Steven L. Smiseck
Practice Areas
Education
- Capital University Law School, J.D., 1993
- Earlham College, B.A., 1990, Phi Beta Kappa
Bar & Court Admissions
Steven is a senior attorney in the Vorys Columbus office and a member of the state and local tax group. Throughout his career, he has focused on state and local tax litigation, including serving nearly 17 years as an attorney examiner with the Ohio Board of Tax Appeals.
Steven has represented taxpayers before the Ohio Board of Tax Appeals, county boards of revision, and the department of taxation on matters involving sales and use tax, real and personal property tax, and commercial activity tax. He also has experience in procedural issues before Ohio’s state and local taxing entities and provides assistance to both clients and other legal counsel.
Career highlights include:
- Drafting more than 1,000 decisions for the Ohio Board of Tax Appeals as an examiner
- Speaking at the Annual Ohio Tax Conference on numerous topics
- Drafting and filing rules pertaining to administrative tax procedures
- Serving roles in alternative dispute resolution, including participating as a mediator in the Franklin County Municipal Court’s night mediation program
Steven is a frequent presenter and has spoken before the Ohio Municipal League, the Tax Society at Capital University Law School and the Conference of State Tax Judges.
Steven received his J.D. from the Capital University Law School, where he was a member of the Order of the Curia. He received his B.A. from Earlham College, where he graduated with college and departmental honors.
Events
- 8/4/2021Vorys attorneys Nicholas Ray, Steven Smiseck, Megan Knox and Lindsay Spillman hosted a webinar which covered preparations for the special filing period of Ohio’s COVID-19 real property tax valuation relief.
- 4/8/2020Tony Ehler and Steven Smiseck, attorneys in the Vorys tax group, presented a complimentary webinar on April 8, 2020 titled, “Are You Required to Pay Sales Tax Outside of Ohio?”
- 1/24/2012Vorys attorneys Chris Connelly, Dave Froling, Laura Kulwicki, Nicholas Ray, Steven Smiseck and Scott Ziance participated in the 21st Annual Ohio Tax Conference on January 24-25.
- 1/27/2011
Insights
- Fall 2021
- Taxpayers seeking to contest real property tax values established by assessing jurisdictions across the country often have a short window of opportunity to contest their new valuation.
- 4/27/2021A significant real property tax savings opportunity is now available if you are an Ohio real property tax taxpayer who believes the value of your property has depreciated due to the impact of COVID-19 pandemic.
- 2/9/2021The State of Ohio requires counties to reappraise real property tax values every six years. In the interim, the counties are required to update values in the middle of that cycle.
- Winter 2021
- 10/2020
- 3/24/2020The Vorys real property tax team is monitoring the COVID-19 pandemic’s effect on property tax filings and deadlines.
- Winter 2020This article outlines states/jurisdictions with upcoming real property tax appeal deadlines.
- Winter 2020
- 11/5/2019
- 7/17/2019Taxpayers seeking to contest the values established by the local assessor have a short time-to contest their new valuation. This time frame varies by state and by local jurisdiction and in many cases begins to run upon mailing of a new value notice.
- 7/17/2019Since the last edition of The Evaluator, there have been several notable decisions from courts and tax boards; and legislative developments in jurisdictions across the country.
- 4/10/2019Taxpayers seeking to contest the values established by the local assessor have a short time-to contest their new valuation.
- 4/10/2019Since the last edition of The Evaluator, there have been several notable legislative developments and decisions from courts and tax boards in jurisdictions across the country.
- 3/7/2019Property taxes are frequently the largest non-productive expense incurred by property owners, and proactive management of this expense may result in increased profitability.
- 2/12/2019Every six years the State of Ohio requires counties to reappraise real estate.
- 1/8/2019Every six years the State of Ohio requires counties to reappraise real estate.
- 1/8/2019Taxpayers seeking to contest real property tax values established by assessing jurisdictions across the country often have a short window of opportunity to contest their new valuation.
- 8/2018
- 8/2018Recently, there have been several notable decisions from courts and tax boards in jurisdictions across the country including Ohio, Illinois, Michigan, Colorado, Tennessee, Minnesota, Indiana and North Carolina. These decisions related to numerous real estate tax areas including exemptions and assessments.
- 5/2018Taxpayers seeking to contest the values established by the auditor or county assessor have a short time-to contest their new valuation.
- 5/2018Recently, there have been several notable decisions from courts and tax boards in jurisdictions across the country including Ohio, Indiana, California, Oregon, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan and Arizona.
- 3/2018Taxpayers seeking to contest the values established by the auditor or county assessor have a short time-to contest their new valuation.
- 3/2018Property tax decisions of interest from around the country from January and February 2018.
- Winter 2018The State of Ohio requires counties to reappraise properties for tax purposes every six years and update those values in the middle of that cycle.
- Winter 2018
- Winter 2018The below legislation is currently pending or will be introduced soon.
- 8/29/2017Several central Ohio auditors have recently released updated property appraisals used to determine property taxes to be paid over the next three years.
- 7/11/2017On June 22, 2017, the Ohio Supreme Court issued a decision overturning over a decade of case law that consistently found that a recent arm’s length sale was the best evidence of value for real property tax purposes regardless of the circumstances surrounding the sale.
