18-125 C.M.R. ch. 201, § 2 - Definitions
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.
Notes
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