2021 Oregon Revised Statutes
Chapter 308 - Assessment of Property for Taxation
Section 308.505 - Definitions for ORS 308.505 to 308.674.


(1) "Car" or "railcar" means a vehicle adapted to the rails of a railroad.
(2) "Centrally assessed" means the assessment of property by the Department of Revenue under ORS 308.505 to 308.674.
(3)(a) "Communication" includes telephone communication and data transmission services by whatever means provided.
(b) "Communication" does not include the services of television and radio stations licensed by the Federal Communications Commission that use primarily earth-based transmitters to broadcast programming via radio waves to television or radio receivers that use indoor or outdoor antennas for reception, including, but not limited to, rabbit ear, whip, loop, Yagi and log-periodic antennas.
(4) "Data center" means an online service data center or an independent data center.
(5) "Data transmission services" does not include providing electronic mail accounts or search engine services solely by means of contractual agreement with another company that owns the transmission property if providing such accounts or services are the only data transmission services provided by the company in Oregon.
(6) "Historical or original cost" means all costs incurred by a company in placing property in service for the property’s intended use by the company, including, but not limited to, purchase price, freight, engineering fees, legal fees, materials, labor, overhead, taxes, interest, entrepreneurial profit and other fees, expenses and charges related to construction or installation.
(7) "Independent data center" means real and personal property consisting of buildings or structures specifically designed or modified to house networked computers and data and transaction processing equipment and related infrastructure support equipment, including, without limitation, power and cooling equipment, used primarily to provide, as a service to persons other than the company operating the independent data center, data and transaction processing services, outsource information technology services and computer equipment colocation services. For purposes of this subsection, the primary use of property is based on the relative proportion of the original cost of property used for all purposes.
(8) "Inland water" means all water or waters within the State of Oregon, all interstate rivers touching Oregon and all tidewaters extending to the ocean bars.
(9) "Interstate" means transit between the State of Oregon and:
(a) Another state;
(b) A district, territory or possession of the United States; or
(c) A foreign country.
(10) "Large private railcar company" means a private railcar company with personal property with a real market value for the tax year that exceeds $1 million.
(11) "Locally assessed" means the assessment of property for property tax purposes by the county assessor that is not conducted under ORS 308.505 to 308.674.
(12) "Online service data center" means real and personal property consisting of buildings or structures specifically designed or modified to house networked computers and data and transaction processing equipment and related infrastructure support equipment, including, without limitation, power and cooling equipment, used primarily to provide, to a single user, including the user’s affiliates, customers, lessees, vendors and other persons authorized by the user, data and transaction processing services. For purposes of this subsection, the primary use of property is based on the relative proportion of the original cost of property used for all purposes.
(13) "Person," "company," "corporation" or "association" means any person, group of persons, whether organized or unorganized, firm, joint stock company, association, cooperative or mutual organization, people’s utility district, joint operating agency as defined in ORS 262.005, syndicate, entity formed to partner or combine public and private interests, partnership or corporation engaged in performing or maintaining any business or service or in selling any commodity as set forth in ORS 308.515, whether or not the activity is pursuant to any franchise and whether or not the person or other entity or combination of entities possesses characteristics of limited or unlimited liability.
(14) "Property":
(a) Means all property of any kind, whether real, personal, tangible or intangible, that is used or held by a company as owner, occupant, lessee or otherwise, for the performance or maintenance of a business or service or for the sale of a commodity, as described in ORS 308.515;
(b) Includes, but is not limited to, the lands and buildings, rights of way, roadbed, water powers, vehicles, cars, rolling stock, tracks, office furniture, telephone and transmission lines, poles, wires, conduits, switchboards, machinery, appliances, appurtenances, docks, watercraft irrespective of the place of registry or enrollment, merchandise, inventories, tools, equipment, machinery, franchises and special franchises, work in progress and all other goods or chattels; and
(c) Does not include items of intangible property that represent:
(A) Claims on other property, including money at interest, bonds, notes, claims, demands or any other evidence of indebtedness, secured or unsecured; or
(B) Any shares of stock in corporations, joint stock companies or associations.
(15) "Property having situs in this state" means all property, real and personal, of a company, owned, leased, used, operated or occupied by it and situated wholly within this state, and, as determined under ORS 308.550 and 308.640, the proportion of the movable, transitory or migratory personal property owned, leased, used, operated or occupied by a company, including but not limited to watercraft, aircraft, rolling stock, vehicles and construction equipment, as is used partly within and partly outside of this state.
(16) "Small private railcar company" means a private railcar company with personal property with a real market value for the tax year that does not exceed $1 million.
(17) "Transportation" means carrying, conveying or moving passengers or property from one place to another.
(18) "Vehicle" means any wheeled or tracked device used in transportation under, on or in connection with the physical surface of the earth. [Amended by 1957 c.711 §1; 1969 c.12 §2; 1973 c.102 §1; 1973 c.722 §12; 1977 c.888 §38; 1997 c.154 §31; 2005 c.94 §52; 2009 c.128 §3; 2015 c.23 §9; 2021 c.421 §1]

