Justia Tax Law Opinion Summaries

The Supreme Court granted certiorari in this matter to address the specific question of whether the requirement to post a pretrial bond set out in Mississippi Code Sections 27-77-5 and 27-77-7 (Rev. 2005) was procedural or jurisdictional. If procedural, it would constitute an intrusion by the Legislature into the assigned powers of this Court and of the judicial branch of government, and a violation of Article 6, Sections 144 and 146 of the Mississippi Constitution. Having considered the issue, the Court found that it's precedent was clear: the requirement of a pretrial bond relates to appellate jurisdiction and is within the powers of the Legislature. Accordingly, the Court affirmed the judgments of the Court of Appeals and of the Chancery Court for the First Judicial District of Hinds County. View "5K Farms, Inc. v. Miss. Dept. of Rev." on Justia Law

In 2006, Petitioner Chander Khurana was audited by the Mississippi State Department of Revenue (MSDR) and assessed taxes. Petitioner appealed the assessments to the Board of Review and eventually the full State Tax Commission, both of which affirmed the assessment. In 2007, Petitioner filed his appeal of the assessments to the Chancery Court; however he did not pay the taxes or post a bond at the time he filed his petition as required by statute. MSDR filed a motion for summary judgment and dismissal, arguing Petitioner failed to perfect his appeal. The chancellor denied the motion and ultimately affirmed the assessments. Petitioner appealed to the Supreme Court claiming the full Commission and chancery court acted arbitrarily and capriciously. MSDR cross-appealed, claiming the chancellor erred in denying its motion for summary judgment and dismissal. Upon review, the Supreme Court concluded Petitioner failed to comply with the statutory requirements of paying the tax or bond. Therefore, the chancery court did not have appellate jurisdiction over Petitioner's appeal, and should have granted MSDR's motion for summary judgment and dismissal. The Court reversed the judgment of the chancery court and rendered judgment for the Mississippi Department of Revenue. Because the chancery court should not have reached the merits of the case, the chancery court's order affirming the assessments was vacated. The order of the Commission remained in effect. View "Khurana v. Mississippi Dept. of Revenue" on Justia Law

The Pascagoula School District (which contains a Chevron crude oil refinery and a Gulf liquified natural gas terminal) brought suit, seeking a declaration that a new law that mandated that revenue the District collected from ad valorem taxes levied on liquified natural gas terminals and crude oil refineries be distributed to all school districts in the county where the terminals and refineries were located was unconstitutional and requesting injunctive relief. All parties filed for summary judgment. After a hearing, the trial judge ruled that the law was constitutional, and the plaintiffs appealed that decision. Because the Supreme Court found the contested statute violated the constitutional mandate that a school district's taxes be used to maintain "its schools," it reversed and remanded the case for further proceedings. View "Pascagoula School District v. Tucker" on Justia Law

The Mississippi Tax Commission (Commission) assessed a contractor’s tax against Walter Akins, d/b/a Akins Construction Company. Akins challenged the assessment administratively. After exhausting his administrative remedies, Akins appealed to the Chancery Court. The chancellor dismissed his complaint for failure to comply with Mississippi Code Section 27-77-7 (Rev. 2005), which required a taxpayer seeking judicial review to pay the amount ordered before filing the petition or attach a security bond, for double the amount in controversy, with the petition to appeal. Akins appealed to the Supreme Court, arguing that he was deprived of his right to due process because the appeal provisions codified in Section 27-77-7 are unconstitutional. Finding that the statute does meet constitutional standards and that Akins failed to pay the tax or post a bond in order to grant jurisdiction to the chancery court, the Court affirmed the chancellor's decision.

Anthony Smith died in a plane crash in 2001. His estate contained two separate life insurance policies. Mr. Smith's father Raymond was named as sole beneficiary of one policy, and Mr. Smith's ex-wife Ruth was named as beneficiary on the other. At the time of his death, Mr. Smith owned a life estate in 657 acres of land in Tate County. One hundred and sixty of the acres were set aside in fee simple for Raymond and his wife Dorothy as part of their homestead. This case came before an appellate court three separate times. Each time, the issue before the court involved the proper way to apportion the tax liability among the beneficiaries to the estate. The Supreme Court issued an opinion holding that taxes should be based on the taxable estate, rather than the gross estate. On remand, the Estate filed two motions demanding that Raymond and Ruth reimburse the Estate for taxes paid plus interest on the insurance policies. Raymond filed a motion demanding that the Estate pay him for rent for the time he was excluded from his homestead. The chancery court ultimately held that Raymond and Ruth were responsible for their portions of tax liability owed to the Estate, and that Raymond was entitled to twenty-four months' rent. The Estate appealed to the Supreme Court. Upon careful consideration of the case record, the Supreme Court affirmed the chancery court.

Respondent Tim Norris failed to pay his 2005 property taxes on his restaurant in Jackson. In 2006, Sass Muni purchased the restaurant in a tax sale. When Mr. Norris did not redeem the property within the statutory two-year period, a tax deed was issued to Sass Muni, who then deeded the property to Petitioner Rebuild America, Inc. When Rebuild America filed suit to confirm its title, Mr. Norris intervened, arguing that he was never served with notice of the tax sale. He moved to have the tax sale set aside. The chancellor set the tax sale aside, and Rebuild America appealed. The appellate court affirmed the chancery court's ruling. Rebuild America appealed again to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court agreed with the appellate court's analysis of the issues presented on appeal, and affirmed its holding.