A nonprofit public benefit corporation that operated state university’s on-campus arena brought a property tax refund action against county.
The Superior Court entered judgment for nonprofit corporation after bench trial. County appealed.
The Court of Appeal held that:
- Filing period for refund claim began to run when county assessment appeals board mailed written notice of determination to corporation;
- Refund claim was subject to a one-year filing period; and
- Equitable tolling did not apply to the one-year filing period.
The one-year filing period for taxpayer’s property tax refund claim against county began to run when the county assessment appeals board made a final determination on the assessment reduction application and mailed a written notice of the determination to the taxpayer, not on the later date when taxpayer paid the tax.
Taxpayer’s property tax refund claim against county was subject to the one-year filing period for a claim after “the county assessment appeals board makes a final determination on the application for reduction in assessment or on the application for equalization of an escape assessment of the property, and mails a written notice of its determination to the applicant and the notice does not advise the applicant to file a claim for refund,” where board mailed a notice to taxpayer that did not advise taxpayer to file a claim for refund, taxpayer paid the outstanding taxes and penalties, and then taxpayer filed a refund claim.
Equitable tolling does not apply to the statutory one-year filing period for a refund claim after “the county assessment appeals board makes a final determination on the application for reduction in assessment or on the application for equalization of an escape assessment of the property, and mails a written notice of its determination to the applicant and the notice does not advise the applicant to file a claim for refund,” since the statute is not a statute of limitations.