Board of County Commissioners of County of Campbell v. Rio Tinto Energy America, Inc.

2008 WY 139, 196 P.3d 791, 2008 Wyo. LEXIS 144
CourtWyoming Supreme Court
DecidedNovember 25, 2008
DocketS-08-0052
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 2008 WY 139 (Board of County Commissioners of County of Campbell v. Rio Tinto Energy America, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Wyoming Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Board of County Commissioners of County of Campbell v. Rio Tinto Energy America, Inc., 2008 WY 139, 196 P.3d 791, 2008 Wyo. LEXIS 144 (Wyo. 2008).

Opinion

VOIGT, Chief Justice.

[¶ 1] This is an appeal from a district court's reversal of a county's calculation of statutory interest owed upon underpaid taxes. We agree with the district court's reading of the applicable statute and, therefore, affirm.

ISSUE

[¶ 2] Does Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 39-14-108(c)(i) (LexisNexis 2007) require counties to offset overpaid taxes against underpaid taxes across tax years in an audit when calculating interest on underpaid taxes?

STATUTE

[T8] Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 39-14-108(c)0) provides as follows:

(c) Interest. The following shall apply:
(i) The taxpayer is entitled to receive an offsetting credit for any overpaid gross product or severance tax identified by an audit that is within the scope of the audit period, without regard to the limitation period for requesting refunds. In calculating interest, the department or board of county commissioners shall first compute a net deficiency amount after subtracting any offsetting credit and then calculate any interest duel.]

*793 STANDARD OF REVIEW

[T4] Like the district court, we review administrative agency decisions pursuant to Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 16-8-114(c) (Lexis-Nexis 2007). We do not afford any deference to the decision of the district court, treating the case rather as if it had come directly from the ageney. Davis v. City of Cheyenne, 2004 WY 43, ¶ 6, 88 P.3d 481, 484 (Wyo.2004). Similarly, the ageney's conclusions of law are not entitled to deference, and the agency is affirmed only if such conclusions are in accordance with the law. Penny v. State ex rel. Wyo. Mental Health Professions Licensing Bd., 2005 WY 117, ¶ 12, 120 P.3d 152, 160 (Wyo.2005).

[T5] Statutory construction is a question of law that we review de novo. Powder River Coal Co. v. Wyo. State Bd. of Equalization, 2002 WY 5, ¶ 6, 38 P.3d 423, 426 (Wyo.2002).

This Court considers the entire statute in determining if the language of a statute is ambiguous:
In interpreting statutes, our primary consideration is to determine the legislature's intent. All statutes must be construed in part materia and, in ascertaining the meaning of a given law, all statutes relating to the same subject or having the same general purpose must be considered and construed in harmony. Statutory construction is a question of law, so our standard of review is de novo. We endeavor to interpret statutes in accordance with the legislature's intent. We begin by making an inquiry respecting the ordinary and obvious meaning of the words employed according to their arrangement and connection. We construe the statute as a whole, giving effect to every word, clause, and sentence, and we construe all parts of the statute in part materia. When a statute is sufficiently clear and unambiguous, we give effect to the plain and ordinary meaning of the words and do not resort to the rules of statutory construction. Wyoming Board of Outfitters and Professional Guides v. Clark, 2001 WY 78, ¶ 12, 30 P.3d 36, 112 (Wyo.2001); Murphy v. State Can vassing Board, 12 P.3d 677, 679 (Wyo.2000). Moreover, we must not give a statute a meaning that will nullify its operation if it is susceptible of another interpretation. Billis v. State, 800 P.2d 401, 413 (Wyo.1990) (citing McGuire v. McGuire, 608 P2d 1278, 1283 (Wyo.1980).
Moreover, we will not enlarge, stretch, expand, or extend a statute to matters that do not fall within its express provisions. Gray v. Stratton Real Estate, 2001 WY 125, ¶ 5, 36 P.3d 1127, ¶ 5 (Wyo.2001); Bowen v. State Wyoming Real Estate Commission, 900 P.2d 1140, 1143 (Wyo.1995).

BP Am. Prod. Co. v. Wyo. Dep't of Revenue, 2005 WY 60, ¶ 15, 112 P.3d 596, 604 (Wyo.2005).

FACTS

[¶ 6] Rio Tinto Energy America, Inc., formerly Kennecott Energy Company (Rio Tin-to), operates two coal mines-Caballo Rojo and Cordero-in Campbell County, Wyoming. After an audit covering the tax years 1999, 2000, and 2001, the Wyoming Department of Audit concluded that Rio Tinto had undervalued its production at both mines for tax years 1999 and 2000, but that it had overvalued production for tax year 2001. The Wyoming Department of Revenue, in reassessing severance taxes owed to the State of Wyoming, offset the underpayments and *794 overpayments in accordance with Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 39-14-108(c)(i), and then charged Rio Tinto the balance of the underpaid taxes and interest accrued thereon. Rio Tinto paid the taxes and interest to the State.

[T7] Subsequently, the Department of Revenue certified to Campbell County notices of the valuation changes for the three tax years. The Campbell County Treasurer then issued tax notices to Rio Tinto for the additional ad valorem taxes and interest due to the County. In calculating interest, however, the County Treasurer did not credit the 2001 overpayment against the 1999 and 2000 underpayments, under the theory that the statute contemplated netting overpayments and underpayments during an audit period only between mines for the same tax year, and not between tax years. Rio Tinto paid the tax due to the County, but contested the interest and sought review by the Board of County Commissioners. The Board voted to approve the calculations made by the County Treasurer. Rio Tinto filed in the district court a Petition for Review of Administrative Action and, on January 30, 2008, the district court reversed the Board's decision. This appeal followed.

DISCUSSION

[¶ 8] Before we evaluate the statutory language at issue, we will present, in simplified terms, the positions of the parties. For simplicity's sake, we will ignore the payment due dates established by Wyo. Stat. Anu. § 39-14-107(b)(ii) (LexisNexis 2007). Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 39-14-108(c)@ii) (LexisNexis 2007) sets interest on unpaid ad valorem taxes at 18% per annum "until paid or collected."

[¶ 9] The County Treasurer would apply the statute by assessing interest on the 1999 underpayment from the due date until paid, would assess interest against the 2000 underpayment from the due date until paid, and would remit to Rio Tinto the 2001 overpayment upon receipt of notice from the Department of Revenue of the overpayment.

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2008 WY 139, 196 P.3d 791, 2008 Wyo. LEXIS 144, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/board-of-county-commissioners-of-county-of-campbell-v-rio-tinto-energy-wyo-2008.