Code of Maine Rules › 18 - DEPARTMENT OF ADMINISTRATIVE AND FINANCIAL SERVICES › 125 - BUREAU OF REVENUE SERVICES › Chapter 201 - RULES OF PROCEDURE USED TO DEVELOP STATE VALUATION › Section 125-201-2 - Definitions

Current through 2024-29, July 17, 2024
A.
Assessor.
"Assessor" means a
				sworn municipal assessing authority, whether an individual assessor, a board of
				assessors, or a chief assessor of a primary assessing area. With respect to the
				unorganized territory, "Assessor" means the State Tax Assessor.
B.
Average Deviation.
"Average
				Deviation" means a statistic derived from a Ratio Study that is calculated by
				summing the Deviations of all the Sales Ratios in a Ratio Study and dividing
				the resulting sum by the total number of Sales Ratios in that study.
C.
Average Ratio.
"Average
				Ratio" means a statistic derived from a Ratio Study that is calculated by
				summing the Sales Ratios in the central 70% of a Ratio Study and dividing that
				sum by the total number of Sales Ratios in the central 70%. The central 70% of
				a Ratio Study excludes the highest 15% of Sales Ratios and the lowest 15% of
				Sales Ratios from the total number of Sales Ratios in the Ratio
				Study.
D.
Base Lot.
"Base Lot" means a minimum parcel of land, as determined by the Assessor,
				normally expressed in acres or front feet, which meets municipal guidelines for
				development.
E.
Base Sales
				Period.
"Base Sales Period" means the 12-month period from July 1
				through June 30 that includes the April 1 assessment date that is the basis for
				the State Valuation period under review.
F.
Bureau.
"Bureau" means the
				Bureau of Revenue Services, which may be referred to as Maine Revenue Services.
				The executive director of the Bureau is the State Tax Assessor.
G.
Captured Assessed Value.
"Captured Assessed Value" has the same meaning as provided in
				30-A M.R.S.
				§5222.
H.
Certified Ratio.
"Certified
				Ratio" means the level of Municipal Assessed Value, expressed as a percentage,
				relative to Just Value as certified by the Assessor pursuant to
				36
				M.R.S. §383.
I.
Commercial Property.
"Commercial Property" means real estate that is used primarily for business
				purposes (
e.g.,
service, retail, or wholesale) including,
				without limitation, apartment buildings with five or more rental or lease
				units, mobile home parks, office buildings, and recreational facilities.
				Apartment buildings with fewer than five rental or lease units are considered
				Residential Property.
J.
Condominium.
"Condominium" has the same meaning as provided in
				33 M.R.S.
				§1601-103(7).
K.
Current Use.
"Current Use"
				means a special valuation method applicable to certain types of property as
				provided by Article IX, section 8, subsection 2 of the Constitution of the
				State of Maine.
L.
Deviation.
"Deviation" means a statistic derived from a Ratio
				Study that is equal to the absolute value of the percentage-point difference
				between an individual Sales Ratio and the Average Ratio.
M.
Equalized Value.
"Equalized
				Value" means the Municipal Assessed Value adjusted to the Just Value or, if
				applicable, to the Current Use value.
N.
Industrial Property.
"Industrial Property" means property dedicated to the assembling, processing,
				warehousing, or manufacturing of finished or partially finished products from
				raw materials or manufactured parts.
O.
Just Value.
"Just Value"
				means market value, that is the amount in cash that could reasonably be
				expected to be paid by an informed buyer to an informed seller for a property,
				each acting without compulsion in an arm's-length transaction.
P.
Municipal Assessed Value.
"Municipal Assessed Value" means the property value established by the Assessor
				for purposes of local property taxation.
Q.
Municipality.
"Municipality"
				means any city, town, plantation, or that portion of a county in the
				unorganized territory.
R.
Non-segregated Ratio Study or Combined Study.
"Non-segregated
				Ratio Study" or "Combined Study" means a Ratio Study that combines more than
				one class of property(
e.g
.,Waterfront Property, Nonwater front
				Property, Condominium, and Commercial Property) into a single study.
S.
Nonwaterfront Property.
"Nonwaterfront Property" means real estate that is not bounded by water and
				whose value is not measurably influenced by access or proximity to
				water.
T.
Personal
				Property.
"Personal Property" has the same meaning as provided in
				36 M.R.S.
				§601.
U.
Quality Rating.
"Quality
				Rating" means a statistic derived from a Ratio Study that is calculated by
				dividing the Average Deviation by the Average Ratio.
V.
Ratio Study.
"Ratio Study"
				means a statistical display of real estate sales information where sales data
				is typically arranged under some or all of the following headings: owner or
				class of property (
e.g.,
Waterfront Property or Nonwaterfront
				Property); date of sale; book and page; tax map, plan, and lot number; selling
				price; Municipal Assessed Value; Sales Ratio; and Deviation. A Ratio Study
				typically also contains a summary that shows the Weighted Average, the Average
				Ratio, the Average Deviation, and the Quality Rating.
W.
Residential Property.
"Residential Property" means real estate that is suitable for seasonal or
				year-round use as a dwelling. Residential Property includes apartment buildings
				with fewer than five rental or lease units.
X.
Sample.
"Sample" generally
				means, for purposes of a Ratio Study, a sale of property, but may include
				appraisals conducted by the Bureau when the number of sales in an expanded
				sales period is insufficient.
Y.
Sales Ratio.
"Sales Ratio" means a statistic derived from a Ratio
				Study that is calculated by dividing a property's Municipal Assessed Value by
				its selling price (or Bureau appraised value).
Z.
Segregated Ratio Study.
"Segregated Ratio Study" means a Ratio Study that includes sales of a single
				class of property (
e.g.,
Waterfront Property, Nonwaterfront
				Property, Condominium, or Commercial Property).
AA.
State Valuation.
"State
				Valuation" for a given tax year means the total Equalized Value of all taxable
				property in a Municipality as of the April 1 two years prior, plus the portion
				of exempt value of homestead exemptions and Business Equipment Tax Exemption
				property reimbursed by the State to the Municipality pursuant to
				36 M.R.S.
				§691, et al., less the Captured Assessed
				Value of tax increment financing districts in the Municipality.
BB.
Transmission and Distribution
				Property.
"Transmission and Distribution Property" means property owned
				by a transmission and distribution utility that is regulated by the Public
				Utilities Commission under Title 35-A of the Maine Revised Statutes.
				Transmission and Distribution Property includes, without limitation,
				substations, transformers, transmission systems, and distribution
				systems.
CC.
Undeveloped
				Land.
"Undeveloped Land" means unimproved Nonwaterfront Property that is
				not classified under Current Use provisions, and not classified as a Base Lot.
				When a Municipality values Wasteland separately from Undeveloped Land, the
				Bureau will accept the separate valuations unless it determines that one or
				both valuations are significantly understated or overstated.
DD.
Wasteland.
"Wasteland" means
				real estate that is unsuitable for development or agricultural or silvicultural
				use (
e.g
., wetland, ledge, or other unsuitable
				land).
EE.
Waterfront
				Property.
"Waterfront Property" means real estate bounded by a body of
				water or waterway or real estate whose value is measurably influenced by its
				access or proximity to water.
FF.
Weighted Average.
"Weighted Average" means a statistic derived
				from a Ratio Study that is calculated by dividing the sum of Municipal Assessed
				Values by the sum of the sale prices or Bureau-appraised values of all the
				Samples in a Ratio Study.