395 Mass. 178 | Mass. | 1985
The Appellate Tax Board (board) dismissed the plaintiff taxpayer’s appeal from the board of assessors’ (assessors) denial of his application for an abatement on the ground that it lacked jurisdiction to entertain the appeal. The taxpayer appealed to this court. We affirm the decision of the board.
The following dates are important. The taxpayer owned the subject real estate on January 1, 1983. The assessors assessed the property on November 15, 1983. The taxpayer filed an application for abatement with the defendant on November 22, 1983, the day after paying one half of the tax bill. The application was deemed denied on February 22, 1984. The assessors sent the taxpayer a notice of denial of the application on March 15, 1984. The taxpayer filed an appeal with the Appellate Tax Board on May 29, 1984.
The board dismissed the appeal on October 4,1984, concluding that it lacked jurisdiction because the time for filing an appeal had expired. More particularly, the board ruled that,
The board’s jurisdiction is entirely limited by the statutes that confer it. See G. L. c. 58A, § 6, and c. 59, § 65. Its jurisdiction cannot be enlarged by the conduct of the assessors nor can consent or waiver confer jurisdiction in these circumstances. See Assessors of Boston v. Suffolk Law School, 295 Mass. 489, 495 (1936).
There is no merit to the argument by the taxpayer that he relied on the notice of denial sent on March 15, 1984, and filed his appeal within three months of this written notice and thus the board should be in some way estopped from denying jurisdiction. See Corea v. Assessors of Bedford, 384 Mass. 809 (1981).
Decision of the Appellate Tax Board affirmed.