Evidentiary standards applying to Tax Court proceedings regarding property valuations modification

A bill for an act

relating to taxation; modifying evidentiary standards applying to Tax Court

proceedings regarding property valuations; amending Minnesota Statutes 2024,

sections 271.06, subdivision 6; 278.05, subdivision 3.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 271.06, subdivision 6, is amended to read:

Subd. 6.

Hearings; determination of issues; default.

(a) The Tax Court shall hear,

consider, and determine without a jury every appeal de novo. A Tax Court judge may

empanel an advisory jury upon the judge's motion. The Tax Court shall hold a public hearing

in every case. All such parties shall have an opportunity to offer evidence and arguments

at the hearing; provided, that the order of the commissioner or the appropriate unit of

government in every case shall be prima facie valid
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, except that in any case dealing with

property valuation for property tax purposes, the appropriate unit of government shall have

the burden of establishing the validity of the valuation
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. When an appeal to the Tax Court

has been taken from an order or determination of the commissioner or from the appropriate

unit of government, the proceeding shall be an original proceeding in the nature of a suit to

set aside or modify the order or determination. In case no appellant shall appear the Tax

Court shall enter its order affirming the order of the commissioner of revenue or the

appropriate unit of government from which the appeal was taken. If the Department of

Revenue's sales ratio study is introduced in Tax Court as evidence, the sales ratio data from

the study shall be admissible as evidence only as provided in section
278.05, subdivision

4
.

(b) The commissioner, the taxpayer, and any other party to an appeal to the Tax Court

may file all necessary notices, documents, and other necessary information with the Tax

Court in a manner approved by the Tax Court.

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EFFECTIVE DATE.

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This section is effective for petitions and appeals filed on or after

January 1, 2027.

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Sec. 2.

Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 278.05, subdivision 3, is amended to read:

Subd. 3.

Assessor's records; evidence.

Assessor's records, including certificates of real

estate value, assessor's field cards and property appraisal cards shall be made available to

the petitioner for inspection and copying and may be offered at the trial subject to the

applicable rules of evidence and rules governing pretrial discovery and shall not be excluded

from discovery or admissible evidence on the grounds that the documents and the information

recorded thereon are confidential or classified as private data on individuals. Evidence of
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comparable
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sales
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and assessed valuations
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of other
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comparable
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property shall, within the

discretion of the court, be admitted at the trial.