Finance & Administration Cabinet, Department of Revenue v. Beyer

193 S.W.3d 755, 2006 Ky. App. LEXIS 152, 2006 WL 573922
CourtCourt of Appeals of Kentucky
DecidedMarch 10, 2006
DocketNo. 2004-CA-002598-DG
StatusPublished

This text of 193 S.W.3d 755 (Finance & Administration Cabinet, Department of Revenue v. Beyer) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Kentucky primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Finance & Administration Cabinet, Department of Revenue v. Beyer, 193 S.W.3d 755, 2006 Ky. App. LEXIS 152, 2006 WL 573922 (Ky. Ct. App. 2006).

Opinion

OPINION

TAYLOR, Judge.

Finance and Administration Cabinet, Department of Revenue, Commonwealth of Kentucky, (Finance Cabinet) brings this appeal from a November 18, 2004, order of the McCracken Circuit Court affirming a summary judgment of the McCracken District Court which declared Kentucky Revised Statutes (KRS) 138.450(12)(a) and (f) unconstitutional as violative of the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution and Section 2 of the Kentucky Constitution. We reverse.

The facts of this appeal are rather straightforward and were succinctly set forth by the district court in its order granting summary judgment:

2. KRS 138.460 imposes a use tax on the use in this state of every motor vehicle (with exceptions not relevant to this litigation) at the rate of six percent (6%) of the “retail price” of the motor vehicle.
3. KRS 138.450(12)(a) defines “retail price” for “new, dealer demonstrator, previous model year motor vehicles and U-Drive-It motor vehicles that have been transferred within one hundred eighty (180) days of being registered as a U-Drive-It and that have less than five thousand (5,000) miles” as the total consideration given at the time of purchase or at a later date, including any trade-in allowance.
4. KRS 138.450(12)(f) defines “retail price” for “used motor vehicles previously registered in Kentucky that are sold in Kentucky, and U-Drive-It motor vehicles that are not transferred within one hundred eighty (180) days of being registered as a U-Drive-It or that have more than five thousand (5,000) miles” as the total consideration given, exclud[757]*757ing any amount allowed as a trade-in allowance by the seller.
5. Plaintiffs [Morris Beyer and Linda Beyer] purchased a 1999 Ford F-350 on or about October 23, 1998, and registered said vehicle in a timely fashion on October 26, 1998. Plaintiffs [Morris Beyer and Linda Beyer] paid under protest the motor vehicle usage tax pursuant to KRS 138.460 in the amount of $2,126.25 based upon a “retail price” for said vehicle of $35,437.00. The “retail price” was determined by taking 90% of the manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $39,375.00 pursuant to KRS 138.450(12)(a)l.
6. Plaintiffs [Morris Beyer and Linda Beyer] paid for the 1999 Ford F-350 by trading in a used vehicle valued at $28,375.00 and paying cash to the dealer in the amount of $11,000.00.
7. Plaintiffs [Moms Beyer and Linda Beyer], as purchasers of the new 1999 Ford F-350, paid $1,466.25 more usage tax than they would have paid had they been able to exclude the amount of their trade in vehicle as a purchaser of a used vehicle would have been permitted to do so.
8. Plaintiffs [Morris Beyer and Linda Beyer] also purchased a 2001 Freightliner Model FL60 on or about October 5, 2000, and registered said vehicle in a timely fashion on October 12, 2000. Plaintiffs [Morris Beyer and Linda Beyer] paid under protest the motor vehicle usage tax pursuant to KRS 138.460 in the amount of $2,680.92 based upon a “retail price” for said vehicle of $44,682.00, the “total consideration given excluding any trade-in allowance” pursuant to KRS 138.450(12)(a).
9. Plaintiffs [Morris Beyer and Linda Beyer] paid for the 2001 Freightliner by trading in a used vehicle valued at $27,000.00, less a loan payoff of $25,707.08 for a net trade-in of $1,292.92, and paying cash to the dealer in the amount of $7,389.08.
10.Plaintiffs [Morris Beyer and Linda Beyer], as purchasers of the new 2001 Freightliner Model FL60, paid $1,620.00 more usage tax than they would have paid had they been able to exclude the amount of their trade in vehicle as a purchaser of a used vehicle would have been permitted to do so.

On October 25, 2000, Morris Beyer and Linda Beyer filed a complaint in the district court. Therein, the Beyers sought monetary damages and a declaration that KRS 138.450(12)(a) and (f) were unconstitutional as violative of the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution and Section 2 of the Kentucky Constitution.

On September 10, 2004, the district court entered summary judgment concluding that there were no genuine issues of material fact and that KRS 138.450(12)(a) and (f) were unconstitutional. Specifically, the court found:

[T]he classifications of “new car purchaser” and “used car purchaser” as established by KRS 138.450(12) (a) and KRS 138.450(12) (f) unreasonably and arbitrarily discriminated between purchasers of new cars and purchasers of used cars without there being any legitimate governmental purpose in doing so.

Further, the court believed there existed no rational basis for making the distinction between new and used motor vehicles for the purpose of the tax imposed by KRS 138.460. Being unsatisfied with the decision, the Finance Cabinet appealed to the circuit court. By order entered November 18, 2004, the circuit court affirmed the summary judgment of the district court. On December 17, 2004, the Finance Cabinet filed a motion for discretionary review with the Court of Appeals. Ky. R. Civ. P. [758]*758(CR) 76.20. The Court granted the motion by order entered February 14, 2005. This review follows.

The Finance Cabinet contends the district court committed error by determining that KRS 138.450(12)(a) and (f) were unconstitutional. The district court entered summary judgment declaring KRS 138.450(12)(a) and (f) violative of the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution. Summary judgment is proper where there exists no material issue of fact and movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. CR 56; Steelvest, Inc. v. Scansteel Service Center, Inc., 807 S.W.2d 476 (Ky.1991).

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Nordlinger v. Hahn
505 U.S. 1 (Supreme Court, 1992)
Steelvest, Inc. v. Scansteel Service Center, Inc.
807 S.W.2d 476 (Kentucky Supreme Court, 1991)
Commonwealth v. Meyers
8 S.W.3d 58 (Court of Appeals of Kentucky, 1999)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
193 S.W.3d 755, 2006 Ky. App. LEXIS 152, 2006 WL 573922, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/finance-administration-cabinet-department-of-revenue-v-beyer-kyctapp-2006.