Session of 1998
                   
SENATE BILL No. 395
         
By Special Committee on Assessment and Taxation
         
12-17
            9             AN ACT relating to property taxation; concerning property tax statement
10             late filing penalties; amending K.S.A. 79-1422 and 79-2001 and re-
11             pealing the existing sections.
12            
13       Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Kansas:
14           Section 1. K.S.A. 79-1422 is hereby amended to read as follows:
15       79-1422. (a) Any person required to file a statement listing property for
16       assessment and taxation purposes under the provisions of this act who
17       fails to make and file such statement on or before the date prescribed by
18       K.S.A. 79-306, and amendments thereto, shall be subject to a penalty as
19       follows:
20           The appraiser shall, after having ascertained the assessed value of the
21       property of such taxpayer, add 5% thereto as a penalty for late filing if
22       the failure is not for more than one month, with an additional 5% for
23       each additional month or fraction thereof during which such failure con-
24       tinues, not exceeding 25% in the aggregate.
25           For good cause shown the appraiser may extend the time in which to
26       make and file such statement. Such request for extension of time must
27       be in writing and shall state just and adequate reasons on which the
28       request may be granted. The request must be received by the appraiser
29       prior to the due date of the statement.
30           (b) If, within one year following the date prescribed by K.S.A. 79-
31       306, and amendments thereto, any person shall fail to make and file the
32       statement listing property for assessment and taxation purposes or shall
33       fail to make and file a full and complete statement listing property for
34       such purposes, the appraiser shall proceed to ascertain the assessed value
35       of the property of such taxpayer, and for this purpose the appraiser may
36       examine under oath any person or persons whom the appraiser deems to
37       have knowledge thereof. The appraiser shall, after having ascertained the
38       assessed value of such property, add 50% 25% thereto as a penalty for
39       failure to file such statement or for failure to file a full and complete
40       statement.
41           (c) The board of tax appeals shall have the authority to abate any
42       penalty imposed under the provisions of this section and order the refund
43       of the abated penalty, whenever excusable neglect on the part of the

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  1       person required to make and file the statement listing property for as-
  2       sessment and taxation purposes is shown, or whenever the property for
  3       which a statement of assessment was not filed as required by law is re-
  4       possessed, judicially or otherwise, by a secured creditor and such secured
  5       creditor pays the taxes and interest due.
  6           Sec. 2. K.S.A. 79-2001 is hereby amended to read as follows: 79-
  7       2001. (a) As soon as the county treasurer receives the tax roll of the
  8       county, the treasurer shall enter in a column opposite the description of
  9       each tract or parcel of land the amount of unpaid taxes and the date of
10       unredeemed sales, if any, for previous years on such land. The treasurer
11       shall cause a notice to be published in the official county paper once each
12       week for three consecutive weeks, stating in the notice the amount of
13       taxes charged for state, county, township, school, city or other purposes
14       for that year, on each $1,000 of valuation.
15           (b) Each year after receipt of the tax roll from the county clerk and
16       before December 15, the treasurer shall mail to each taxpayer, as shown
17       by the rolls, a tax statement which indicates the taxing unit, assessed value
18       of real and personal property, the mill levy and tax due. If such assessed
19       value includes any penalty, the value attributable to such penalty shall be
20       separately stated. In addition, with respect to land devoted to agricultural
21       use, such statement shall indicate the acreage and description of each
22       parcel of such land. The tax statement shall also indicate separately each
23       parcel of real property which is separately classified for property tax pur-
24       poses. The county appraiser shall provide the information necessary for
25       the county treasurer to comply with the provisions of this section. The
26       tax statement also may include the intangible tax due the county. All items
27       may be on one statement or may be shown on separate statements and
28       may be on a form prescribed by the county treasurer. The statement shall
29       be mailed to the last known address of the taxpayer or to a designee
30       authorized by the taxpayer to accept the tax statement, if the designee
31       has an interest in receiving the statement. When any statement is re-
32       turned to the county treasurer for failure to find the addressee, the trea-
33       surer shall make a diligent effort to find a forwarding address of the
34       taxpayer and mail the statement to the new address. All tax statements
35       mailed pursuant to this section shall be mailed by first-class mail. The
36       requirement for mailing a tax statement shall extend only to the initial
37       statement required to be mailed in each year and to any follow-up re-
38       quired by this section.
39           (c) For tax year 1998, and all tax years thereafter, after receipt of the
40       tax roll from the county clerk and before December 15, the treasurer
41       shall mail to each taxpayer, as shown by the tax rolls, a tax information
42       form which indicates the taxing unit, assessed value of real property for
43       the current and next preceding taxable year, the mill levy for the current

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  1       and next preceding taxable year and, in the case of unified school districts,
  2       the mill levy required by K.S.A. 72-6431, and amendments thereto, shall
  3       be separately indicated, the tax due and an itemization of each taxing
  4       unit's mill levy for the current and next preceding taxable year and the
  5       percentage change in the amount of revenue produced therefrom, if any.
  6       In addition, with respect to land devoted to agricultural use, such form
  7       shall indicate the acreage and description of each parcel of such land.
  8       The tax information form shall also indicate separately each parcel of real
  9       property which is separately classified for property tax purposes. The
10       county appraiser shall provide the information necessary for the county
11       treasurer to comply with the provisions of this section. The tax informa-
12       tion form may be separate from the tax statement or a part of the tax
13       statement. The tax information form shall be in a format prescribed by
14       the director of property valuation. The tax information form shall be
15       mailed to the last known address of the taxpayer. When a tax information
16       form is returned to the county treasurer for failure to find the addressee,
17       the treasurer shall make a diligent effort to find a forwarding address of
18       the taxpayer and mail the tax information form to the new address. All
19       tax information forms mailed pursuant to this section shall be mailed by
20       first class mail.
21           Sec. 3. K.S.A. 79-1422 and 79-2001 are hereby repealed.
22           Sec. 4. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its
23       publication in the statute book.
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