Despite rumors to the contrary, tax collectors are human. Sometimes they make mistakes. Can those mistakes ever bind the taxing unit and eliminate a tax obligation?

More than a few local government taxes, fees, and costs can be collected using some or all of the remedies available for the collection of property taxes.  As I’ve blogged before, property taxes can be waived or refunded only in very … Read more

Given the gaming industry’s aggressive litigation strategy against criminal sanctions, it seemed only a matter of time before internet sweepstakes operators responded similarly to the growing number of municipal privilege license taxes imposed on their businesses.  That time has arrived.   In late April lawyers for … Read more

With apologies to The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, the title of this post accurately summarizes my usual response when asked about the consequences facing a local government that fails to deliver property tax bills in a timely fashion.   N.C. property tax law does … Read more

How many local government clients are too many? If an attorney represents a county, is that attorney precluded from also representing a city in that county? What about representing multiple counties or multiple cities? These questions are of great concern … Read more

[Update: The N.C. Supreme Court issued important ruling on video sweepstakes in 2012 and 2013.  See this post and this post for more details.] Internet sweepstakes operations have continued to mushroom across the state. A recent newspaper article identified eight stand-alone … Read more

With taxpayers across the state still suffering financially, local governments may be forced to rely on foreclosures more than ever to generate vital property tax revenue.  Here are five persistent myths about tax foreclosures that deserve debunking.

Which of these taxpayers is entitled to a property tax refund? Jane forgets that she is escrowing her property taxes with her mortgage company and pays the taxes herself in September.   Two weeks later she demands a refund because her insurance … Read more

In the last few months of 2009, the North Carolina Court of Appeals issued two interesting opinions on property tax situs.  A fancy word for “location,” situs controls whether or not property is subject to tax in a particular jurisdiction.  The … Read more

Local tax officials should add to their reading lists the latest chapter in what may be the state’s longest-running property tax saga.  Last month the N.C. Court of Appeals ruled in favor of IBM Credit Corporation in its dispute with … Read more