Structure 2021 Oregon Revised Statutes

2021 Oregon Revised Statutes

Volume : 08 - Revenue and Taxation

Chapter 308 - Assessment of Property for Taxation

Section 308.007 - Definitions.

Section 308.010 - Registered appraiser requirements; revocation; continuing education; rules.

Section 308.015 - Alternate qualifications for registered appraisers.

Section 308.030 - Penalty for failure to file certain statements within time limits; notice; waiver or reduction of penalty; rules.

Section 308.057 - Continuing education of county assessors required; effect of failure to comply; appointment of special assessor.

Section 308.062 - Action by department when appraisals not being conducted as provided by law; reimbursement of department costs.

Section 308.105 - Personal property.

Section 308.115 - Minerals, coal, oil, gas or other severable interests owned separately from realty not subject to tax; exception for actively mined interests; separately owned improvements separately assessed.

Section 308.125 - Undivided interest; assessment; ownership of less than one forty-eighth interest.

Section 308.135 - Trustee or personal representative separately assessed; valuation of property held as representative.

Section 308.142 - "Property" and "property tax account" defined.

Section 308.146 - Determination of maximum assessed value and assessed value; reduction in maximum assessed value following property destruction; effect of conservation or highway scenic preservation easement.

Section 308.149 - Definitions for ORS 308.149 to 308.166.

Section 308.151 - Certain cities authorized to define "area" as city by ordinance or resolution; supermajority required; software costs withheld from property taxes.

Section 308.153 - New property and new improvements to property.

Section 308.156 - Subdivision or partition; rezoning; omitted property; disqualification from exemption, partial exemption or special assessment; rules.

Section 308.162 - Property tax account modifications.

Section 308.166 - Ordering provisions when property is subject to multiple special determinations of value.

Section 308.205 - Real market value defined; rules.

Section 308.207 - Computation of real market value for taxing or bonding limitations.

Section 308.210 - Assessing property; record as assessment roll; changes in ownership or description of real property and manufactured structures assessed as personal property.

Section 308.212 - Requirement for property owner to file address.

Section 308.215 - Contents of assessment roll; rules.

Section 308.217 - Form of assessment and tax rolls; obtaining descriptions of property.

Section 308.219 - Assessment and tax rolls; preparation; contents; availability to public; rules.

Section 308.225 - Boundary changes; procedure.

Section 308.233 - Use of sales data for physical appraisal.

Section 308.235 - Valuation of real property.

Section 308.236 - Land values to reflect presence of roads; roads not assessed; exception for certain timber roads.

Section 308.240 - Description of real property; assessment to "unknown owners"; mistake or omission in owner’s name; error in description of property.

Section 308.242 - Assessor’s authority to change roll after September 25 limited; when changes permitted; stipulations.

Section 308.245 - Maps; taxpayers’ index.

Section 308.250 - Valuation and assessment of personal property; property not subject to taxation in certain cases; annual notice authorized; form attesting no change in property; indexing.

Section 308.256 - Assessment, taxation and exemption of watercraft and materials of shipyards, ship repair facilities and offshore drilling rigs.

Section 308.260 - Watercraft used for reduction or processing of deep-sea fish; machinery and equipment; assessment; taxation.

Section 308.275 - Use of reproduction cost or prices and costs in determining assessed values.

Section 308.290 - Returns; personal property; exception; real property; combined real and personal returns for industrial property; confidentiality and disclosure; lessor-lessee elections; rules.

Section 308.295 - Penalties for failure to file real property or combined return on time; notice; waiver of penalty.

Section 308.296 - Penalty for failure to file return reporting only personal property; notice; waiver of penalty.

Section 308.300 - Penalty for neglecting to file real property or combined return with intent to evade taxation.

Section 308.316 - Examining witnesses, books and records; reference of matter to department upon failure to produce records or testify.

Section 308.320 - Oath of assessor upon completion of assessment roll.

Section 308.330 - Duty of assessor to assess properly.

Section 308.335 - Department testing work of county assessors; supplementing assessment list; special assessor.

