Testimony of Kathleen Crowley, Executive Director
Board of Tax Appeals
Finance Subcommittee on Transportation
March 5, 2015
Chairwoman Grossman and members of the Finance Subcommittee on Transportation, my
name is Kathleen Crowley, Executive Director of the Board of Tax Appeals (“BTA”). I am
pleased to share with you information about the Board of Tax Appeals, and the Board’s budget
request for fiscal years 2016 and 2017.
The BTA resolves cases from seven (7) different types of governmental agencies and 62
different tax types. The agency relieves the overburdened state judicial system from having to
adjudicate these appeals, and satisfies the constitutional requirements of due process. This
process is conducted by an agency unaffiliated with any potential parties to a case. In
addition, taxpayers are assured their appeals will be reviewed and considered by board
members and a staff of attorney examiners who focus exclusively on tax issues and have
considerable expertise in tax matters.
The Ohio Board of Tax Appeals' mission, as Ohio's administrative tax court, is to provide
taxpayers and taxing authorities with an accessible, fair and efficient process and to resolve
tax appeals in a timely and judicious manner by facilitating settlement, or by issuing written
decisions which are based upon Ohio statutes, case law, and board precedent.
The board's goals and objectives are to:


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Ensure the integrity of the decisions issued by this board – that they are based upon
Ohio statutes and case law
Remain current on all appeals – resolving appeals within the prescribed case
management schedules set forth in the board's rules
Utilize the funding provided by Ohio's taxpayers to operate as efficiently and effectively
as possible, and to generate quality resolutions to tax appeals
In FY2013 and FY2014, the board implemented significant procedural changes to better meet
the needs of Ohio's taxpayers:

The implementation of a cloud-based, user driven, interactive case management system
has allowed parties to easily file and manage their cases at their own convenience, 24/7
from anywhere in the world.
Address:
30 East Broad Street
24th Floor, Suite 2401
Columbus, Ohio 43215
Phone / Fax / Web
P: 614.466.6700
F: 614.485.1001
www.bta.ohio.gov

The implementation of case management schedules at the time an appeal is filed,
including the initial hearing or written argument date. This has provided an end-point to
which all parties can work to resolve their appeals, and has virtually eliminated the
number of cases that are open abnormally long

The introduction of a Small Claims option case docket, which allows qualifying appeal
filers to take part in informal, telephonic proceedings before the board, and to have their
appeal decided on an accelerated case management track

Allowing parties to determine whether a formal hearing is required, or if written argument
and a review of the lower court transcript is sufficient. This has eliminated unnecessary
planning for unwanted hearings, and has allowed staff to focus on value-added activities

Because approximately 2/3 of cases resolve themselves without board action, the BTA
only assigns legal resources to a case when it is clear that the case will not settle. This
ensures that no effort is wasted on a case.
The results of these changes have been significant: even in the face of increasing appeal
volumes (up nearly 30% over the past two fiscal years), the board has reduced its active case
docket from its peak of 10, 000 in January 2012 to less than 3,000 today. The number of
hearings scheduled has dropped significantly, and requires far fewer resources to manage that
process. This, in turn, has freed up Attorney Examiner time to focus on reviewing case files and
drafting decisions. As a result, the median time that an appeal to the BTA is open has dropped
from 669 to 273 days, and the cost to Ohio's taxpayers per board decision has been reduced
from $331 to $189.
The BTA understands that the certainty of future revenue and expense streams contributes to
a "job-friendly climate" and encourages investment and job creation. However, parties to a tax
appeal are effectively put into a financial holding pattern while their case is pending before the
board, and cases that linger unresolved for years create uncertainty and contribute to fiscal
constraint. With a focus on reducing the active docket over the past two years, the board has
orchestrated a nearly 60% reduction in median time that appeals are open.
The challenges for the next biennium are the continued management of the board's active
docket, and operational stability appeal volumes. From FY2012-FY2014, the board saw a 28%
increase in appeal volumes, culminating in the record filing of 6,699 appeals in FY2014. Even
Address:
Phone / Fax / Web
30 East Broad Street
P: 614.466.6700
24th Floor, Suite 2401
F: 614.485.1001
Columbus, Ohio 43215
www.bta.ohio.gov
with increased operational efficiency, board resources are stretched thin during the peak
appeals filing period starting in July, and continuing through to the end of the calendar year.
The appropriate deployment of staffing resources during these periods will be a major area of
focus for the next two fiscal years, and will likely result in cost increases.
In addition, the Office of Budget and Management has projected an increase in office rent of
$225,000, beginning in FY2106, which the board could not absorb without additional funding.
The budget request of $1,925,000 annual funding for the next biennium accounts for the rent
increase, but is otherwise unchanged from the previous allotment of $1,700,000 annually.
Funding the BTA at this amount will allow the Board to concentrate on its core competency:
delivering high-quality, fair, and impartial resolutions to tax appeals in a timely manner.
Thank you for the opportunity to testify. I will now answer any questions at this time.
Address:
30 East Broad Street
24th Floor, Suite 2401
Columbus, Ohio 43215
Phone / Fax / Web
P: 614.466.6700
F: 614.485.1001
www.bta.ohio.gov