My law firm has represented Texas saltwater disposal companies who are experiencing illegal property taxation. Essentially, certain appraisal districts in Texas have taxed the companies' land and then taxed them again based on the income they make from their "right to use" that same land. The Texas Supreme Court agreed to hear this important case from Parker County (one of the small handful of cases they hear each year) and the oral argument was held on February 28, 2018. A video of the oral argument can be found here. I believe this case has significant implications for all businesses in Texas, who could be subject to the same scheme of being taxed on their properties, and then again on their "right to use" their properties. (A big shout out to my mom letting me use her house and real estate business as an example in the argument!)
Hey Austin property owners: You've just been sued!
In a follow up to our July 10 post on this topic, Austin's lawsuit against the Travis County Appraisal District, the State Comptroller, the Attorney General and every business and commercial land property owner in the city limits has or will be filed today in Travis County District Court. The suit (the actual pdf of the lawsuit is here) seeks a declaration that ALL of Austin's "F1" (land with a business on it) and "C1" (commercial vacant land) properties are undervalued. If successful, the values and taxes will be hiked dramatically.
The good news for Austin businesses is that this lawsuit has significant legal flaws. If you or a business/landowner you know in Austin is affected by this lawsuit, we can answer this lawsuit and help stop this blatant government overreach without it costing a fortune. Share this post and contact us today!
Austin claims ALL commercial property is 40% undervalued
Despite oversight on a biannual basis from the Texas Comptroller, the City of Austin has declared that ALL of its commercial property is undervalued for property tax purposes by at least 40%. They are going to challenge the entire category of commercial property in court. It will be interesting to see if anyone intervenes on behalf of the landowners. More detail here.