Texas Legislature Adds Suits After Redetermination As Option To Challenge State Tax Assessments
In 2021, the Texas Legislature made it easier for taxpayers to challenge tax assessments without first paying the disputed amounts of tax due.
Prior to this change, pay-to-play was the only game in town. Under pay-to-play, a taxpayer first has to pay the total amount of tax, penalties, and interest assessed before challenging that assessment in court.[1]
This obviously created problems for taxpayers who can’t afford to pay, which could violate the Open Courts Provision in the Texas Constitution.[2] The Open Courts Provision provides that “[a]ll courts shall be open, and every person for an injury done him, in his lands, goods, person or reputation, shall have remedy by due course of law.”[3] The Texas Supreme Court has indicated that under certain circumstances a statute that requires prepayment of a tax assessment for judicial review may violate this provision.[4]
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