Taxpayers’ Legislation for 2010
Proposed Legislation for 2010
Tennessee Taxpayers has proposed new legislation to correct inequities to the taxpayers.
Assessment Appeals Commission
This bill is regarding who may sit on the Tennessee Assessment Appeals Commission. The Appeals Commission was created for the sole purpose to provide fair and impartial tax hearings. Therefore, the Commission membership must be fairly constituted with no member having the appearance of bias or conflict of interest.
As you know from our earlier report, Assessors Should Not Sit on Assessment Appeals Commission, at the present time there are a number of Assessors on this Commission. This is clearly unfair to the taxpayers.
The Assessors are the parties opposing the taxpayers.
The proposed legislation would prohibit Assessors, or any government employees or officials, from sitting as members of the Commission. (Read Bill)
This legislation is similar to that enacted earlier regarding county boards of equalization where the Legislature also prohibited Assessors and government officials from sitting on those boards.
In order to guarantee fair hearings, similar remedial legislation must be passed regarding the Appeals Commission.
Business Gross Receipts Tax Audits
Beginning this year, the State has taken over the administrative functions of the local business taxes. Taxpayers will now file all city and county gross receipts tax returns to the State instead of to their local governments. (Read Previous Report – More Control by State – Higher Taxes for Taxpayers.
The local governments will still be sent their share of the funds as required by present law (approximately 60%).
However, the State conducts audits and if any taxes are shown to be underpaid, then the State keeps all of these additional taxes including the local governments’ share.
This appears to us to be inappropriate. 
A share of these underpaid taxes no doubt belongs to the local governments.
Our bill (Read Bill) provides that the State may retain the costs of audits, but must return to the local governments their proper share of the additional taxes.
Other Important Issues:
There are, of course, other important tax issues pending in the Legislature.
For example, the issue of our governments hiring lobbyists to enact legislation to decrease our rights or increase our taxes is an issue which must be addressed. See our report, Our Governments Hire Lobbyists to Raise Our Taxes.
Also, our report, Is Real Assessment Equalization Dead In Tennessee, discusses the loss of the taxpayers’ rights to compare the assessments and taxes of their neighbors’ properties. Until recent times, taxpayers could judge their assessments by comparing them to their neighbors.
Not anymore. The right has been taken away. This has been accomplished through some suspicious decisions in the administrative appeals process. The right to really equalize asessments needs to be restored to the taxpayers.
Another important issue concerns equalizing rights to amend tangible personal property returns. Read our post, What a Difference a Word Makes!
We have numerous other bills pending regarding tax issues which are being unfairly applied to taxpayers.
Of course, we always review all pending tax legislation and will oppose any bill which would impose unfair provisions upon taxpayers or will delete any of the rights we now have.
We can make a difference in the Legislature and achieve legislation fair to the taxpayers. If we take no action, all that will result is more unfair procedures and tax increases.
© copyright – Tennessee Taxpayers Association – January 28, 2010
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