Existing property tax law requires the county tax collector to collect all property taxes and provides for the payment of taxes on the secured roll in 2 installments, which are due and payable on November 1 and February 1, respectively. Under existing property tax law, the first installment becomes delinquent if unpaid on December 10, and the 2nd installment becomes delinquent on April 10, at which point a delinquent penalty of 10% attaches to the applicable installment. Existing property tax law authorizes a county auditor or tax collector to cancel any penalty, costs, or other charges resulting from tax delinquency if the auditor or tax collector finds, among other reasons, that the failure to make a timely payment is due to reasonable cause and circumstances beyond the taxpayer’s control and occurred notwithstanding the exercise of ordinary care in the absence of willful neglect, as provided.

This bill would additionally authorize the auditor or the tax collector to cancel any penalty, costs, or other charges resulting from tax delinquency upon a finding that failure to make a timely payment is due to a documented hardship, as determined by the tax collector, arising from a shelter-in-place order, as defined, if the principal payment for the proper amount of tax due is paid no later than June 30 of the fiscal year in which the payment first became delinquent. By increasing the duties of local agencies, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.

This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.