Taxpayer Rights

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Taxpayer Actions

When a government agency unlawfully spends tax dollars, or wastes taxes, California law allows any taxpayer to bring an action to prevent the continued violation. Specifically, a taxpayer may bring an "action to obtain a judgment, restraining and preventing any illegal expenditure of, waste of, or injury to, the estate, funds, or other property of a local agency."

Types of Cases

Taxpayer actions are powerful. Almost any function a government performs requires the use of funds, whether through personnel, contracted vendors, or the use of supplies. For that reason, almost any type of unlawful government activity can be challenged as wasting tax dollars. By using tax dollars to perform an unlawful act, the government is wasting those taxes as it is putting the taxes to an unlawful use.

The other category of taxpayer actions has to do with misappropriating funds. When local agencies face budget constraints, they sometimes resort to creative funding mechanisms that use restricted funds in an improper way. For example, a school board may decide to use bonds earmarked for a new facility to pay faculty--a misappropriation of funds. Section 526a allows taxpayers to prohibit the unlawful use of those funds.

The types of cases that come up in taxpayer actions are too diverse to list. However, there are exceptions to the broad standing given to taxpayers. One such exception is that taxpayers cannot bring suit to prevent criminal conduct. If there is any other purpose, in addition to preventing criminal conduct, that other purpose would be allowed to go forward.

Attorney Fees

Unlike most public interest cases, section 526a does not provide a successful plaintiff attorney fees. Instead, attorney fees are usually sought under the Private Attorney General's Act due to the action being one that enforces an important right affecting the public interest.

Assistance

If you are seeking to prevent the unlawful or wasteful use of tax dollars, you need an attorney who understands government litigation. Contact me today to discuss the options available to you, as well as how to move forward.