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ATTORNEY FOR PETITIONER: BRADLEY J. ADAMSKY NEWBY LEWIS KAMINSKI & JONES, LLP LaPorte, IN

ATTORNEY FOR RESPONDENTS: MARILYN S. MEIGHEN MEIGHEN & ASSOCIATES, PC Carmel, IN

_____________________________________________________________________

CLERK _____________________________________________________________________
of the supreme court, court of appeals and tax court

IN THE INDIANA TAX COURT

FILED
Jul 19 2010, 11:57 am

COUNTRY ACRES LIMITED PARTNERSHIP, ) ) Petitioner, ) ) v. ) Cause No. 71T10-0903-TA-5 ) PLEASANT TOWNSHIP ASSESSOR, ) and LAPORTE COUNTY ASSESSOR, ) ) Respondents. ) _____________________________________________________________________ ON APPEAL FROM THE FINAL DETERMINATION OF THE INDIANA BOARD OF TAX REVIEW NOT FOR PUBLICATION July 19, 2010 FISHER, J. Country Acres Limited Partnership (Country Acres) appeals the final

determination of the Indiana Board of Tax Review (Indiana Board) valuing its commercial property for the 2004 tax year. The issue for the Court to decide is whether the Indiana Board erred in valuing the property. RELEVANT FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY During the 2004 tax year, Country Acres owned a ten-building, garden-style apartment complex in LaPorte, Indiana. The one-hundred unit complex, constructed in

1972, was primarily occupied by "Section 8" tenants and was situated on approximately seven acres of land.1 (See Cert. Admin. R. at 97-107, 266-67 (footnote added).) For the 2004 tax year, the Pleasant Township Assessor/LaPorte County Assessor (collectively, the Assessor) assessed Country Acres' complex at $3,336,200. Believing that value to be too high, Country Acres appealed the assessment, first to the LaPorte County Property Tax Assessment Board of Appeals, and then to the Indiana Board. On October 21, 2008, the Indiana Board conducted a hearing on matter. During the course of those proceedings, Country Acres presented two analyses to demonstrate that its assessment was incorrect. The first analysis, an "appeal summary" prepared by Mr. Robert Porter (an Indiana certified Level II assessor-appraiser), estimated that as of January 1, 1999, the property's market value-in-use was $836,921.2 Porter's analysis

The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) operates a subsidized housing program for low-income families and individuals commonly known as "Section 8." Under this program, HUD determines the amount of rent that a landlord may collect from its tenants. A tenant's actual rent liability is based on his/her income; HUD makes up any shortfall. (See Cert. Admin. R. at 27, 326-28.) Indiana assesses real property on the basis of its "market value-in-use." See IND. CODE ANN.

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Indiana Law