Appellate Tax Board

This is a Massachusetts State Auditor performance audit of the Appellate Tax Board, the state body that hears appeals when taxpayers challenge tax decisions by local or state tax authorities.

“As authorized by Chapter 11, Section 12, of the Massachusetts General Laws, the Office of the State Auditor conducted a performance audit of the Appellate Tax Board (ATB) for the period July 1, 1997 through June 30, 1999.”

The audit looked at whether the board followed the law and its own rules, gave clear instructions to people filing appeals, handled cases on time, and had documentation to support its decisions.

“The objectives of our audit were to determine whether (1) the ATB is adhering to the appeals process defined in Chapter 58A of the General Laws and 831 CMR 1.00; (2) the ATB has issued clear, comprehensive, and consistent instructions regarding the documentation to be submitted by appellants and appellees when an appeal is sought; (3) cases filed with the ATB are accepted, scheduled, heard, and decided within the time frame allowed by law; and (4) the ATB’s decisions are supported by documentation that clearly establishes the rationale for its decisions.”

When a public body changes or upholds tax decisions without explaining why, people cannot easily tell whether the process was fair, consistent, or based on evidence.

“As a consequence, neither the taxpayer nor the cities/towns are provided with any information, or have access to any information, concerning the basis in which a decision was rendered, including the corrective action needed to ensure that valuations of comparative properties are proper.”

If you appeal a tax decision, this report says you may not get a clear explanation of why you won or lost, especially in informal cases.

“Accordingly, neither appellants nor appellees could determine the basis for ATB’s decisions and as a result could not determine whether the decisions made were reasonable or equitable.”

The auditor concluded that the board needed better records, clearer filing guidance, standardized forms, and outside oversight of its decision-making work.

“Without such records, the ATB chairman does not have access to the objective data needed to sustain a decision to remove a Commissioner from office because of suspected malfeasance.”

The auditor recommended that the board keep written reasons for its decisions, keep key supporting documents in case files, give copies to both sides, and consider legislation to put the board under stronger oversight.

“Record in writing the rationale for all ATB decisions, place a copy in each case file, and send a copy to the appellants and appellees.”

The report says this is important because the board can make decisions that directly affect taxpayers, businesses, cities, and towns while operating with very limited outside review.

“Therefore, although the ATB has the authority to make decisions which have a direct and significant impact on individual taxpayers, businesses, and cities and towns, it operates in a totally autonomous environment as it reports to no one, and with limited exceptions, no entity is empowered to review the results of its operations.”

The Appellate Tax Board is described as a specialized decision-making agency, not a regular court, that hears tax appeals from local and state tax authorities.

“The Appellate Tax Board (ATB), which is authorized under Chapter 58A, Section 1, of the Massachusetts General Laws, is a quasi-judicial agency that is devoted exclusively to hearing and deciding cases on appeal from decisions made by any local or state taxing authority.”