04-20-11 DOVER-CHESTER ASSOCIATES, ETC. VS. RANDOLPH TOWNSHIP AND RANDOLPH TOWN CENTER ASSOCIATES, L.P. ET AL. VS. RANDOLPH TOWNSHIP (CONSOLIDATED) A-3445-09T3, A-3446-09T3
These appeals from the judgment of a county board of taxation to the Tax Court are governed by N.J.S.A. 54:51A-1(b), which requires that all taxes due for the year for which review is sought must have been paid "[a]t the time that a complaint has been filed with the Tax Court[.]" In contrast, direct appeals to the Tax Court and initial appeals to a county board of taxation are governed by N.J.S.A. 54:3-27, which requires the appealing taxpayer to pay all taxes due, up to and including the first quarter of the taxes assessed against him for the current tax year. However, because N.J.S.A. 54:3-27 does not specify when such payment must be made, we have found the requirement satisfied when payment is made by the return date of a motion to dismiss the appeal. The Legislature amended the statutes in 1999, adding provisions that permitted the relaxation of the tax payment requirements in the "interests of justice" but did not define that term. As we have not previously considered the application of that provision and a conflict has arisen in decisions in the Tax Court, we address the question whether relaxation is required in the "interests of justice" under N.J.S.A. 54:51A-1(b) if the tax obligation is satisfied before
the return date of a motion to dismiss its complaint. We conclude that it is not.
