(A) Eligibility for refund. A partial or full refund of the tax paid pursuant to § 888.02 shall be available to a person who furnishes evidence satisfactory to the City Collector that:
(1) He or she held a percentage ownership of a single-family residence located in the city and that the property was his or her principal residence during three of the last five years;
(2) He or she closed the sale of this local residence by transferring title by deed or by transferring the beneficial interest (if the property was the subject of a land trust);
(3) Within six months preceding or following the sale, he or she purchased a percentage ownership of a separate single-family residence also located in the city;
(4) He or she currently occupies a second purchased single-family residence as his or her principal residence and he or she intends to continue to do so for at least five years;
(5) He or she is not otherwise indebted to the city in any amount and for any reason; or
(6) He or she has not applied for a refund of city real estate transfer taxes within the past ten years.
(B) Multi-family buildings.
(1) If a person otherwise qualifies for a refund under divisions (A)(1) through (6) hereof, with the exception that the property in question was not a separate single-family residence, but a multi-family building, the person may be eligible for a refund if the following criteria are met:
(a) The person occupied a unit in the multi-family building as his or her principal residence;
(b) The property sold is no more than a legal or legal nonconforming three-unit building; and
(c) The property purchased has the same number or a lesser number of dwelling units and the person occupies one of the units as his or her principal residence.
(2) The computation of the refund shall be as prescribed in division (D) hereof. However, notwithstanding the provisions of division (D) hereof, the refund shall be limited to one-half of the allowable sum for two-unit buildings and one-third of the allowable sum for three-unit buildings. A $50 processing fee will apply on all refunds.
(C) Application procedure. A person applying for the refund shall do so by completing an application form to be provided by the City Collector’s office. This application must be sworn or attested to by the applicant before a notary public and must be personally signed by the applicant or his or her legal representative. The applicant shall submit any and all documentation requested by the City Collector’s office to determine his or her eligibility for the refund.
(D) Computation of refund. The refund shall be determined by multiplying the amount of actual real estate transfer tax paid on the sale of the first sold principal single-family residence by the percentage of ownership the applicant held in the city single-family residence sold, or by the percentage of ownership the applicant holds in the city single-family residence purchased, whichever is lower.
(E) Falsification.
(1) No person shall submit in his or her application for a refund any statements, information or facts which are false, incomplete or otherwise misleading.
(2) No person shall submit to the city, in connection with his or her application for a refund, any documents or materials which contain false, incomplete or otherwise misleading statements or facts.
(3) No person, except a duly designated legal representative, shall sign an application for a refund on behalf of another person.
(4) No person shall advise or otherwise lend support to a person in the preparation or submission of an application for a refund containing any false, incomplete or otherwise misleading statements or facts.
(Ord. 89-44, passed 10-24-1989; Ord. 94-04, passed 1-11-1994; Ord. 05-24, passed 6-28-2005)