Kentucky Board of Tax Appeals v. Brown Hotel Co.

528 S.W.2d 715, 1975 Ky. LEXIS 83
CourtCourt of Appeals of Kentucky
DecidedJune 6, 1975
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 528 S.W.2d 715 (Kentucky Board of Tax Appeals v. Brown Hotel Co.) 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
Kentucky Board of Tax Appeals v. Brown Hotel Co., 528 S.W.2d 715, 1975 Ky. LEXIS 83 (Ky. Ct. App. 1975).

Opinion

CATINNA, Commissioner.

The Jefferson Circuit Court, Chancery Branch, Fourth Division, entered a judgment reversing that part of an order of the Kentucky Board of Tax Appeals upholding the Department of Revenue’s assessment against the Brown Hotel of use taxes in the amount of $31,512.57 (exclusive of interest) on items of tangible personal property, consisting of glassware, linens, silverware, and similar items used in connection with the rooms and restaurant of the hotel, it being adjudged that no use tax was due on such items. The trial court affirmed that part of the order of the Board assessing use taxes in the amount of $6,929.81 (exclusive of interest) upon food used by the Brown Hotel to furnish meals to its employees. The trial court ordered that interest should begin to accrue as of March 18,1966, on any amount due the Commonwealth. The Board appeals from that part of the judgment which reversed its order upholding the levy of a use tax on the tangible personal property used by the hotel and established the date from which interest should accrue on any amount due the Commonwealth.

Between July 1, 1960, and June 30, 1963, the period of an audit made by the Department of Revenue, the Brown Hotel purchased numerous items of personal property such as glassware, linens, silverware, table linens, bed linens, towels, tumblers, and draperies for use in connection with the renting of rooms and the selling of meals in its Louisville hotel. The Brown Hotel Company gave the seller from whom it purchased these items a “resale certificate,” thereby avoiding payment of the sales tax levied by the Commonwealth. The hotel, in brief, maintains that the purchase of this property was for “resale” to hotel guests who rented its rooms and ate its meals, as the Kentucky sales tax was charged and collected on the total price of each room rented and meal sold. The hotel would have this court believe that it is not the ultimate user of the tangible personal property purchased, but rather that it was acquired for “resale” to customers of the hotel and, therefore, a person who rents a room is the buyer and ultimate “user” of the bed linens, towels, draperies, carpets, etc., in the room. Consequently, the hotel was not required to pay the sales tax or use tax, as it was paid by each guest who paid a sales tax on the total amount charged for a room.

It is likewise argued, but not so vehemently, that if a guest bought a meal at the hotel he became a purchaser and the ultimate user of the dishes, glasses, and silverware necessary for the consumption of the meal purchased. Reverting to the question of the charges for the room, the hotel argues:

“It makes no difference whether the guest thought he ‘purchased’ the tangible property in question because when he paid his consideration for the room the guest acquired the right to use the property which was located therein, and we have been unable to see how a guest [717]*717could rent a room unless he wanted to sleep on the bed, use the glassware from which to drink, or avail himself of towels and a washcloth to cleanse his body.”

Neither can this court visualize a hotel which would have the ability or the salesmanship to rent a totally bare room to a prospective guest. Of course, if the guest were carrying a sleeping bag, he might survive. In seeking to refute the contention of the Commonwealth that the hotel, and not the guest, is the ultimate consumer of the property in question, it is argued:

“For example, the hotel guest, in consideration of his room fare, acquires the sole and exclusive right to benefit from the accommodations furnished him. To be more explicit, no person other than the guest himself has the right to use or consume the items of personal tangible property which are located in his room. The guest’s exclusive right of possession and occupancy is good against the whole world including, in particular, the hotel’s employees, other business invitees of the hotel, and members of the general public.”

The hotel asserts that:

“Bed linens, beds, equipment, and glassware are ‘sold’ by the hotel in its ordinary course of business because they are a part and parcel of the accommodations the hotel furnishes the guests under KRS 139.100(2)(a).”

The magic word seems to be “accommodation,” and the best we can determine it is the view of the hotel that accommodations include everything in a room except the four walls or everything necessary for the serving of a meal except the prepared food, the rationale being that the furnishing of an “accommodation” entails a “sale” of all of the tangible personal property required for the use or enjoyment of the room or the meal. We can hardly refrain from remarking that if this train of thought and logic were followed to its absolutely illogical conclusion, a guest who rents a room in a hotel would become the owner and possessor of the furnishings in the room and apparently would have the right to haul them away in a wheelbarrow when he vacates the room. Likewise, a guest in a dining room, after the completion of the meal purchased, would have the right to take the dishes, silverware, and glassware used by him in consuming the meal. Of course, this cannot be the ultimate result of the hotel’s defense, for it would be at absolute cross purposes with the diligence used by any hotel in prosecuting guests who have a tendency to check out with a suitcase full of glassware, towels, bed linens, and occasionally a television set. The absurdity of the situation presents the old common-sense solution to the question being considered.

The Commonwealth directs this court’s attention to the fact that when one rents a room there is a single all-embracing charge. The hotel does not submit an itemized statement which shows that a guest has been “sold” an interest in each and every item of tangible personal property located in the room. In fact, this personal property is “used” by the hotel in the conduct of its business to make a room livable and renta-ble. The furnishing of this tangible personal property is a basic prerequisite to the operation of any hotel. Although the guest may be an incidental beneficiary, the prime recipient of any benefits arising from its use is the hotel.

Brown Hotel does not argue that it is in the business of selling individual items of personal property but rather holds itself out as being in the business of renting rooms and selling meals. Items of tangible personal property are part of the equipment of the hotel and are incidental to the hotel’s operation.

Chapter 139 of the Kentucky Revised Statutes, Sales and Use Taxes, provides the legal foundation of the hotel’s liability. KRS 139.100 provides in part as follows:

“(1) ‘Retail sale’ or ‘sale at retail’ means:
(a) 1. A sale for any purpose other than resale in the regular course of business of tangible personal property, or
[718]*7182. The furnishing of the facilities and services mentioned in subsection (2) of this section;

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Bluebook (online)
528 S.W.2d 715, 1975 Ky. LEXIS 83, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/kentucky-board-of-tax-appeals-v-brown-hotel-co-kyctapp-1975.