Opinion ID: 2461095
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: The district court's writ of mandamus, which is the subject of this appeal

Text: Meanwhile, after the Treasurer rejected a demand by the Taxpayers to refund the excess taxes and did not immediately issue refunds of taxes paid in excess of the 2002-2003 tax year levels, the Taxpayers petitioned the district court for a writ of mandamus to compel him to do so. During his testimony before the district court, the Treasurer explained that, typically, once there is a final written order from the State Board and the Assessor has updated the tax rolls, the Treasurer adjusts his collections, including issuing refunds if required. He also stated that, in the scheme of tax collection, one of his jobs is to issue refunds when the Assessor updates the assessment roll. However, he maintained that he did not pay refunds in this case because of the ongoing legal proceedings related to the assessments and because he had not received a final written decision from the State Board specifically instructing him to issue refunds. Although the State Board had not yet issued its final written order upholding the County Board's equalization decision, the district court granted the petition and issued the writ. The writ mandated that the Treasurer comply with the County Board's decision to roll back the 2006-2007 taxable values for 8,700 properties located in the Incline Village and Crystal Bay areas to 2002-2003 levels. In its order, the district court outlined the typical procedure for issuing refunds, finding that the Treasurer had a duty to conform his collections to the updated assessment roll and issue refunds if required. Because the Treasurer had collected taxes at the unreduced rate despite the Assessor's update to the assessment roll, the district court mandated that the Treasurer was to calculate the overpayments for the 2006-2007 [tax year] and subsequent years, compute interest pursuant to the formula contained in NRS 361.486, and refund the total amount to the affected taxpayers. The Treasurer now appeals the district court's order granting the petition for a writ of mandamus.