Section 1. There shall be in the executive office of administration and finance, but not subject to its control in the conduct of its adjudicatory functions, an appellate tax board, in this chapter referred to as the board, consisting of five members, appointed by the governor, with the advice and consent of the council, who […]
Section 10. At the request of any party made before any evidence is offered, or by direction of the board, the board shall order that all proceedings in a pending appeal be officially recorded. The board shall employ transcription methods including, without limitation, electronic transcription equipment, for the purpose of recording or reporting proceedings before […]
Section 11. Any member of the board, or any employee of the board designated in writing for the purpose by the chairman, may administer oaths, and any member of the board may summon and examine witnesses and require, by subpoena signed by the member, the production of all returns, books, papers, documents, correspondence and other […]
Section 12. Witness fees and expenses of service of process may be taxed as costs against the unsuccessful party to the appeal, in the discretion of the board. In the event that the commonwealth, or any official thereof, is the unsuccessful party to an appeal, the costs shall be paid from the state treasury upon […]
Section 12A. If the owner of a parcel of real estate files an appeal of the assessed value of said parcel with the board for either of the next two fiscal years after a fiscal year for which the board has determined the fair cash value of said parcel and if the assessed value is […]
Section 12B. At any hearing relative to the assessed fair cash valuation or classification of property, evidence as to the fair cash valuation or classification of property at which assessors have assessed other property of a comparable nature or class shall be admissible.
Section 12C. In any appeal relative to the assessed valuation of property, the reports of the ratios which assessments in the city or town bear to the fair cash value of each class of property therein and the ratio which the total assessed value bears to the total fair cash value therein as determined by […]
Section 12D. Notwithstanding the provisions of any general or special law to the contrary, in any appeal under the provisions of sections 64 or 65 of chapter 59 from the refusal of the assessors to abate a tax or reclassify any real or personal property by an electric company or gas company, both as defined […]
Section 13. The board, or a single member of the board acting pursuant to the authority outlined in section 1A shall make a decision in each appeal heard by it within three months from the close of the record including submission of briefs and may make findings of fact and report thereon in writing. In […]
Section 14. In cases where the board finds that a taxpayer is being assessed disproportionately with respect to other properties within the same city or town, the board shall compute the measure of damages in the following manner: (1) by computing an equalized tax rate by dividing the total taxes as assessed for that city […]
Section 1A. The majority of the members of the board shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of its business. For purposes of this section, temporary members shall not be counted for purposes of a quorum, and shall not vote on board matters other than upon specific cases to which they are assigned by the […]
Section 2. The principal office of the board shall be in Boston but said board may sit at any place within the commonwealth. The time and place of its meetings shall be prescribed by the chairman, and the chairman shall assign all members for the hearings held outside of Boston on a rotating basis, taking […]
Section 3. The board shall provide for the publication and sale or distribution of such of its reports and opinions as are of public interest, in such form and manner as it may deem best adapted for public convenience and use, upon such terms and conditions as may be approved by the governor and council.
Section 4. The board shall report annually to the general court such suggestions and recommendations for the amendment, alteration and modification of existing laws relative to taxation and related matters, as it may deem desirable, and shall include in such report a statement of the number and type of matters handled by it during the […]
Section 5. The members and employees of the board shall receive their necessary and reasonable traveling expenses and such other expenses, including subsistence actually incurred while traveling outside the city of Boston in the performance of their duties. For purposes of this section, overnight accommodations for travel within a 50 mile radius of Boston shall […]
Section 5A. Subject to appropriation, the chairman shall appoint five attorneys and may appoint such other employees, including clerks, and make such other expenditures including computer training, as he deems necessary in order to execute efficiently the functions vested in said board. Any clerk or assistant clerk employed by the board as of July 1, […]
Section 6. The board shall have jurisdiction to decide appeals under the provisions of: section 42E of chapter 40; sections 2 and 14 of chapter 58; clauses Seventeenth and Twenty-second of section 5 of chapter 59; sections 7, 7A, 39, 64, 65, 65B, 73 and 81 of said chapter 59; section 2 of chapter 60A; […]
Section 7. Any party taking an appeal to the board, hereinafter called the appellant, from a decision or determination of the commissioner or of a board of assessors, hereinafter referred to as the appellee, shall file a petition with the clerk of the appellate tax board and serve upon said appellee a copy thereof in […]
Section 7A. The board shall establish by rule an alternative procedure, hereinafter referred to as the informal procedure, for the determination of petitions for abatement of any tax upon real estate or tangible personal property, where such procedure is elected by both parties, except as hereinafter provided. Such procedure, to the extent that the board […]
Section 7B. (a) The board shall establish by rule a further alternative procedure, hereinafter referred to as the small claims procedure, for the determination of petitions for abatement of any tax or excise to which the provisions of chapter 62C apply, as they are or may be specified in section 2 of said chapter 62C. […]
