§ 4.3.2 TAX PROCEEDINGS

• Jurisdiction: Arizona

§ 4.3.2 Tax Proceedings

Before the 1990 amendments to A.R.S. § 12-348, the provision pertaining to an award of fees in tax cases was set forth in the former A.R.S. § 12-348(A)(2) and the award of fees and expenses to a prevailing party other than the state or a city, town or county, was mandatory. See generally City of Phoenix v. Paper Distribs. of Ariz., Inc., 186 Ariz. 564, 925 P.2d 705 (App. 1996). In 1990, the legislature made a number of changes to the award of fees and expenses in tax cases; one of these changes made the award of fees and expenses discretionary. A.R.S. § 12-348(B). There is no longer any reference to tax cases in A.R.S. § 12-348(A). The intent of the 1990 amendments was to prescribe a uniform standard for fee awards that was to apply exclusively to tax cases, Paper Distribs., 186 Ariz. at 566, 925 P.2d at 707. As a result, prior decisions pertaining to the recovery of fees in tax cases are no longer "binding or persuasive." Id. at 568, 925 P.2d at 709. In other words, because of the 1990 amendments, only A.R.S. § 12-348(B) applies to fee awards in tax cases. RenalWest L.C. v. Arizona Dep't of Revenue, 189 Ariz.409, 943 P.2d 769 (App. 1997). Thus, even though tax proceedings may involve actions brought by a governmental entity against a party, or may involve the review of agency decisions, attorneys' fee awards in tax cases are governed by the discretionary provisions of A.R.S. § 12-348(B), not the mandatory provisions of A.R.S. §§ 12-348(A)(1), (2). Cyprus Bagdad I, 188 Ariz. at 347-49, 935 P.2d...