The Oregon Tax Court is a state court in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

, which has jurisdiction in questions of law that regard state

tax A tax is a compulsory financial charge or some other type of levy imposed on a taxpayer (an individual or legal entity) by a governmental organization in order to fund government spending and various public expenditures (regional, local, or n ...

laws. Examples of matters that would come before this court include

income taxes An income tax is a tax imposed on individuals or entities (taxpayers) in respect of the income or profits earned by them (commonly called taxable income). Income tax generally is computed as the product of a tax rate times the taxable income. Tax ...

, corporate

excise taxes file:Lincoln Beer Stamp 1871.JPG, upright=1.2, 1871 U.S. Revenue stamp for 1/6 barrel of beer. Brewers would receive the stamp sheets, cut them into individual stamps, cancel them, and paste them over the Bunghole, bung of the beer barrel so when ...

property taxes A property tax or millage rate is an ad valorem tax on the value of a property.In the OECD classification scheme, tax on property includes "taxes on immovable property or net wealth, taxes on the change of ownership of property through inheri ...

, timber taxes, cigarette taxes, local budget law, and property tax limitations. The purpose of the court is parallel to that of the

United States Tax Court The United States Tax Court (in case citations, T.C.) is a federal trial court of record established by Congress under Article I of the U.S. Constitution, section 8 of which provides (in part) that the Congress has the power to "constitute Trib ...

. Taxpayers and tax authorities can take advantage of a court that is familiar with

taxation A tax is a compulsory financial charge or some other type of levy imposed on a taxpayer (an individual or legal person, legal entity) by a governmental organization in order to fund government spending and various public expenditures (regiona ...

issues. Oregon Tax Court cases are usually filed by taxpayers who are unhappy with the decisions of the Oregon Department of Revenue or a county tax assessor. The Oregon Tax Court has a single judge who is elected in a statewide election to a 6-year term. The position has been held since January, 2018 by Judge Robert T. Manicke, who was appointed by Governor Kate Brown. He was elected to a full six-year term in November 2018. The court is divided into two divisions: the Magistrate Division and the Regular Division.

Magistrate Division

The Tax Court judge appoints one presiding tax court

magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judici ...

and some number of other magistrates, currently about three. Typically, the magistrate is a practicing attorney who is appointed by the court as a judicial officer to hear cases informally. The magistrate will attempt to mediate the situation between parties before bringing the case to trial. Court rules are informal, and the parties may choose to represent themselves. They may also be represented by any one of a list of persons, including a lawyer, an accountant, a licensed appraiser, or others. If mediation is unsuccessful, the magistrate will consider the words and evidence of both parties and render a written decision. Decisions of the Magistrate Division may be appealed to the Regular Division of the Oregon Tax Court.

Regular Division

The Regular division is a more formal court proceeding, and it is presided over by the Tax Court judge. While parties can represent themselves, usually they are represented by an attorney. The rules for this court are the Tax Court Rules, which are very similar to the

Oregon Rules for Civil Procedure Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...

, and similar to an

Oregon Circuit Court Oregon's circuit courts are general jurisdiction trial courts of the U.S. state of Oregon. These courts hear civil and criminal court cases. The state has 27 circuit court districts, most of which correspond to the boundaries of Oregon's 36 coun ...

in terms of rules of evidence and procedure. A Regular Division proceeding would look like any other civil court case one might be familiar with seeing. All cases are tried by the judge without a jury. Cases that were referred from the Magistrate division will be started again from the beginning, so the judge can get a fresh look at the evidence. One advantage of having this separate court is that the judge and staff become quite familiar with taxation issues and property valuation issues. This effort attempts to make these types of cases more efficient and the rulings more consistent.

Property tax appeals

A common type of case brought to the Tax Court is a dispute related to property valuation. In property tax cases, the issue is rarely related to the rate of tax. It is almost always related to the valuation of the property by the county tax assessor. These cases are often complicated due to the judgments that must be made regarding what the value of a given piece of property might be.

Oversight

As with all state courts within Oregon, supervision of the Tax Court lies with the Chief Justice of the

Oregon Supreme Court The Oregon Supreme Court (OSC) is the highest state court in the U.S. state of Oregon. The only court that may reverse or modify a decision of the Oregon Supreme Court is the Supreme Court of the United States.Oregon Court of Appeals The Oregon Court of Appeals is the state intermediate appellate court in the US state of Oregon. Part of the Oregon Judicial Department, it has thirteen judges and is located in Salem. Except for death penalty cases, which are reserved to the O ...

References

External links

Oregon Department of Revenue
{{Oregon Judicial System

Tax Court Tax courts are courts of limited jurisdiction that deal with tax issues. Notable examples include: *United States Tax Court, a United States federal court ** List of Judges of the United States Tax Court **Uniformity and jurisdiction in U.S. feder ...

Taxation in Oregon 1962 establishments in Oregon Tax courts Courts and tribunals established in 1962 US state tax agencies