Bigge Crane Rental Co. v. County of Alameda

498 P.2d 193, 7 Cal. 3d 414, 102 Cal. Rptr. 513, 1972 Cal. LEXIS 198

• Court: California Supreme Court
• Decided: June 20, 1972
• Docket: S. F. 22860
• Status: Published

Opinions

Opinion

McCOMB, J.

Plaintiff appeals from a judgment in favor of defendant in an action to recover taxes paid under protest.

Facts-. Plaintiff owns, and leases to customers, a number of large truck cranes, which are used principally in construction work. When not under lease, they are stored on plaintiff’s private property. When leased, they travel on the streets and highways to job sites and later return to storage, pursuant to permits issued under section 4003, subdivision (a), of the Vehicle Code. The permits cost $5 per trip. (Veh. Code, § 9258.)

The vehicles have not been registered under the Vehicle Code, and no license fees have been imposed thereon (see Rev. & Tax. Code, § 10751). Plaintiff, however, has been required by defendant to pay ad valorem taxes on those truck cranes which have been determined to have a taxable situs in the County of Alameda.¹ Plaintiff paid the taxes under protest and is seeking a refund.

Question. Are plaintiffs vehicles subject to county ad valorem property taxes?

Yes. There is a constitutional mandate that all property, with exceptions not applicable here, be taxed in proportion to its value. (Cal. Const., art. XIII, § 1.) The only statute available which might exempt plaintiff’s truck cranes from county ad valorem property taxes is section 10758 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, which provides in part: “The license fee imposed under this part [pt. 5, div. 2, Rev. !& Tax. Code, comprising §§ 10701-11005.6] is in lieu of all taxes according to value levied for State or local purposes on vehicles of a type subject to registration under the Vehicle Code whether or not the vehicles are registered under the Vehicle Code.” Section 10751, subdivision (a), of the Revenue and Taxation Code provides that the license fee is imposed “for the privilege of operating upon the public highways in this state any vehicle of a type which is subject to registration under the Vehicle Code.”²

As shown by the statutory language quoted above, the license fee imposed by part 5, division 2, of the Revenue and Taxation Code is applicable only to vehicles which are subject to registration under the Vehicle Code and which are operated upon the public highways in this state. Accordingly, if a vehicle is exempt from registration, or (except with respect to trailer coaches³) if it is not operated upon the public highways in this state, the license fee cannot be imposed; and, in either such event, the prohibition against local ad valorem property taxes does not apply. (See Ingels v. Riley, 5 Cal.2d 154, 161 [53 P.2d 939, 103 A.L.R. 1]; Yosemite Park & Curry Co. v. Dept. of Motor Vehicles, 117 Cal.App.2d 448 [2 Cal.Rptr. 4311; 41 Ops.Cal.Atty.Gen. 129, 131-133.)

In the present case, the record shows that the subject truck cranes were operated upon the public highways under trip permits obtained under section 4003 of the Vehicle Code. There is no question, therefore, that they were operated upon the public highways. Section 4003 of the Vehicle Code provides that the trip permits shall serve “in lieu of” California registration. As a result, the vehicles are exempt from registration⁴ and are therefore not subject to the license fee imposed under part 5, division 2, of the Revenue and Taxation Code. Accordingly, the county has a right to impose ad valorem property taxes on them.

This holding is in accordance with the Legislature’s clear intent, which was to avoid duplicate ad valorem taxation rather than to permit a complete avoidance thereof.

The judgment is affirmed.

Peters, J., Tobriner. J., Burke, J., and Sullivan, J., concurred,

1 The full cash value, the assessed value, and the tax levied on each of plaintiff’s truck cranes found to have a taxable situs in the county for the taxable years involved are, as follows:

Taxable Year 1966-67

Model and Serial No. Full Cash Value Assessed Value Tax

430TC/27216 $ 44,200 $ 11,050 $ 965.77

Taxable Year 1967-68

Model and Serial No. Full Cash Value Assessed Value Tax

'

430TC/27216 $ 58,733.00 $ 14,683.25' $ 1,283.32

8100TC/27567 144.853.00 36.213.25 3,165.04

660TC/27993 121.038.00 .30,259.50 2,644.68

780TC/27084 142.025.00 35.506.25 3,103.25

PM 1256 33.024.00 8.256.00 721.57

PM 1433 35.279.00 8.819.75 770.85

PM 1364 33.699.00 8.424.75 736.32

PM 1363 33.856.00 8.464.00 739.75

TOTAL $602,507.00 $150,626.75 $13,164.78

2 Under section 10752 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, the annual amount of the license fee is a sum equal to 2 percent of the market value of the vehicle as determined by the Department of Motor Vehicles.

3 Section 5351 of the Vehicle Code renders inapplicable to trailer coaches the Vehicle Code provisions which permit nonregistration of vehicles which are not used on the highways of the State, and section 5352 of the Vehicle Code requires annual registration of "any trailer coach in this State.” Section 9555 of the Vehicle Code provides: “Whenever any trailer coach is in this State without the registration fee having first been paid as required by this code, the fee is delinquent." Likewise, section 10769 of the Revenue and Taxation Code provides: “Whenever any trailer coach is in this State without the license fee having first been paid as required by Section 10851 of this part, the fee is delinquent.”

4 It will be noted that the Legislature has used the same phrase, “in lieu of,” in section 10758 of the Revenue and Taxation Code in providing that the license fee imposed for the privilege of operating a vehicle on the public highways in this state results in exemption from ad valorem taxes on vehicles subject to registration. Thus, as hereinabove indicated, section 10758 provides: “The license fee imposed under this part is in lieu of all taxes according to value (Italics added.)