Farr

This is an appeal by- a property owner, John M. Farr, of a judgment upholding the property tax assessment decision of the Nevada County Assessment Appeals Board (Board) for his owner-occupied single-family home. We conclude the Board’s failure to apply the statutory presumption affecting the burden of proof in favor of the homeowner, Farr, at the hearings before it (Rev. & Tax. Code, § 167, subd. (a) (section 167(a)) requires reversal of the judgment and a remand to the Board for a new hearing.

BACKGROUND

Although our reason for reversing the judgment is based on the Board’s failure to correctly apply the burden of proof and the presumption of correctness in favor of the homeowner, a recitation of pertinent evidence is helpful in understanding the effect of the error.

In 2004, Farr began construction on a new main house on property his family had owned for a number of years on Donner Lake in the Truckee area. At the end of 2004, the house was assessed a 40 percent completion property tax assessment of $265,000. In 2006, after completion of the home, the Nevada County Assessor (Assessor) issued a supplemental assessment of $1,335,000, bringing the total assessment for…