Amended Substitute House Bill 95 (HB95) recently enacted by the 125th Ohio General Assembly, contained several changes that will impact the property tax functions of the County Auditors.

$10,000 Filing Requirement & Exemption Reimbursement- Effective Tax Year 2004 – Beginning in tax year 2004, taxpayers with a taxable value of less than $10,000 will no longer be required to file a Personal Property Tax return.

Inventory Listing Percentage-Effective Tax Year 2005 – The inventory assessment rate for tax year 2004 will remain 23%.

Effective for the 2005 & 2006 tax years, the assessment rate for inventory will be reduced by two percent instead of one percent if the total statewide collections of personal property taxes for the second preceding year exceeds the total statewide collection of personal property taxes for the third preceding year.

Effective for the 2007 tax year and thereafter, the inventory assessment rate will be reduced by two percent automatically until the assessment rate equals zero.

Late Filing Penalty – Effective June 26, 2003 – The loss of one-half the exemption for late filing has been repealed.

Late Payment Penalty Remission – June 26, 2003 – Reasonable cause can now be considered in the abatement of a late filing penalty. For a revised DTE-Form 23-A (Penalty Remission Application) contact the auditor’s office at 740 699-2131.

 Sales Tax Rate Change

Beginning July 1, 2003 the Belmont County Sales Tax rate changed from 6.50% to 7.50% due to the State of Ohio Legislators raising the Ohio Sales Tax rate one percent. See On Line Forms for the new tax chart.