By Saerom Yoo

The resolution of Willow Park Village residents' back taxes could develop in multiple ways.

Conflicting statutes and gray areas in the state tax code are not making the situation any clearer -- and the different arguments could come down to the semantics of the law.

Raymond Gray, a partner of a property tax law firm Popp, Gray & Hutcheson LLP, says the city of Willow Park is ineligible to collect back taxes because it failed to protest the appraisal district's failure to identify the subdivision as property taxable to the city as stated in 41.03 of the tax code.

"The city did not protest, then the city cannot collect those taxes," he said.

The challenge would have had to take place before the end of May of the tax year, the Austin-based attorney said.

But Ron Gray, an attorney with Geary, Porter & Donovan PC in Addison, cited a 1999 supreme court provision that says the taxing unit -- in this case the city -- can also challenge an improper grant of tax exemption. The opinion was that the challenge of an improper grant of tax exemption could go back five years, which, he said, could mean the challenging rights of the taxing unit Raymond Gray cited can also go back five years.

City Attorney Rider Scott says because the properties were omitted from the appraisal roll, the appraisal district is required to assess back taxes for up to five preceding years the properties were omitted under 25.21.

Raymond Gray challenged the meaning of the term appraisal roll in 25.21, saying the properties of the subdivision weren't omitted from the appraisal roll because the appraisal district has been appropriately billing the subdivisions' residents taxes levied by entities other than Willow Park.

Appraisal roll could mean different things depending on how it's interpreted, Chief Appraiser Larry Hammonds said.

"There will be a lot of questions to be dealt with in the court of law," he said.

But, Ron Gray said, courts usually maintain that taxes should not be forgiven.

"I think that if a court has the opportunity to examine the case, they're going to do anything they can to make the determination that some how those people will have to pay those taxes," he said. "You got a tax code that is not a very well-written document -- there's a lot of conflict and gray areas. It depends on which specific provision you decide to apply."

Willow Park Village was annexed into the city of Willow Park in 2003 but the subdivision's residents weren't billed their city taxes until this year.

Records show that the annexation ordinance was not filed with the county clerk until April of this year, which means the appraisal district was unaware of the annexation.

Councilman Ken Hawkins said the city would opt not to collect back taxes if it turns out of be a possibility under state law.

A town hall meeting regarding this issue is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. July 24 at the Willow Park Baptist Church at Ranch House and Bankhead.