Case Name: BARLAND COMPANY v. BARTOW COUNTY BOARD OF TAX ASSESSORS
Court: Court of Appeals of Georgia
Jurisdiction: Georgia
Decision Date: 1985-10-23
Citations: 176 Ga. App. 798
Docket Number: 70507
Parties: BARLAND COMPANY v. BARTOW COUNTY BOARD OF TAX ASSESSORS.
Judges: Deen, P. J., Birdsong, P. J., Carley, Sognier, Pope, Benham, and Beasley, JJ., concur.
Reporter: Georgia Appeals Reports
Volume: 176
Pages: 798–802

Head Matter:
70507.
BARLAND COMPANY v. BARTOW COUNTY BOARD OF TAX ASSESSORS.
(338 SE2d 16)

Opinion:
Banke, Chief Judge.
On or about October 1, 1982, the Bartow County Board of Tax Assessors mailed the appellant, Barland Company, a property tax assessment notice with respect to certain property the company owned. This notice specified that the property had been valued at $807,553 for the previous tax year and $101,700 for the current year. In fact, the tax assessors' office had appraised the property at $1,017,000 for the current year, but a zero had been omitted when the figure was transcribed onto the computer worksheet from which the assessment notices and tax bills were prepared. Later in 1982, the appellant received a property tax bill based on the erroneous assessment figure, which it promptly paid in full.
In June of 1983, upon discovery of the clerical error, the board of tax assessors mailed the appellant a "Corrected Assessment Notice to correct clerical error," specifying that the market value of the prop erty for the 1982 tax year had actually been appraised at $1,017,000. The appellant filed a timely appeal to the board of equalization from this assessment notice but then appealed directly to the superior court, without obtaining any ruling from the board of equalization, based on a stipulation entered into with the tax assessors that "the board of equalization would adopt the position of the board of tax assessors, and that there is therefore no need to present this appeal to said board of equalization." The superior court accepted jurisdiction of the case and ruled in favor of the board of tax assessors, whereupon the appellant appealed to this court. We reversed, holding that the superior court was not authorized to accept jurisdiction of the appeal until there had been a ruling by the board of equalization. See Barland Co. v. Bartow County Bd. of Tax Assessors, 172 Ga. App. 61 (322 SE2d 316) (1984). The case was thereafter remanded to the board of equalization, which ruled in favor of the appellant taxpayer. The tax assessors then appealed to superior court, which reversed the board of equalization, ruling that the tax assessors were entitled to correct the original assessment notice to make it reflect the value at which the property had actually been appraised. In this its second appeal to this court, the appellant does not contest the accuracy of the $1,017,000 appraisal figure but contends that any authority the tax assessors may have had to correct the clerical error in the original notice ended after taxes had been paid in full based on that notice. Held:
1. We agree with the trial court that the board was empowered by OCGA § 48-5-299 (a) to issue a new assessment notice to correct the obvious and undisputed clerical error which occurred when the original valuation figure was entered into the computer. That code section provides, in pertinent part, as follows: "The board shall make such investigation as may be necessary to determine the value of any property upon which for any reason all taxes due the state or the county have not been paid in full as required by law. In all cases where the full amount of taxes due the state or county has not been paid, the board shall assess against the owner, if known, and against the property, if the owner is not known, the full amount of taxes which has accrued and which may not have been paid at any time within the statute of limitations."
In so ruling, we are influenced by several considerations. First of all, to allow the appellant to avoid payment of taxes on the assessed value of its property in the present case based solely on a transcription error committed by a clerical employee would result in a gross injustice to the remaining taxpayers of the county. Secondly, we note, as did the trial court, that the great disparity between the appraisal figure originally reported to the taxpayer for 1982 ($101,700) and the figure reported for the prior year ($807,553) should have made it obvi ous to the appellant that something was amiss. Finally, we note that, pursuant to OCGA § 48-5-380 (a), taxpayers have a concomitant statutory right to obtain a refund in the event an overpayment of taxes is made on the basis of erroneous assessment.
The appellant's reliance on such cases as Douglas v. Forrester, 150 Ga. 57 (2) (102 SE 347) (1919), is misplaced. There, it was held that the county tax receiver was without authority to collect additional taxes on property for prior years in which he had already accepted payment in full based on returns submitted by the taxpayer. The tax assessors in the present case are not, as was the tax receiver in that case, seeking to collect additional taxes on the basis of a totally new appraisal of the value of the property but are seeking instead merely to correct a clerical error which occurred in reporting the original valuation figure to the taxpayer. The appellant's arguments to the contrary notwithstanding, we do not believe such an action can reasonably be considered double taxation. Cf. Colvard v. Ridley, 219 Ga. 361, 363 (1) (d) (133 SE2d 364) (1963).
2. It necessarily follows from the foregoing that the trial court did not err in determining that the official records maintained by the tax assessors' office showing the valuation actually placed on the appellant's property for the 1982 tax year were relevant and admissible.
Judgment affirmed.
Deen, P. J., Birdsong, P. J., Carley, Sognier, Pope, Benham, and Beasley, JJ., concur.
McMurray, P. J., dissents.