USA Statutes : washington
Title : Property taxes
Chapter : General provisions
RCW 84.09.010Nomenclature Taxes designated as taxes of year in which payable.All annual taxes and assessments of real and personal property shall hereafter be known and designated as taxes and assessments of the year in which such taxes and assessments, or the initial installment thereof, shall become due and payable.[1961 c 15 § 84.09.010. Prior: 1939 c 136 § 2; RRS § 11112-2. Formerly RCW 84.08.150.] RCW 84.09.020Abbreviations authorized.In all proceedings relative to the levy, assessment or collection of taxes, and any entries required to be made by any officer or by the clerk of the court, letters, figures and characters may be used to denote townships, ranges, sections, parts of sections, lots or blocks, or parts thereof, the year or years for which taxes were due, and the amount of taxes, assessments, penalties, interest and costs. Whenever the abbreviation "do." or the character "''" or any other similar abbreviations or characters shall be used in any such proceedings, they shall be construed and held as meaning and being the same name, word, initial, letters, abbreviations, figure or figures, as the last one preceding such "do." and "''" or other similar characters.[1961 c 15 § 84.09.020. Prior: 1925 ex.s. c 130 § 112, part; 1897 c 71 § 93, part; 1893 c 124 § 97, part; RRS § 11273, part. Formerly RCW 84.08.170.] RCW 84.09.030Taxing district boundaries Establishment.Except as follows, the boundaries of counties, cities and all other taxing districts, for purposes of property taxation and the levy of property taxes, shall be the established official boundaries of such districts existing on the first day of March of the year in which the property tax levy is made.  The official boundaries of a newly incorporated taxing district shall be established at a different date in the year in which the incorporation occurred as follows:  (1) Boundaries for a newly incorporated city shall be established on the last day of March of the year in which the initial property tax levy is made, and the boundaries of a road district, library district, or fire protection district or districts, that include any portion of the area that was incorporated within its boundaries shall be altered as of this date to exclude this area, if the budget for the newly incorporated city is filed pursuant to RCW 84.52.020 and the levy request of the newly incorporated city is made pursuant to RCW 84.52.070. Whenever a proposed city incorporation is on the March special election ballot, the county auditor shall submit the legal description of the proposed city to the department of revenue on or before the first day of March;  (2) Boundaries for a newly incorporated port district or regional fire protection service authority shall be established on the first day of October if the boundaries of the newly incorporated port district or regional fire protection service authority are coterminous with the boundaries of another taxing district or districts, as they existed on the first day of March of that year;  (3) Boundaries of any other newly incorporated taxing district shall be established on the first day of June of the year in which the property tax levy is made if the taxing district has boundaries coterminous with the boundaries of another taxing district, as they existed on the first day of March of that year;  (4) Boundaries for a newly incorporated water-sewer district shall be established on the fifteenth of June of the year in which the proposition under RCW 57.04.050 authorizing a water district excess levy is approved.  The boundaries of a taxing district shall be established on the first day of June if territory has been added to, or removed from, the taxing district after the first day of March of that year with boundaries coterminous with the boundaries of another taxing district as they existed on the first day of March of that year. However, the boundaries of a road district, library district, or fire protection district or districts, that include any portion of the area that was annexed to a city or town within its boundaries shall be altered as of this date to exclude this area. In any case where any instrument setting forth the official boundaries of any newly established taxing district, or setting forth any change in such boundaries, is required by law to be filed in the office of the county auditor or other county official, said instrument shall be filed in triplicate. The officer with whom such instrument is filed shall transmit two copies to the county assessor.  No property tax levy shall be made for any taxing district whose boundaries are not established as of the dates provided in this section.[2004 c 129 § 19; 1996 c 230 § 1613; 1994 c 292 § 4. Prior: 1989 c 378 § 8; 1989 c 217 § 1; prior: 1987 c 358 § 1; 1987 c 82 § 1; 1984 c 203 § 9; 1981 c 26 § 4; 1961 c 15 §84.09.030 ; prior: 1951 c 116 § 1; 1949 c 65 § 1; 1943 c 182 § 1; 1939 c 136 § 1; Rem. Supp. 1949 § 11106-1. Formerly RCW 84.08.160.]Notes:Captions not law -- Severability -- 2004 c 129: See RCW 52.26.900 and 52.26.901.Part headings not law -- 1996 c 230: See notes following RCW 57.02.001.Findings -- Intent -- 1994 c 292: See note following RCW 57.04.050.Severability -- 1984 c 203: See note following RCW 35.43.140. RCW 84.09.040Penalty for nonperformance of duty by county officers.Every county auditor, county assessor and county treasurer who in any case refuses or knowingly neglects to perform any duty enjoined on him by this title, or who consents to or connives at any evasion of its provisions whereby any proceeding herein provided for is prevented or hindered, or whereby any property required to be listed for taxation is unlawfully exempted, or the valuation thereof is entered on the tax roll at less than its true taxable value, shall, for every such neglect, refusal, consent or connivance, forfeit and pay to the state not less than two hundred nor more than one thousand dollars, at the discretion of the court, to be recovered before any court of competent jurisdiction upon the complaint of any citizen who is a taxpayer; and the prosecuting attorney shall prosecute such suit to judgment and execution.[1961 c 15 § 84.09.040. Prior: 1925 ex.s. c 130 § 109; 1897 c 71 § 89; 1893 c 124 § 92; RRS § 11270. Formerly RCW 84.56.410.] RCW 84.09.050Fees and costs allowed in civil actions against county officers.Whenever a civil action is commenced against any person holding the office of county treasurer, county auditor, or any other officer, for performing or attempting to perform any duty authorized or directed by any statute of this state for the collection of the public revenue, such treasurer, auditor or other officer may, in the discretion of the court before whom such action is brought, by an order made by such court and entered in the minutes thereof, be allowed and paid out of the county treasury, reasonable fees of counsel and other expenses for defending such action.[1961 c 15 § 84.09.050. Prior: 1925 ex.s. c 130 § 110; 1897 c 71 § 90; 1893 c 124 § 93; RRS § 11271. Formerly RCW 84.56.420.]