Douglas S. John

Doug John’s law practice focuses on tax controversy and state and local taxation, with an emphasis on property tax counseling and litigation.

A senior partner in the firm and a Best Lawyers^® honoree, Doug works with individuals and companies to navigate Arizona’s and Nevada’s complex state and local tax systems in order to minimize their income tax, sales and use tax, and property tax liability.

In 2020, Doug was named a representative for the National Association of Property Tax Attorneys (NAPTA). NAPTA members are selectively chosen professional tax members who have been recognized as among the best in their jurisdictions, offering effective property tax representation on a local, state, and national level throughout the U.S. and Canada. 

Over the past six years, Doug has reduced his clients’ property tax values by over $2 billion, through a sound knowledge of property tax law, valuation theory and tax assessment practices.

Doug represents clients in all phases of state and local tax litigation, from administrative appeals to court litigation, as well as in appellate matters. He also advises clients on a wide range of state and local tax matters, including multistate income tax issues, nexus issues, and sales and use tax issues.

In the area of property tax, in addition to valuation appeals, Doug represents clients regarding exemptions, tax abatements, tax credits, real property transfer tax, and the real estate tax implications of acquisitions, mergers, development and dispositions, as well as assisting companies with property tax projections.

His state and local clients include individuals and small businesses to Fortune 500 corporations. In property tax matters, his clients represent nearly every segment of the real estate market, including apartments, casinos, department stores, electric cooperatives, golf courses, hotels, industrial warehouses, LIHTC housing, malls, master-planned residential communities, mining operations, office buildings, pipelines, possessory interests, residential developments, senior care/assisted living facilities, and shopping centers.

Representative Matters

In recent years, Doug has represented:

• a tribal-member-owned Yakama corporation in striking down the Arizona Department of Transportation’s multi-million-dollar fuel tax assessments
• the owner of the third-largest concentrated solar power tower facility in the world in its appeal before the Nevada State Board of Equalization, achieving a more than $300 million reduction in taxable value
• an owner of a Phoenix-area LIHTC apartment development in a successful Arizona Court of Appeals challenge to Maricopa County’s method used to value LIHTC housing
• the owner of the Summerlin Master Planned Community, achieving a $950 million reduction in tax assessments
• a developer before the Nevada Supreme Court in the leading case on Nevada’s partial abatement property tax law
• multiple owners of LIHTC properties in error correction litigation that resulted in over $1 million of property tax refunds
• a manufacturer of body armor products against a multimillion-dollar sales and use tax assessment that resulted a 97% reduction of the assessment
• a consortium of power companies in litigation, reducing the taxable value of a decommissioned power plant by $90 million
• an auto auction company in tax court litigation that resulted in a 95% reduction of a multimillion-dollar sales tax assessment
• a consortium of national homebuilders in litigation of the Park Highlands development in North Las Vegas that resulted in a $95 million reduction in taxable value
• car rental companies at the McCarran Consolidated Car Rental Center in Las Vegas in litigation concerning the assessment of a possessory interest tax, which resulted in over $1.5 million in refunds and a permanent elimination of the possessory interest.
  

Practice Areas

Property Taxation

State and Local Tax

Tax Controversy

Real Estate Law

Administrative Law

Honors and Awards

The Best Lawyers in America^®: Tax Litigation and Controversy, 2018-present

Professional Memberships

State Bar of Arizona

State Bar of Nevada

State Bar of New Mexico

Minnesota State Bar Association (inactive)

National Association of Property Tax Attorneys

Appraisal Institute: Affiliate Member

Institute for Professionals in Taxation®

Arizona Representative for the National Property Tax Group (NPTG), 2024

Professional Activities

Arizona State Board of Equalization: Member and Administrative Law Judge, 2007-2017

University of Arizona, James E. Rogers College of Law, Adjunct Professor of Law, 2002-2007

Publications

Guide to Multijurisdictional Admission to Practice Requirement for State and Local Tax Lawyers (chapter author, Nevada and New Mexico), 2021-22, American Bar Association

Arizona Legal Forms: Arizona Commercial Transactions Forms, Vols. 5, 6, & 6A (Thompson Reuters 2004 - 2024)

