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Frequently Asked Questions
- WCAD Lawsuit
- What properties
are affected by this issue?
- How can I tell
if my property is affected?
- What if I have
other tax issues that I would like to protest?
- What legal fees
with I have to pay if I join the suit?
- What is the
deadline for joining the suit?
- How do I join
the suit?
- If we win the
suit, do I get my money back for being overtaxed in prior
years?
- Can you guarantee
that the Williamson County Appraisal District won’t
increase my taxes in subsequent years?
- When do you
think that this case will be decided?
- How can I help
spread the word about this issue?
Answers
What
properties are affected by this issue?
Properties in
Williamson County that have an ag or wildlife valuation are
affected.
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How can I tell if my property
is affected?
Braun & Associates will
give you a free consultation to determine whether Williamson
County Appraisal District is taking out a one-acre homesite
on your property and valuing it higher than your remaining
ag land.
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What if I have other tax
issues that I would like to protest?
Braun & Associates
will represent you for the one-acre homesite issue, but will
coordinate with each landowner to assure that they are able
to protest other issues on their own.
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What legal fees with I have
to pay if I join the suit?
You will pay $100 to Braun &
Associates to file your protest for you, represent you before
the Appraisal Review Board, and join you in the lawsuit with
other affected landowners. This $100 is not refundable. You
will not owe Braun & Associates any additional legal fees
unless we win the case and you see a reduction in your taxes.
You will owe no more than one year of your tax savings. Braun
& Associates has broken their legal fees into two payments,
to make it more affordable. The two steps include: (1) $300
upon winning the suit; (2) when you get your tax notice, you
will pay them the difference (if any) between one year of
your tax savings and what you have already paid them ($400).
At no time will our legal fees exceed one year of your tax
savings. Your legal fees will also be reduced if the court
awards attorneys fees.
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What is the deadline for
joining the suit?
You must protest your
taxes within 30 days of receiving your Notice of Appraised
Value from the Appraisal District. These notices will be sent
in the mail between April 15th – June 15th.
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How do I join the suit?
You must contact Braun &
Associates at (512) 894-5426 to let them know that you are
interested in protesting your taxes. They will analyze your
taxes to see if you are affected. If you are being overtaxed
by the Appraisal District, Braun & Associates will send
you an engagement letter.
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If we win the suit, do I
get my money back for being overtaxed in prior years?
No. You are only able
to receive tax relief for those years in which you have protested.
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Can you guarantee that the
Williamson County Appraisal District won’t increase
my taxes in subsequent years?
No. However, we are filing this
lawsuit to change the Appraisal District appraisal techniques.
We will ask the court to rule that the appraisal technique
at issue (appraising the one-acre homesite at a higher value
than the remaining acreage) is illegal and that they cannot
use this technique in the future.
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When do you think that this
case will be decided?
We will continue to add
affected landowners to the lawsuit that was filed in September
2005. After we protest the 2006 taxes, we will join additional
landowners to the lawsuit and then proceed with the litigation.
We hope to move the case forward as quickly as possible, and
anticipate that we could have it resolved in 2007.
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How can I help spread the
word about this issue?
You can tell your family, friends,
and neighbors to contact Cassie Gresham with Braun & Associates
at (512) 894-5426. It is very important that landowners know
that they have only 30 days from the date they receive their
2006 Notice of Appraised Value to protest their taxes. |
