Recent Developments in Indiana Taxation - I.U. School of Law ...

1158 INDIANA LAW REVIEW [Vol. 40:1103
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property was assessed at a higher value than other property in the county. In
its appeal to the SBTC, BP submitted a number of studies and reports that
showed that property in Lake County was generally assessed at lower than fair
market value while its property was assessed for more than its fair market
591 value. BP requested that its assessment be reduced by application of an
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equalization adjustment. The SBTC denied the petitions for two reasons:
equalization was a remedy available “only to a group, or class, of taxpayers, and
not to an individual taxpayer;” and, even if equalization were available to BP as
an individual taxpayer, the studies and reports it provided were irrelevant
because they used an incorrect standard (fair market value) to measure
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uniformity. While this case was pending before the Tax Court, the Supreme
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Court issued its opinion in DLGF v. Commonwealth Edison Co. of Indiana in
which it found “ample statutory authority allowed individual taxpayers to seek
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[equalization] adjustments . . . .” In addition, the Supreme Court ruled that
studies showing disparities in fair market value to challenge assessments based
on fair market value were irrelevant for assessments prior to 2002 because the
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assessment system was based on a property’s “true tax value” (“TTV”). In
light of this ruling, the Tax Court requested additional briefs from the parties to
determine if BP provided any evidence at the administrative hearing that could
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support its claim for an equalization adjustment. BP admitted that its initial
case was founded on calculations and data that the Supreme Court later held to
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be invalid. However, it had also submitted a study that compared the
assessments made by local township assessors to those made for the same
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properties by employees of the SBTC. That study found that residential real
property in North Township was under-assessed by 38%, commercial real
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property by 11%, and industrial real property by 8%. BP claimed that it was
entitled to a 38% equalization reduction in the assessment on its property. 601
However, the Tax Court referenced many prior decisions that made it clear that
property could only be compared with similar property for purposes of
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determining uniformity and equality in the tax burden on the property. The
study that BP relied upon was solely concerned with the valuation of real
property, while the evidence in BP’s 1999 assessment showed that over 80% of
590. Id. at 902 n.2.
591. Id. at 903.
592. Id.
593. Id.
594. 820 N.E.2d 1222 (Ind. 2005).
595. Id. at 1226.
596. BP, 842 N.E.2d at 903.
597. Id.
598. Id. at 904.
599. Id. at 904-05.
600. Id. at 905.
601. Id. at 905 n.6.
602. Id. at 905-06.