“Nevada Sales and Use Taxes” (co-author), Sales and Use Tax Desk Book, 2005-2006 to 2011-2012 (D.M. Young & G Barton eds., American Bar Association)

Presentations

“A Once in a Lifetime Opportunity to Reduce a Property’s Taxes,” Arizona Society of CPAs, September 2023

“Advanced Arizona Property Tax,” State Bar of Arizona, December 2021

“Property Tax in Arizona,” Lorman Education Services, March 2013

“How Low Will It Go? Strategies for Reducing Property Tax Liability in Distressed Commercial Real Estate Markets,” American Property Tax Counsel (APTC), October 2011

Articles

“A Once-in-a-Lifetime Opportunity to Reduce Property Tax in Arizona,” AZ Big Media, October 2020

“Arizona Taxpayers Impacted by COVID-19 May Have Some Tax Penalties Abated,” September 2020

“Proposition 208: A Dilemma for Arizona Voters,” September 2020

“Arizona Tax Court Decision a Victory for Owners of Low-Income Housing Projects,” September 2020

“A Once in a Lifetime Opportunity to Reduce a Property’s Taxes: A Supplemental Notice of Value,” October 2019

"Corporate Income and Franchise Taxes in Arizona: FAQ," Lexology, January 2019

"Personal Income Taxes in Arizona: FAQ," Lexology, January 2019

"State and Local Taxes in Arizona," Lexology, January 2019 (subscription required)

"Property Taxes in Arizona," Lexology, January 2019 (subscription required)

"Sales and Use Taxes in Arizona," Lexology, January 2019 (subscription required)

"What's the Property Tax Outlook in Las Vegas?" (interview), Mansion Global Tax Talk, April 2018

“5 Tips on Controlling Hotel Property Taxes,” Law360, January 2017

“Tax Amnesty Is Back in Arizona,” September 2016

“Assessing Your 2015 Arizona Property Tax Assessment,” March 2014

“Lower Property Tax Assessments: A Silver Lining for Big Box Stores,” RE Business Online, May 2012

“Value Erosion: Lease Terms Can Impact Property Valuation - But Tax Assessors May Not Realize It,” Commercial Property Executive, April 2012

“Inflated Taxes Threaten Phoenix Property Owners,” National Real Estate Investor, January 2012

“Why Las Vegas Property Owners Should Challenge Their Tax Assessments,” National Real Estate Investor, November 2011

“Is a Consensus Emerging on LIHTC Property Valuations?” Affordable Housing Finance, September 2011

“Taxes Target Green Pastures,” National Real Estate Investor, April 2011

Appeals

Maricopa Cty. v. Viola, 251 Ariz. 276, 490 P.3d 385 (Ariz. App. 2021), as amended (May 20, 2021), review denied (Dec. 7, 2021)

SWAT Training Facilities LLC v. Arizona Dep't of Revenue, 251 Ariz. 269, 490 P.3d 378 (Ariz. App. 2021), review denied (Apr. 5, 2022)

Sky Ranch Operations, LLC v. Yavapai County, 2020 WL 2393785 (Ariz. App. 2020)

Loma Mariposa, L.P. v. Santa Cruz County, 2017 WL 6613342 (Ariz. App. 2017)

Loma Mariposa II, L.P. v. Santa Cruz County, 2016 WL 6871421 (Ariz. App. 2016)

Sulphur Springs Valley Electric Cooperative v. Arizona Dep’t of Rev., 2015 WL 773335 (Ariz. App. 2015)

County of Clark v. LB Properties, Inc., 315 P.3d 294, 129 Nev. 909 (2013)

Excell Agent Services, LLC v. Arizona Dep’t of Rev., 221 Ariz. 56, 209 P.3d 1052 (Ariz. App. 2008)

Ledvina v. Cerasani, 213 Ariz. 569, 146 P.3d 70 (Ariz. App. 2006)

Bar and Court Admissions

Arizona, 2001

Minnesota, 2003

Nevada, 2003

New Mexico, 2017

U.S. District Court, District of Arizona, 2001

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, 2003

U.S. Tax Court, 2015

U.S. District Court, District of Nevada, 2016

Education

J.D., University of Arizona 2001

M.A., Economics, University of Arizona, 1997

B.A., University of North Carolina, Greensboro, 1986