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The Tennessee Taxpayers Association (TTA) is speaking out
against companion bills filed in the Tennessee Senate and House
of Representatives. The TTA says the proposed legislation
perpetuates unfairness against taxpayers. The issue involves who
should be allowed to serve on the Tennessee Assessment Appeals
Commission.
Currently, the
Appeals Commission is made up of 15 members. Six county
assessors are either members or alternates.
Senate Bill 3588 and House Bill 2833 limits the number of
assessors on the Appeals Commission to one.
The TTA believes
there should be no assessors on the Appeals Commission. The
group lobbied for a similar change several years ago that made
it illegal for local tax officials to serve on county boards of
equalization.
As a TTA report
explains, “Even though assessor members may recuse themselves
should any appeal involve a property located in their county,
the appearance of bias is still unavoidable. An assessor’s mere
presence as a Commission member places unfair pressure upon the
other members when it is time to vote for or against the
assessor member’s case before the Commission.”
To read more about
the TTA’s concerns about assessors on the Appeals Commission,
click here.
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