James-Dale Enterprises, Inc. v. Township of Berkeley Heights

DeALMEIDA, P.J.T.C.

The question before the court is whether a tax assessor’s request for income and expense information pursuant to N.J.S.A. 54:4-34, commonly known as Chapter 91, (see L. 1979, c. 91), must include an explanation of the consequences of a taxpayer’s failure to respond to the request in a timely fashion. For the reasons stated more fully below, the court concludes that the assessor need not explain the penalty for failing to comply with the request because Chapter 91 requires the assessor to include with the request a copy of the statute, which plainly sets forth the…