Content of Statement Under Informal Procedure and Waiver of Appeal

(1) If an appeal is from the Assessors' refusal to abate a real estate or personal property tax or to take an action, an Appellant may elect to file an appeal under the informal procedure in accordance with M.G.L. c. 58A, § 7A. To elect the informal procedure, the Appellant should file a statement under informal procedure that contains all facts and dates necessary for the determination of the Board's jurisdiction and includes: (a) a caption in the following form: Commonwealth of Massachusetts Appellate Tax Board STATEMENT UNDER INFORMAL PROCEDURE Docket No. _______ _____________ Appellant _____________ Appellee (b) the statement under informal procedure should include the following information: 1. in the caption, the Appellant's name as the Appellant and the Assessors of the city or town in which the property is located as the Appellee; 2. the fiscal year at issue; 3. a description of the property taxed, including the address or location of the property; 4. the assessed value of the property; 5. the rate and amount of the tax; 6. the amounts and dates of all payments made for the fiscal year at issue; 7. the date the Appellant filed the abatement application with the Assessors; 8. the date the Assessors denied the Appellant's abatement application; 9. a short statement of the Appellant's objections to the decision or determination appealed from and the relief requested; 10. the name, address, telephone number, and email address of the Appellant and any person appearing on behalf of the Appellant; and 11. the dated signature of the Appellant or any person appearing on behalf of the Appellant. (2) The statement under informal procedure must include a signed waiver of the right to appeal the decision of the Board and the right to a findings of fact and report or other statement of reasons for the Board's decision, except as provided in M.G.L. c. 58A, § 7A. (3) The Appellant must request the Board's permission to include two or more parcels of real estate in a single statement under informal procedure. The request should include a description of the parcels, including their location, their assessed values, and whether the parcels were included in a single decision of the Assessors. The Board may require that each parcel be the subject of a separate statement under informal procedure with a separate entry fee required for each statement under informal procedure. (4) No pre-trial discovery will be permitted in appeals under the informal procedure. (5) The Chairman will provide for the speedy hearing of all appeals to be heard under the informal procedure.