The Massachusetts Appellate Tax Board (“Board”) is a
quasi-judicial agency within the executive branch "but not subject to its
control in the conduct of its adjudicatory functions." G.L. c. 58A, 1. It
is devoted exclusively to hearing and deciding cases on appeal from any state or
local taxing authority. The Board was established by the Legislature in 1929 to
relieve the Superior Court of the large volume of tax appeals, and to provide
taxpayers with a less expensive and more expedient means of appeal. Since the
Board handles appeals related to virtually all state taxes and excises as well
as appeals of local property taxes from all 351 cities and towns in the
Commonwealth, it is at the center of the entire system of revenue production for
the Commonwealth.
Ninety percent of the petitions filed at the Board are
appeals of local property taxes. The remaining cases are appeals by taxpayers
regarding all state taxes, including: income tax, sales and use tax, corporate
excise, bank excise and others. In addition, the Board has jurisdiction to hear
appeals by cities and towns of valuations set by the Department of Revenue that
are used in computing local aid and state assessments. Although appeals
involving state taxes and excises comprise on average only six to ten percent of
the total number of cases filed with the Board, they generally require more time
and resources because they often involve issues of first impression regarding
the interpretation of state tax statutes and may affect a great number of
taxpayers.
The Board is committed to maintaining an appeal process which
is fair, understandable and accessible to all litigants, including pro se
taxpayers, and which resolves tax appeals in an expeditious fashion. Toward that
end, the Board has aggressively scheduled pending appeals so that most cases are
heard within 6 to 12 months of filing. In addition, the Board has uniformly
issued decisions within 3 to 6 months of all hearings and has promulgated
written findings of fact and report within 3 to 6 months of the completion of
the hearing process.
The majority of Board hearings are conducted in
Boston. However, as a convenience to taxpayers and boards of assessors located
in areas distant from Boston, the Board travels to such cities and towns as
Pittsfield, Springfield, New Bedford, Falmouth, and Northampton to hold
hearings.
The Board's website contains the Board’s rules, printable copies of its
common forms and other
information helpful to taxpayers and taxing authorities. For the convenience of
tax practitioners, local boards of assessors, the Department of Revenue, legal
publishers, and other interested parties, the Board electronically transfers
copies of its Findings of Fact and Report to anyone requesting placement on the
Board’s e-mail distribution list. To request electronic updates of the Board
Findings of Fact and Report, please call the Board or send an e-mail to Janice.D.Brown@state.ma.us.
return to Appellate Tax
Board home page
