County Tax Assessments Upheld

Conservation Tax Credits At Issue

By Deborah Elkins
Published: May 30, 2013
Tags: Albemarle County Circuit Court, Taxation, Virginia Circuit Courts

An Albemarle County Circuit Court overrules the Virginia Department of Taxation’s motion for summary judgment in this litigation over conservation tax credits for a parcel transferred to the Department of Conservation and Recreation. This suit involves a claim by Forest Lodge LLC to be given tax credits by the Virginia Department of Taxation regarding the [...]

No Reassessment for Value Disparity

By Deborah Elkins
Published: May 30, 2013
Tags: Fairfax County Circuit Court, Judge Dennis J. Smith, Taxation, Virginia Circuit Courts

Although the petitioning taxpayer asserts the significant disparity between the actual fair market value of the property and the assessed value is a manifest error that warrants reassessment of its taxes for the years 2008 through 2011, the Fairfax Circuit Court rejects this view and upholds the county’s assessment. Petitioner Vienna Metro LLC relies on [...]

Plaintiff entitled to $19M in additional tax credits for property – $19,000,000 Verdict

By Virginia Lawyers Weekly
Published: May 17, 2013
Tags: Albemarle County Circuit Court, Million-Dollar Verdicts, Real Estate, Taxation

This case stems from the conservation tax credit program codified under Virginia law at Code § 58.1-512. Under that program, when a grantor donates land for conservation purposes, the Department of Taxation is to issue tax credits in an amount equal to 40 percent of the land’s fair market value. Virginia is one of relatively [...]

Developers, state sparred over conservation tax credits

By Peter Vieth
Published: May 17, 2013
Tags: Albemarle County Circuit Court, Million-Dollar Verdicts, Real Estate, Taxation

A court battle over the value of a patch of Albemarle County land has shed light on the often-secret and high dollar business of conservation tax credits and may be a guidepost for using expert appraisal witnesses. While other investors suffered huge losses when the real estate bubble burst in 2008, a Charlottesville developer and [...]

Expert Testimony Can’t Overturn Hotel Taxes

By Deborah Elkins
Published: May 14, 2013
Tags: Judge Charles E. Poston, Norfolk Circuit Court, Taxation, Virginia Circuit Courts

Owners of the Norfolk Waterside Marriott Hotel and Convention Center lose their challenge to the city’s real estate tax assessments for tax years 2009 through 2011, on their theory that the city, in determining fair market value of the properties, failed to take into account the economic downturn that started in late 2007 and caused [...]

Tax suit raises conflict questions for Cuccinelli

By The Associated Press
Published: March 22, 2013
Tags: Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, Mecklenburg County Circuit Court, Taxation

(AP) — A lawsuit against the state of Virginia by a nutritional supplement maker whose stock comprises Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli’s total investment portfolio is raising questions about the Republican’s potential conflicts of interest. Henrico-based Star Scientific Inc. sued Virginia’s Department of Taxation in Mecklenberg Circuit Court in July 2011 over a $700,000 tax dispute [...]

Home Buyers Liable for Tax Lien

By Deborah Elkins
Published: November 20, 2012
Tags: Judge James P. Jones, Taxation, U.S. District Court - Western District

An Abingdon U.S. District Court denies equitable subrogation to a couple who said they were not aware of a federal tax lien on the property when they purchased it, and only learned of the lien when they sold the property after making improvements. In 2006, plaintiffs bought the property for $225,000. As part of the [...]

Court Uphold Firm’s Tax Collection Fee

By Deborah Elkins
Published: September 24, 2012
Tags: Judge Robert P. Doherty Jr., Roanoke County Circuit Court, Taxation, Virginia Circuit Courts

A bank that holds a note secured by a credit line deed of trust on property that owes back taxes and that he bank wants to redeem prior to sale loses its challenge to attorney’s fees the county treasurer wishes to pay to the law firm it hired to collect delinquent taxes; the Roanoke County [...]

FDIC May Sue for Real Estate Refund

By Deborah Elkins
Published: September 10, 2012
Tags: Judge Anthony J. Trenga, Taxation, U.S. District Court - Eastern District

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation may sue under federal common law for a refund of local real estate taxes paid to Arlington County on an allegedly erroneous assessment of its property as a “hotel,” but the Alexandria U.S. District Court dismisses the FDIC’s claim for a declaratory judgment. Unlike many federal entities, plaintiff FDIC is [...]