Legal TREND. Billboard Tax. Local Governments.

The Court: 3rd Court of Appeals

The question: Is Austin’s billboard tax permissible?

The Court’s answer: No.  

The logic of the 3rd Court of Appeals:

• The TX Constitution limits local taxes to no more than 1/2 of the state’s tax
• The state has no billboard tax
• A federal judge had already said Austin’s billboard fee is a tax
• Therefore, Austin’s billboard tax is impermissible

What does this mean for Austin? The 3rd Court of Appeals accepted the billboard company’s expert that said the true cost of Austin’s billboard regulation is $115 per billboard.

What does this mean for 2017? Can we say a permissible billboard tax for local governments?

Statesman | Appeals court: Austin must refund $200,000 for improper billboard fee