In WCI Steel, Inc. v. Testa, the Ohio Supreme Court recently held that a taxpayer is allowed to introduce a new property valuation or appraisal at the Board of Tax Appeals (BTA) not previously presented to the Ohio Tax Commissioner. Although this case involved Ohio personal property tax, the ruling also applies to real property valuation disputes, as explained by Attorney Steven A. Dimengo in an interview with WKSU. To properly preserve one’s right to dispute the Tax Commissioner’s determination of property value, and therefore present a valuation or appraisal not previously presented to the Tax Commissioner, the taxpayer’s Notice of Appeal to the BTA must: (1) state the objection to the Tax Commissioner’s actions in valuing the property; and (2) identify the treatment the Tax Commissioner should have applied.
In this case, the Supreme Court remanded the case to the BTA to determine the value of the taxpayer’s property, taking into consideration the newly presented appraisal.