Section 308.408 - "Industrial plant" defined.

Section 308.411 - Appraisal and real market valuation of industrial plants; rules.

Section 308.412 - Effect of election to exclude income approach to value under prior law.

Section 308.413 - Confidential information furnished under ORS 308.411; exception; rules.

Section 308.425 - Proration of taxes after destruction or damage; specially assessed property; cancellation of taxes; refunds; treatment of repairs; rules.

Section 308.450 - Definitions for ORS 308.450 to 308.481.

Section 308.456 - Application of ORS 308.450 to 308.481; standards for processing certificate applications.

Section 308.457 - Determining boundaries of distressed areas; rules; limitation.

Section 308.459 - Valuation of rehabilitated property not to be increased; effect of filing date of certificate.

Section 308.462 - Qualifications for limited assessment.

Section 308.466 - Processing applications for limited assessment; issuance of certificate; judicial review of application denial.

Section 308.471 - Owner to file statement with governing body when rehabilitation project finished; disqualification of property; judicial review of disqualification determination.

Section 308.474 - Owner to file annual statement regarding rental property transactions if agreement filed under ORS 308.462 (2).

Section 308.477 - Termination of limited assessment for incomplete construction or noncompliance; appeal; revaluation; tax liability.

Section 308.479 - Termination of limited assessment for change of use; additional taxes; circumstances when additional taxes not imposed.

Section 308.490 - Determining value of homes for elderly persons.

Section 308.505 - Definitions for ORS 308.505 to 308.674.

Section 308.510 - Real and personal property classified for ORS 308.505 to 308.674.

Section 308.515 - Department to make annual assessment of designated utilities and companies.

Section 308.516 - Certain exceptions to ORS 308.515.

Section 308.517 - To whom property assessed; certain property not to be assessed.

Section 308.519 - Local assessment of data center property.

Section 308.521 - Property of cooperative providing steam or hot water heat by combustion of biomass exempt.

Section 308.524 - Companies to file statements.

Section 308.525 - Contents of statement.

Section 308.550 - Valuing property of company operating both within and without state.

Section 308.558 - Taxation of aircraft; criteria; apportionment; exemption of aircraft of foreign-owned carriers.

Section 308.560 - Assessment roll; description of property; effect of mistake.

Section 308.565 - Apportionment of assessment among counties.

Section 308.570 - Determining value per mile of main and branch lines of companies using rail lines.

Section 308.580 - Department to review and correct tentative assessment roll; interested persons may appear.

Section 308.582 - Notice of tentative assessment.

Section 308.584 - Request for conference to modify tentative assessment; appeal.

Section 308.590 - Review and correction of tentative assessment roll; apportionment to county.

Section 308.605 - Entry of corrections and changes; record of meetings.

Section 308.621 - When assessment complete; certifying to assessors; apportioning by assessor; levy and collection of taxes.

Section 308.624 - Correction of certified roll.

Section 308.628 - Omitted property subject to assessment.

Section 308.632 - Notice of intention to add omitted property to assessment roll.

Section 308.636 - Correction of assessment roll to reflect omitted property; appeal.

Section 308.640 - Assessment and taxation of personal property of small private railcar companies; apportionment to counties.

Section 308.665 - Railroad car exemption.

Section 308.671 - Elective exemption of certain communication-related property.

Section 308.674 - Exemption equal to difference between real market value of company’s centrally assessable property and 130 percent of cost of company’s centrally assessable real and tangible personal property; limitations; exclusivity.

Section 308.701 - Definitions for ORS 308.701 to 308.724.

Section 308.707 - Valuation of multiunit rental property subject to special assessment.

Section 308.709 - Application procedure; due dates; late filing; fee; assessor determination; appeals.

Section 308.712 - Methods to determine specially assessed value; election by owner; procedure; rules; fee.

Section 308.714 - Disqualification; notification requirements; penalties; rules; reapplication; new property or new improvements.

Section 308.805 - Mutual and cooperative electric distribution systems subject to tax on gross earnings.

Section 308.807 - Amount of tax.

Section 308.810 - Association to file statement; payment of tax.

Section 308.815 - Examination of return by department; distribution of tax.

Section 308.820 - Tax as a lien; delinquency date; action to collect.

Section 308.865 - Notice and payment of taxes before movement of mobile modular unit.

Section 308.866 - Definition of "mobile modular unit"; statement of value; receipt.

Section 308.875 - Manufactured structures classified as real or personal property; effect of classification on other transactions.

Section 308.880 - Travel or special use trailer eligible for ad valorem taxation upon application of owner.

Section 308.990 - Penalties.