Under protest is a term commonly used to refer to a payment made subject to a dispute. The payor typically makes the payment with notice to the payee that the payment is being made under protest, thereby reserving the right to object to the obligation later.
The following is an example of a state statute involving protest payments of taxes:
- "If a person who is required to pay a tax or fee imposed by this title or collected by the comptroller under any law, including a local tax collected by the comptroller, contends that the tax or fee is unlawful or that the public official charged with the duty of collecting the tax or fee may not legally demand or collect the tax or fee, the person shall pay the amount claimed by the state, and if the person intends to bring suit under this subchapter, the person must submit with the payment a protest.
- The protest must be in writing and must state fully in detail each reason for recovering the payment.
- The protest payment must be made within the period time set out in this code for the filing of refund claims."
