Tax Tip of the Week | No. 319 | Supreme Court Ruling a Big Win for Ohio Municipal Taxpayers

Tax Tip of the Week | September 9, 2015 | No. 319 | Supreme Court Ruling a Big Win for Ohio Municipal TaxpayersHere is a recent news release from the Ohio Society of CPAs....

In a victory for CPAs reminiscent of last year’s passage of municipal income tax reform, the Ohio Supreme Court recently ruled unanimously in favor of taxpayers in the case of MacDonald v. Shaker Heights Board of Income Tax Review.At issue was whether taxpayers should be allowed to present additional information to the Ohio Board of Tax Appeals (BTA) when fighting a decision made by a Municipal Board of Appeal (MBOA).OSCPA filed an amicus brief in this case last fall because of its significant impact on Ohio taxpayers’ fundamental rights in appealing municipal income tax decisions.The court found that taxpayers do have the right to present additional factual evidence during Ohio Board of Tax Appeals hearings. Further, by not making the MBOA a quasi-judicial body as desired by the city, taxpayers can continue to be represented by advocates of their choice, including CPAs.Before 2003, municipal income tax cases were appealable to the common pleas courts, where reviews are primarily limited to the MBOA’s record on findings of fact. Since 2003, taxpayers who disagree with municipal tax decisions could also opt to take up their case with the Ohio Board of Tax Appeals (R.C. 5717.011).“The Ohio Society of CPAs championed this case because we firmly believe the Ohio Board of Tax Appeals is the proper venue for due process reviews of municipal income tax disputes,” said Scott D. Wiley, CAE, president and CEO.“The BTA is uniquely positioned to uniformly apply municipal income tax laws across Ohio,” Wiley said. “Otherwise businesses and taxpayers could be at the mercy of decisions made by individual municipalities in up to 600 local taxing authorities.”This Supreme Court decision underscores the spirit and intent of Ohio’s lawmakers in passing House Bill 5 for municipal income tax reform last December, an initiative led by The Ohio Society of CPAs. The new law takes effect in 2016 and brings predictability and uniformity to Ohio’s formerly patchwork municipal income tax system, making filing dates and many rules governing what is considered taxable income consistent.You can contact us in Dayton at 937-436-3133 and in Xenia at 937-372-3504.  Or visit our website.Rick Prewitt – the guy behind TTW...until next week.