A. All livestock located in the state on January 1 of the tax year shall be valued for property taxation purposes as of January 1.

B. All livestock not located in the state on January 1 but brought into the state and located there for more than twenty days subsequent to January 1 shall be valued for property taxation purposes as of the first day of the month following the month in which they have remained in the state for more than twenty days.

C. The owner of livestock subject to valuation for property taxation purposes shall report the livestock for valuation to the county assessor of the county in which they are located on the valuation date specified in Subsections A or B of this section. However, if an importation or movement report is made by the livestock board under the provisions of Section 7-38-45 NMSA 1978, the owner of livestock is relieved of his responsibility to report the livestock covered by the livestock board report, and that report fulfills the owner's responsibility for reporting the livestock under this section. The owner's report shall be in a form and contain the information required by department regulations and shall be made no later than:

(1) the last day of February for livestock required to be valued as of the first day of January or February of the tax year; or

(2) ten days after the valuation date determined under Subsection B of this section for livestock required to be valued as of dates other than those in Paragraph (1) of this subsection.

D. The department shall establish for each tax year the various classes of livestock and the value of each class. This determination shall be implemented by an order of the director, and the order shall be made no later than December 1 of the year prior to the tax year to which the classification and values apply.

E. The department shall adopt regulations for the allocation of value of livestock, which regulations shall provide for:

(1) a basic allocation formula that prorates value on the basis of the amount of time that livestock are in the state and subject to valuation for property taxation purposes;

(2) determining proration of value under Paragraph (1) of this subsection using estimates of the amount of time that livestock will be in the state to cover those situations in which livestock are imported for an indeterminate time during a tax year or in which resident livestock are exported for an indeterminate time during a tax year but are returned during the same tax year; and

(3) a method of allocating value of livestock, both resident and transient, among different governmental units when the livestock range on land in more than one governmental unit.

F. Any person who intentionally refuses to make a report required of him under this section or who knowingly makes a false statement in a report required under this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be punished by the imposition of a fine of not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000).

G. Any person who fails to make a report required of him under this section is liable for a civil penalty in an amount equal to five percent of the property taxes ultimately determined to be due on the property for the tax year or years for which he failed to make the required report.

H. Any person who intentionally refuses to make a report required of him under this section with the intent to evade any tax or who fails to make a report required of him under this section with the intent to evade any tax is liable for a civil penalty in an amount equal to twenty-five percent of the property taxes ultimately determined to be due on the property for the tax year or years for which he refused or failed to make the required report.

I. The civil penalties authorized under Subsections G and H of this section shall be imposed and collected at the time and in the manner that the tax is imposed and collected. In order to assist in the imposition and collection of the penalties, the person having responsibility for determining the value of the property shall make an entry in the valuation records indicating the liability for any penalties due under this section.

History: 1953 Comp., § 72-29-10, enacted by Laws 1973, ch. 258, § 22; 1975, ch. 115, § 1.

Cross references. — For animals and animal industry, see 77-1-1 NMSA 1978 et seq.

Responsibility for valuation. — Subsection D of this section does not allocate valuation of livestock responsibility to the division; instead, that section simply requires the division to supervise the assessor by establishing classes of livestock and values for those classes of livestock. While the division must establish general criteria for valuing livestock, the county assessor does the actual valuation. Zwaagstra v. DelCurto, 1992-NMCA-087, 114 N.M. 263, 837 P.2d 457.