The number of lawyers using Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other social media networks grows daily.  So too does the number of lawyers doing foolish and unethical things on those networks. In this post I highlight some of the more egregious … Read more

Local tax collectors have long known the power of the attachment and garnishment collection remedy.  With just two pieces of paper, a tax collector may grab the entire contents of a bank account or garnish 10% of taxpayer’s wages until … Read more

One of the most basic yet most misunderstood facets of North Carolina property taxes is the year for which those taxes are levied.  Contrary to popular belief, property taxes are not levied for the calendar year.  All local governments are … Read more

The in rem property tax foreclosure process under G.S. 105-375 has recently come under criticism from some title insurance companies and attorneys. They raise two related arguments against using in rem.  First, they argue that courts are quick to overturn … Read more

Few things cause more headaches for property tax offices than heir property.  When a taxpayer dies owning real property, listing, exemption eligibility, billing, and enforced collection questions suddenly become very difficult to resolve. The traditional approach to resolving these questions … Read more

Quick poll question:  does your local government annually write off all property taxes that are more than 10 years old? (I bet everyone reading this post just nodded yes.)  Okay, second poll question: where in the Machinery Act are local … Read more

After posts on the new builders’ inventory exclusion (here and here) and on new rules for the waiver of interest on old motor vehicle taxes, one final new property tax law deserves its own blog post.  S.L. 2015-266 creates new … Read more

…exclusion for improvements to residential and commercial real property (S.L. 2015-223). I’ve already blogged and published a bulletin about the law, now nicknamed the “builders’ inventory exclusion.” After hearing many…

The Machinery Act rarely gives local governments much discretion. Most often our property tax statutes proscribe exactly what should happen in a given situation. There are a few tax collection situations in which local governments have flexibility, however.  Consider the unfettered … Read more

For years home builders have been pushing to exempt their real property inventory from property taxes in the same fashion that personal property inventory held by traditional merchants and manufacturers is exempt under G.S. 105-275(32a), (33) and (34). Home builders … Read more