ATTENTION LOS ANGELES COUNTY PROPERTY OWNERS:
Monday, December 2, 2002, is the New Deadline to File an Assessment Appeal
For a Reduction in Your Property Value

John Chiang, Chair, State Board of Equalization (BOE) wishes to remind Los Angeles County property taxpayers that Monday, December 2, 2002, is the new final date to file an application for an assessment reduction for your home, condominium, or other secured property. This is two days past the actual November 30 deadline that falls on a Saturday this year.

The new November 30 deadline was a successful legislative proposal offered by Board of Equalization Chair, John Chiang, and enacted by the Legislature and Governor Davis in Assembly Bill 645 (Horton).

Chair John Chiang explained: "The old September 15 deadline came before property owners received their tax bills in October. So, property owners were faced with a 'Catch 22'-deciding whether to file an appeal before receiving notice of the assessed value of their property. The new deadline of November 30 corrects this defect, and allows property owners to look at their property tax bill in October and decide whether to file an appeal by the end of November."

There are two exceptions where the deadline remains September 15: If you have an unsecured assessment, or if you received an assessed value notice on or before July 31 (for example, a notice of a Proposition 8 reduction or a notice of a change in ownership).

In Los Angeles County, the form for assessment appeals may be obtained from the Clerk of the Assessment Appeals Board, 500 West Temple Street, Room B-50, Los Angeles, California 90012-2722, 1-213-974-1471 or 1-888-807-2111 (toll free, press prompt 4).

To avoid any last minute rush, the Los Angeles County Assessment Appeals Boards Office urges property owners to file their appeal on or before Wednesday, November 27. County offices will be closed for the Thanksgiving holidays beginning Thursday, November 28, and will reopen Monday, December 2.

Additional information is available in the BOE's Publication 30, Residential Assessment Appeals. This pamphlet can be obtained by calling the BOE's toll free Customer Service Information Center at 1-800-400-7115 between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding State holidays. The pamphlet is also available for downloading from the BOE's Web site, at www.boe.ca.gov/proptaxes/pdf/pub30.pdf".

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