What percentage of North Carolina cities and towns rely on their counties for the collection of municipal property taxes? 60%? 80%? I don’t know the exact figure, but I’m certain it’s much closer to 100% than it is to 0%.  And I think it’s far more common today than it was fifty years ago.

Unless you are in desperate need of a sleep aid, I assume you don’t normally read law journals.  But my friend Tom Kelley from the UNC Law School and I just published an article in the UNC Law Review on North Carolina property tax exemptions that might be worth your time.  Unlike most law journal articles that are written for other law profs, our article should be useful to folks outside the ivory towers of academia. Tom and I wrote “North Carolina’s Property Tax Ex

Unless you are in desperate need of a sleep aid, I assume you don’t normally read law journals.  But my friend Tom Kelley from the UNC Law School and I just published an article in the UNC Law Review on North Carolina property tax exemptions that might be worth your time.  Unlike most law journal articles that are written for other law profs, our article should be useful to folks outside the ivory towers of academia. Tom and I wrote “North Carolina’s Property Tax Ex

As communities begin the long recovery process in the wake of Hurricane Florence, many residents will need temporary housing. One challenge, though, is the zoning ordinance.  Most zoning ordinances strictly limit manufactured homes and recreational vehicles (RVs). As the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) looks to deploy temporary housing and as residents look for housing alternatives, local governments may need to amend zoning ordinances temporarily.

As communities begin the long recovery process in the wake of Hurricane Florence, many residents will need temporary housing. One challenge, though, is the zoning ordinance.  Most zoning ordinances strictly limit manufactured homes and recreational vehicles (RVs). As the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) looks to deploy temporary housing and as residents look for housing alternatives, local governments may need to amend zoning ordinances temporarily.

Subdivision can make for knotty property tax problems. Here’s some help to untie them.
Assume Billy BlueDevil owns Parcel A in Carolina County.  In February of 2018, he subdivides Parcel A into four subparcels, A1, A2, A3 and A4. Billy also owns Parcel B and a boat, all of which are listed Carolina County.
In March 2018, Billy sells subparcel A4 to Tommy Tarheel. Tommy also owns a small propeller plane he flies on weekends from Carolina County’s small airport.

Subdivision can make for knotty property tax problems. Here’s some help to untie them.
Assume Billy BlueDevil owns Parcel A in Carolina County.  In February of 2018, he subdivides Parcel A into four subparcels, A1, A2, A3 and A4. Billy also owns Parcel B and a boat, all of which are listed Carolina County.
In March 2018, Billy sells subparcel A4 to Tommy Tarheel. Tommy also owns a small propeller plane he flies on weekends from Carolina County’s small airport.

Opportunity Zones are the latest effort by the federal government to encourage investment in low-income census tracts.

Opportunity Zones are the latest effort by the federal government to encourage investment in low-income census tracts.

Discoveries are confusing, thanks to lots of special rules that apply only to these types of tax bills.  I explain the basic process here.  It’s not just the calculation of discovery bills that can get complex; so too are the methods that taxpayers may use to seek relief from those bills.  In today’s post, I discuss the three (!) different ways a taxpayer may challenge a discovery bill.