November 11, 2015
MEDIA CONTACT
Timothy Boggs
(614) 340-9817
TBoggs@OhioConstitution.org
Ohio
School District Forced to Return $5.5 Million in Illegal Taxes to
Taxpayer
Cincinnati,
OH - After a five-plus year legal battle concluded with an Ohio Court
denying all of its objections, the Indian Hill Exempted Village
School District Board of Education late yesterday finally conceded
that it must return the $5.5 million that it illegally assessed
taxpayers after raising taxes without a public vote in 2010.
The
1851 Center for Constitutional Law's victory on behalf of a certified
class of all school district property taxpayers comes nearly one year
after the 1851 Center prevailed in striking down the tax increase
before the Ohio Supreme Court. After the Court's unanimous December
2014 decision, the school district still refused to return the funds,
requiring the Center to file a class action lawsuit in January of
2015.
In
affirming that Ohio taxpayers maintain a constitutional right to
recover unlawfully-imposed taxes, Judge Martin of the Hamilton County
Court of Common Pleas denied the Board's Motion for Summary Judgment,
rejecting the Board's position that it was not required to return any
of the funds, or that in the alternative, it was required to return
$2 million at most.
Indian
Hill School District property taxpayers can expect a refund check by
March 1, 2016. Amounts are expected to be approximately $1,000
for the average taxpayer,
and much greater for many others.
"The
outcome of this case reflects the principles that property taxes
cannot be increased without a vote by citizens, unlawfully-collected
taxes must be returned to those taxpayers from whom they were taken,
and government must pay interest to taxpayers when it has kept their
funds for many years, as here," said Maurice Thompson, Executive
Director of the 1851 Center for Constitutional Law.
"These
results should dissuade other school districts from attempting to
unlawfully raise taxes. Nevertheless, Ohioans should have a hard look
at their school board members, who, absent scrutiny, could quite
literally be getting away with theft, as would have otherwise
happened here."
Due
to the class-action status of the case, the Court of Common Pleas
will hold several hearings over the coming months to finalize the
case, including addressing the administrative complexities of
issuing pro
rata refunds
not just to current homeowners in the district, but to those that
owned homes during the period of illegal taxation.
Rather
than settling the matter in January, the Board diverted nearly
$200,000 from funds earmarked for the education of school district
children to pay attorneys fees of $400 per hour. Unable to find
Cincinnati law firms willing to defend its practices, the Board opted
to hire a firm consisting of Washington D.C. lobbyists and Cleveland
lawyers.
The
Board and its lawyers argued that it was entitled to keep the
taxpayers' money because each and every taxpayer did not file an
individual protest letter with each and every property tax payment,
and further argued that perhaps it could have legally raised taxes,
albeit to a lesser extent, in the absence of the unlawful tax
increase that it chose.
The
1851 Center countered by explaining that state and federal Due
Process Clauses have been held to require the return of
unlawfully-charged taxes. The Court took little time in flatly
rejecting the firm's arguments and siding with the 1851 Center.
"Judge
Martin should be commended for scrutinizing and seeing through the
Board's outlandish arguments rather than just reflexively siding with
government - - the Court deserves credit for doing justice for Ohio
taxpayers," added Thompson.
Read
more about the underlying Ohio Supreme Court Case HERE
Read
the 1851 Center's Class-Action Filings HEREOur clients receive free legal representation thanks to the generosity of our donors. If you support our efforts to advance liberty and limit government, please consider making a tax-deductible donation to the 1851 Center for Constitutional Law.
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