- 7/11/2017On June 22, 2017 the Ohio Supreme Court issued a decision overturning over a decade of case law that consistently found that a recent arm’s length sale was the best evidence of value for real property tax purposes regardless of the circumstances surrounding the sale.
- 5/23/2017The Hamilton County Auditor recently mailed letters to all property owners notifying them of the 2017 new tentative values for their properties.
- 6/23/2016The Ohio Board of Tax Appeals (BTA), on a remand from the Ohio Supreme Court, has held that the special purpose doctrine did not apply to a big box Lowe’s property.
- Spring 2016Sales tax on goods and services purchased by your business is always an element of cost that must be considered. This has become especially important to the Ohio banking industry.
- Winter 2016During 2015, the number of appeals to the Ohio Supreme Court from decisions of the Ohio Board of Tax Appeals (BTA) declined from historical highs in 2014, but are still significantly above appeals from prior years.
- Winter 2016The court reversed a Board of Tax Appeals (BTA) decision that denied a property tax exemption to a board of education that leased a 34-acre parcel of property to a farmer. The local board of education (BOE) acquired 154 acres to build a new high school.
- Winter 2016The State of Ohio requires counties to reappraise properties for tax purposes every six years and update those values in the middle of that cycle. This cycle is not evenly distributed between Ohio’s 88 counties.
- 11/3/2014Published in The Evaluator, this article details the number of appeals to the Ohio Supreme Court from decisions of the Ohio Board of Tax Appeals (BTA).
- 11/3/2014Published in The Evaluator, this article details several cases related to real property taxation.
- 11/3/2014Published in The Evaluator, this article details counties reappraising or updated tax valuations for 2014.
- 11/3/2014In the Fall 2014 edition of The Evaluator, read about appeals of BTA decisions, cases the Ohio Supreme Court decided related to real property taxation, as well as updates on counties reappraising or updated tax valuations for 2014.
- 3/11/2014On March 6, the Ohio Board of Tax Appeals (BTA) issued its long-awaited decision in L.L. Bean, Inc. v. Levin, Case No. 2010-2853 (Ohio BTA March 6, 2014), the lead “test case” on Ohio’s controversial commercial activity tax (CAT) nexus standard. Although this is the first case in a long line of CAT nexus challenges, the BTA’s decision offers very little in the way of any meaningful guidance.
- 11/22/2013The Vorys state and local tax group scored an important municipal income tax victory for taxpayers. The decision also helps clarify a complex area of Ohio Constitutional law. Gesler et al. v. City of Worthington Income Tax Board of Appeals et al. involved competing Ohio Constitutional provisions. On one hand, the Ohio Constitution confers upon home rule municipalities all powers of local self-government which includes the power to levy taxes. On the other hand, the Ohio Constitution confers upon the Ohio General Assembly the power to limit home rule municipalities’ power to levy taxes.
- 2/15/2013Ohio Governor John Kasich's FY 2014-2015 biennial budget bill was introduced this week. Weighing 22 pounds in print, covering over 4,200 pages and containing almost 130,000 lines of text, the bill does not lack in length or ambition.
- 1/24/2013Published in The Evaluator, this article details why property owners should act now if they wish to challenge their Ohio 2012 tax valuations.
- 1/24/2013This article, published in The Evaluator, explains tax reforms endorsed by the OSBA Council of Delegates. These reforms are focused on efforts to both improve the efficiency of the BTA while also addressing several areas of concern with the operation of the BTA.
- 1/24/2013This article, originally published in The Evaluator, details recent decisions made by the Supreme Court of Ohio as well as in the state legislature.
- 1/24/2013This article, originally published in The Evaluator, details recent decisions of the Ohio Board of Tax Appeals.
- 1/24/2013
- 10/26/2012The state of Ohio requires county auditors to reappraise properties every six years and update those values in the middle of that cycle. The auditors for several Ohio counties listed below are currently finalizing property values to meet this obligation.
- 10/16/2012This summer the Ohio legislature passed significant changes to real property taxation that will impact all property owners. These changes include clarifying how a property is to be valued for real property tax purposes, changing how a recent sale should impact the value of property for taxation purposes, as well as other changes that will impact the filing of complaints at local Boards of Revision.
- 10/16/2012During the past quarter, the Ohio Supreme Court issued several decisions regarding real property taxation.
- 10/16/2012This article, originally published in The Evaluator, details recent decisions by the Ohio Board of Tax Appeals and Appellate Courts.
- 10/16/2012In this quarterly publication, our attorneys will research and write articles that are insightful, interesting and helpful to you. If something is on the horizon that you should know, we'll tell you how it affects you and what you should do to prepare.
- 6/19/2012On June 11, 2012, Governor Kasich signed into law Am. Sub H.B. 487 (H.B. 487). That legislation includes changes to R.C. 5713.03, the section of the Revised Code that pertains to the valuation of real property in Ohio.
- 5/4/2012Beginning May 1, 2012 and continuing through June 15, 2012, the State of Ohio is conducting a General Tax Amnesty Program that under the right set of circumstances could provide significant savings for businesses and individuals with Ohio tax concerns. The General Tax Amnesty Program is separate from the Consumer Use Tax Amnesty Program, which began October 1, 2011 and runs through May 1, 2013.
- 8/25/2011
- 7/1/2011
- 7/1/2011
- 4/12/2010
- 12/8/2009