You asked how tax assessors are held accountable for certain mistakes in assessing motor vehicles for property taxes: failing to change a motor vehicle owner's address or recording wrong data when doing so. You also asked if the legislature considered bills to address assessors' mistakes.

There are several points in the tax assessment and collection process where assessors or property owners can identify and correct errors, but the law does not sanction assessors if they fail to make address changes or make mistakes when doing so.

The first point occurs December 1, which is the Department of Motor Vehicles' (DMV) annual deadline for sending each town a list of the motor vehicles subject to property taxes there. This requirement reflects the fact that people often sell motor vehicles to others who reside in different towns. The list must include owners' names and addresses and their vehicles' identification number. Assessors who do not receive an up-to-date list by December 1 should contact DMV (CGS § 14-163).

The second point occurs when towns send out tax bills. The law requires tax collectors to mail or hand deliver each taxpayer's property tax bill, but does not absolve taxpayers from paying the tax if they did not receive a bill (CGS § 12-130). Consequently, the law implicitly requires a taxpayer to contact the tax collector if he or she did not receive a bill. Doing so allows the taxpayer to check for errors or mistakes and pay the taxes on time, thus avoiding the statutory interest penalty for delinquent taxes.

If the taxpayer received a bill with a clerical error or omission he or she may ask the tax assessor to correct it and issue a certificate of correction (CGS § 12-60). But the taxpayer must do so within three years after the tax's due date. If the assessor disagrees with the taxpayer and refuses to issue the certificate, the taxpayer may appeal the assessor's action to the board of assessment appeals.

The third point occurs if the taxpayer is charged interest for delinquent taxes. The law allows the town to waive the interest if the tax assessor and the tax collector agree that the delinquency resulted from an error on their part and not any act or failure on the taxpayer's part (CGS § 12-145).

It does not appear that the legislature considered bills sanctioning tax assessors for errors and mistakes. But, as Table 1 shows, it considered bills intended to reduce the number of errors and mistakes.

Table 1: Bills Dealing with Errors and Mistakes

in Motor Vehicle Tax Bills

JR:ts