The Daily Report Online had an interesting article about a possible development in GA that most tax advisors would welcome -- a dedicated Tax Court. This court would handle mostly income tax cases, but it would also take some complex sales tax cases. It goes (almost) without saying, that a dedicated court makes good sense to specialized state tax attorneys also. Here's a quote from the article:
"Some attorneys and the state's top tax official want the state to establish a new court for hearing complex tax disputes. The attorneys, working through the State Bar's Taxation Law Section, hope to have a pilot program approved in 2009.
"Currently, businesses and individuals who want to dispute their taxes can either bring a suit against the state Department of Revenue or county government in Superior Court or in the Georgia Office of State Administrative Hearings. Both avenues have limitations, according to tax attorney Peter G. Stathopoulos.
"Judicial rulings published in Superior Court aren't published in a recorder, making it difficult for tax attorneys to track developments in case law, Stathopoulos said.
"Right now you only can read about tax cases when they go up to the state Court of Appeals," said Stathopoulos, an accountant with the Atlanta firm Bennett Thrasher and a former tax attorney at Morris, Manning & Martin and McGuireWoods.
"This tax court would actually publish its decisions, and it would create a lot more uniformity," he said. "
