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

Changes in federal law rarely affect local property taxes.  An exception occurred on Veteran’s Day when President Obama signed Public Law 111-97, the Military Spouses Residency Relief Act.   This law allows spouses of active-duty military members to retain residency in … Read more

With new county commissioners, school board members, and  municipal councilpersons being sworn in after last month’s local elections, the face and voice of the client has changed for more than one local government attorney.  What happens when one of those … Read more

An interesting government attorney-client privilege issue arose amidst the media hoopla surrounding former governor Mike Easley’s appearance before the state Board of Elections last month. Ruffin Poole, an attorney who served as executive counsel to then-Gov. Easley, sought to avoid testifying before the board based … Read more