinquent taxes, except when a refund is due to a taxpayer because the taxpayer or the agent for the taxpayer submitted a replicated tax payment, as defined. This bill would eliminate the exception described above. (2) Existing law, in the case in which a taxpayer has failed to pay taxes on an assessment that is the subject of a pending assessment appeal, limits, as provided, the amount of penalty relief to the difference between the final determination of value by the county board, as defined, and the value on the assessment roll for the fiscal year covered by the application. This bill would similarly limit penalty relief in the case in which a taxpayer has failed to pay taxes on an assessment that is the subject of a pending informal review due to a decline in value as a result of damage, destruction, depreciation, obsolescence, removal of property, or other factors causing a decline in value. This bill would require the tax collector to accept a payment in the amount of 80% of the amount of tax finally determined due if that payment was made within 30 days of the taxpayer filing an application for reassessment. This bill would require the county tax collector to provide notice to taxpayers of these penalty provisions. This bill would also provide that these provisions shall apply in a county only if the county board of supervisors, with the approval of the county's tax collector and the county's auditor, adopts a resolution or ordinance approving the penalty relief, as provided. (3) Existing law requires the payment of interest on property tax refunds at the greater of 3% per annum or the county pool apportioned rate. Existing law requires, for each fiscal year, the county treasurer to advise the Controller of the county pool apportioned rate, and of computations made in deriving that rate, no later than 60 days after the end of that fiscal year. This bill would extend the time period the county treasurer has to advise the Controller of the county pool apportioned rate from 60 to 90 days.