Tax Assessment Defense

The Tax Assessment Defense team at Sands Anderson has over 50 years of experience defending local governments, as well as advising localities and their elected and appointed assessing officials. We know how the state assessment laws affect Virginia’s cities, counties, and towns.  We can help you address tax assessment disputes from new angles.

Our Tax Assessment Defense team has the experience to assist with all types of local taxes and fees, such as:

• Business Personal Property
• Business, Professional, Occupational, and License (BPOL) Taxes
• Machinery and Tools
• Real Estate
• Trust taxes, such as meals, admission and lodging taxes
• Consumer utility taxes
• Tax exemptions and classifications
• Utility Connection (Tap) and User Fees.

We understand the financial and political effects tax assessment claims and cases can have on localities, big and small. As such, our goal is to help balance the competing interests that often accompany tax assessment claims. From counties and cities to commissioners of the revenue, finance directors, and beyond, we can intelligently and seamlessly address your specific legal responsibilities.Our clients include localities, boards of equalization, commissioners of the revenue, and other assessing officials in all types of local government tax assessment claims including:

• Administrative assessment appeals, both locally and before the State Tax Commissioner
• Litigation challenging assessments of local taxes of all kinds

As your ongoing legal partner, we can address a variety of local tax assessment disputes, including valuation, classification, and exemption. We also want to help you proactively develop your assessment, advise you in administrative appeals, and represent you in court. When needed, we will work closely with local attorneys and assessing officials, and aptly apply their knowledge and resources.  We serve our clients thoroughly and efficiently while respecting their particular goals.

Practice Highlights

• Experience handling assessment matters at the administrative level, before the local circuit courts across the Commonwealth, at the State Corporation Commission, and before the Virginia Supreme Court.
• Presenters on assessment defense topics before various organizations, including Local Government Attorneys of Virginia (LGA), the Commissioners of the Revenue Association, and the Virginia Association of Assessing Officials (VAAO).
• Specific knowledge of appraisal and assessment statutes, case law, methodologies, theory, and practice.