(a) Income Tax Board of Review Established. An Income Tax Board of Review consisting of three residents, two appointed by the Mayor and the chairman of the finance committee of Council is hereby created. The Board shall select, each year for a three-year term, one of its members to serve as Chairman and one to serve as Secretary. A majority of the members of the Board shall constitute a quorum. The Board shall adopt its own procedural rules and shall keep a record of its transactions. Any hearing by the Board may be conducted privately and the provisions of Section 171.13(i) with reference to the confidential character of information required to be disclosed by this chapter shall apply to such matters as may be heard before the Board on appeal.
(b) Board to Approve Regulations and Hear Appeals. All rules and regulations and amendments or changes thereto, which are adopted by the Administrator under the authority conferred by this chapter, must be approved by the Board of Review before the same become effective. The Board shall hear and pass on appeals from any ruling or decision of the Administrator, and, at the request of the taxpayer or Administrator, is empowered to substitute alternate methods of allocation.(Ord. 97-60. Passed 11-17-97.)
(c) Whenever a Tax Administrator issues a decision regarding a municipal income tax obligation that is subject to appeal as provided in this section or in an ordinance or regulation of the Municipal Corporation, the Tax Administrator shall notify the taxpayer at the same time of the taxpayer’s right to appeal the decision and of the manner in which the taxpayer may appeal the decision.
(d) Any person who is aggrieved by a decision by the Tax Administrator and who has filed with the Municipal Corporation the required returns or other documents pertaining to the municipal income tax obligation at issue in the decision may appeal the decision to the Board created pursuant to this section by filing a request with the Board. The request shall be in writing, shall state why the decision should be deemed incorrect or unlawful, and shall be filed within thirty days after the Tax Administrator issues the decision complained of.
(e) The Board shall schedule a hearing within forty-five days after receiving the request, unless the taxpayer waives a hearing. If the taxpayer does not waive the hearing, the taxpayer may appear before the Board and may be represented by an attorney at law, certified public accountant, or other representative.
(f) The Board may affirm, reverse, or modify the Tax Administrator’s decision or any part of that decision. The Board shall issue a decision of the appeal within ninety days after the Board’s final hearing of the appeal, and send a notice of its decision by ordinary mail to the petitioner within fifteen days after issuing the decision.
(g) The Board of Appeal created pursuant to this section shall adopt rules governing its procedures and shall keep a record of its transactions. Such records are not public records available for inspection under Ohio R.C. 149.43. Hearings requested by a taxpayer before a Board of Appeal created pursuant to this section are not meetings of a public body subject to Ohio R.C. 121.22.