{"id":5229,"date":"2011-05-01T18:19:42","date_gmt":"2011-02-25T07:30:49","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2011-02-25T07:30:49","slug":"en-US","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/fourthamendment.com\/?p=5229","title":{"rendered":"OK: Tax assessor cannot enter home for purposes of valuing real property"},"content":{"rendered":"

Oklahoma tax assessor cannot enter home for purposes of valuing real property. Atkinson v. Gurich<\/a>, 2011 OK 12, 248 P.3d 356 (2011):<\/p>\n

[*P1] The issue presented is whether the trial court abused its discretion in ruling that the county assessor can enter the home of a taxpayer who challenged the assessor’s fair market value assessment. The fourth amendment of the United States Constitution, and art. 2 \u00a7 30 of the Okla. Const., protect the right of the people to be secure in their houses and effects against unreasonable searches. These protections are incorporated into 68 O.S. 2001 \u00a72818 (C)(1) and (D) which prohibit the county assessor from entering the home of a taxpayer, unless the taxpayer requests a visual inspection of household personal property because its value is disputed. Because Oklahoma County no longer taxes household personal property there is neither a reason nor a right allowing the assessor to enter residential property. Accordingly, we hold that: 1) in the absence of a dispute over the valuation of household personal property and a request by the taxpayer, 68 O.S. 2001 \u00a7 2818(C)(1) and (D) do not authorize the County Assessor to enter residential property; and 2) 12 O.S. Supp. 2008 \u00a7 3234(A)(2) of the Oklahoma Discovery Code does not provide an exception when entry to residential property is otherwise explicitly precluded by statute.<\/p>\n

. . .<\/p>\n

[*P9] This cause concerns a dispute over the valuation of fair market value, the taxable market value, and the gross assessed value, not a valuation of household personal property. No other statute, and neither the Oklahoma constitution nor the United States Constitution allow such governmental intrusion. Here, there is no dispute over household personal property and Oklahoma County does not collect taxes on household personal property.<\/p>\n

[*P10] Instead, fair market valuation of residential property is conducted pursuant to 68 O.S. 2001 \u00a7 2829 which sets forth the mass appraisal methodology as a process which uses known information about the property’s characteristics such as location, use, size, sales price and other information from similar properties. The county assessor is required to physically visit the property every four years and, by the assessor’s own admission, private residences are not entered during the valuation process. There is no information to be gained by entering the taxpayer’s home that is necessary for a fair market valuation. Even if the inside of the taxpayer’s home is lavish it is likely that the home would just be over-built for the area and the taxpayer would have invested more into the home than its fair market value.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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