by Catherine Reagor - Feb. 20, 2009 12:00 AM
The Arizona Republic

Property-tax notices mailed out to Maricopa County homeowners today will deliver one more reminder of the severe housing slump.

Most people will see a drop in their home's assessed value because of the collapse of the local housing market. According to the Maricopa County Assessor's Office, home values fell an average of 23 percent during the 12 months that ended in November. Not everyone will see the same drop in upcoming tax bills.

Full Article

February 23, 2009

"I somehow overlooked paying my taxes and a tax lien was sold on my property. I didn’t receive any notice in the mail of the impending sale of the property. Is the tax lien valid and do I have to pay the penalties and fees that have been tacked on?"

We have previously discussed the Arizona law that makes clear that an actual tax bill is not required to be sent to the property owner. As our Supreme Court wrote in 1941: “The payment of taxes is absolutely essential to the maintenance of government, and it is and always has been recognized that it is the duty of every citizen to pay his fair share of such taxes....”

When the property tax is unpaid, several other statutes require the Treasurer to send notices of delinquency to the last known address of the person or firm that owes the taxes, as well as publish a notice of the impending tax lien sale. The mailed notices are required to be sent on or before the first of September, and then again before the end of the year.

"I didn’t receive a tax bill, and now I’ve been informed of the delinquency and they’re asking me to pay interest and penalties. Do I have a defense since they didn’t get the tax bill to me? "

A property taxpayer’s failure to receive a tax bill, for whatever reason, is not a defense to a tax payment obligation, or any penalties and interest that might accrue from failure to meet that obligation.

© 1999 Mark L. Manoil

If you own Arizona real estate for which some portion of the
property taxes have not been paid, you will likely receive a 30-Day Notice of
Intent to Foreclose when those unpaid taxes mature for foreclosure. This
Notice is sent by a tax lien investor who has purchased the delinquent tax lien
on your property. The investor is seeking repayment of the tax lien (usually
with interest) or, alternatively, foreclosure and ownership of the liened
property.

If you are the property owner, the Notice is a last call for you to pay the
taxes, before a tax lien foreclosure law suit is initiated. The Notice is
mandated by statute before the suit may be commenced, but your receipt of
the Notice is not required by the statute. That is, if the investor has sent the
Notice to an address that complies with the statutory requirement (“to the
owner of record according to the records of the county in which the property
is located” -- A.R.S. §42-18202) then the fact that the Notice has not been
received by you is not likely to be a defense when the lawsuit is initiated. So
if you learn of the Notice by accident or because someone forwards it to you,
you should respond to it along the lines described in this article.