Starting in 2018, Yeshiva Shvilay Hatalmud sought a property tax exemption from the Township of Lakewood for a property it owns. The Township’s tax assessor denied the application, prompting the Yeshiva to file a complaint in the New Jersey Tax Court.
After several years of litigation, the Yeshiva and the Township ultimately settled, with the Township agreeing that the property should have been tax-exempt all along. But during the years the dispute was pending, events took a costly turn.
On October 12, 2023, the Township’s tax collector sold a tax sale certificate for the unpaid 2022 taxes on the same property. The amount to redeem that certificate has since grown to more than $69,000, including taxes, interest, and penalties covering 2022 through part of 2024.
Once the exemption was granted retroactively, the tax collector sought to apply a portion of the Yeshiva’s refund—representing taxes it paid for prior years—toward redeeming the outstanding certificate. The Yeshiva objected, insisting the certificate was invalid from the start and that the Township, not the Yeshiva, should refund the certificate holder.
When negotiations failed, the Yeshiva returned to court, also seeking reimbursement for the $110,518.78 it had paid in taxes, interest, and penalties for tax years 2018 through 2021.
In a written opinion issued this week, Tax Court Judge Cimino sided with the Yeshiva.
> “The tax collector wants to apply a portion of the refund owing to Yeshiva towards redemption of the certificate. This would be the correct result only if the certificate was not void ab initio,” Judge Cimino wrote. “However, the assessment here is not an overassessment—it is an invalid assessment. The tax sale certificate is void ab initio. Therefore, the tax collector cannot apply the 2018 through 2021 refund proceeds to the certificate.”
The judge added that the goal was to restore the Yeshiva to the position it should have occupied had the Township recognized its exemption in 2018. Accordingly, the Township must refund the Yeshiva $110,518.78 for the taxes it paid during those years.
> “Since the assessment is invalid, the tax sale certificate is void ab initio, and thereby invalid and set aside,” the court concluded. “If the tax certificate or lien is invalid or set aside, the certificate of sale may be assigned to the municipality and the municipality may then refund the purchaser.”
The Yeshiva was represented by attorneys Michael J. Caccavelli and Grace Chun of Pearlman & Miranda, LLC.
To join the FAA News WhatsApp Status, click here.
No comments:
Post a Comment