A Tennessee taxpayer got a rude awakening when a state court ruled it was liable for ad valorem tax on its leasehold interest in tax exempt property despite having an agreement with local governments to make a payment in lieu of taxes. Creative Label, Inc. v. Tuck, 2011 Tenn. App. LEXIS 238 (May 11
Tennessee
Tennessee Tax Has One Company Over a Barrel
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Posted in Policy and Legislation
The Tennessee Attorney General recently opined that the General Assembly may allow counties to impose a tax on liquor barrels. The proposed privilege tax on the use of liquor barrels would be imposed on any manufacturer of intoxicating liquor that operated before 1950. Tenn. Att’y Gen. Op. No. 11-49 (May 31, 2011). If this proposed tax…
City’s Contingency Fee Tax Collector Cannot Hide Behind Tax Injunction Act
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Posted in Noteworthy Cases
The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee recently upheld a class action lawsuit against an out-of-state law firm that the city of Memphis, Tennessee, hired to collect past-due property taxes. Wright v. Linebarger Goggan Blair & Sampson, 2011 WL 1100462 (W.D. Tenn. Mar. 22, 2011). A class of Memphis taxpayers filed…
Ouch! Taxpayer Seeks to Pierce Its Own Veil
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Posted in Noteworthy Cases
An otherwise ordinary ad valorem property tax case turned interesting when a taxpayer requested that the Tennessee Court of Appeals “pierce the corporate veil.” Alcoa, Inc. v. Tenn. State Bd. of Equalization, No. E2010-00001-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Feb. 18, 2011). The case arose out of an ad valorem property tax assessment against Alcoa for…
Events in Neighboring Southern States May Foreshadow Changes to Come
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Posted in Southeast
Within the last month, Tennessee and North Carolina have replaced the heads of their respective Departments of Revenue. On September 20, Charles Trost was sworn in as the new Tennessee Commissioner of Revenue. Mr. Trost was a partner at a Nashville law firm, and takes over for outgoing Commissioner Reagan Farr. In Tennessee, the Commissioner…