Metropolitan Dade County v. Kapila (In Re Home & Housing of Dade County, Inc.)

220 B.R. 492, 1998 WL 199342
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Florida
DecidedApril 28, 1998
Docket95-1904-CIV.; Bankruptcy 93-14266-BKC-PGH
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 220 B.R. 492 (Metropolitan Dade County v. Kapila (In Re Home & Housing of Dade County, Inc.)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Metropolitan Dade County v. Kapila (In Re Home & Housing of Dade County, Inc.), 220 B.R. 492, 1998 WL 199342 (S.D. Fla. 1998).

Opinion

ORDER REVERSING ORDER OF BANKRUPTCY COURT DETERMINING TAX LIABILITY PURSUANT TO 11 U.S.C. § 505

NESBITT, District Judge.

THIS CAUSE came before the Court upon an appeal of the ORDER GRANTING IN PART AND DENYING IN PART TRUSTEE’S MOTION TO DETERMINE DEBTOR’S TAX LIABILITY FOR PRIOR YEARS’ AD VALOREM REAL ESTATE AND TANGIBLE PERSONAL PROPERTY TAXES PURSUANT TO 11 U.S.C. § 505, entered by Bankruptcy Judge Paul G. Hyman on July 13,1995.

Under the authority of 11 U.S.C. § 505(a)(1), the bankruptcy court determined that the debtor is entitled to a charitable use exemption with respect to the taxes assessed by Dade County. Appellant, Metropolitan Dade County, contends that the bankruptcy *493 court erred by exempting the debtor’s real and personal property from local taxation for the years 1989 through 1995.

ISSUE ON APPEAL

The issues on appeal concern the allowance of tax exempt status for the debtor’s properties, and whether the Florida statutory time bar to establish a charitable use tax exemption is applicable in a bankruptcy proceeding to determine the amount of the debtor’s taxes where the debtor did not apply for the tax exemption within the prescribed time limit.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

The interpretation and application of 11 U.S.C. § 505(a)(1) and the question of whether the bankruptcy court exceeded its authority in granting the debtor’s charitable use exemption, are issues of law subject to de novo review by the district court. See In re Meehan, 102 F.3d 1209 (11th Cir.1997); In re Englander, 95 F.3d 1028, 1030 (11th Cir.1996).

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

The debtor in this Chapter 11 ease is a non-profit corporation which owns and develops low-income housing projects. For some of the years in question, the debtor did not file applications for a charitable use exemption for its eight improved properties and one commercial property,"nor did the debtor file for the exemption for its personal property. Metropolitan Dade County filed a proof of claim for taxes owed by the debtor which was calculated on the basis of non-exempt property values.

A Chapter 11 trustee was appointed to manage the debtor’s business when it was determined by the bankruptcy court that the debtor was grossly mismanaging its affairs.

Dade County stipulated before the bankruptcy court that the debtor would have qualified for the charitable use exemption if the debtor had applied for the exemption on a timely basis. The bankruptcy court granted the exemption despite the debtor’s failure to comply with the time requirement for the application under Florida law.

DISCUSSION

The parties’ arguments differ with respect to whether the requirement to apply for the state exemption for charitable use is within the category of procedures preempted by 11 U.S.C. § 505(a)(1). The question is whether it is proper to consider the exemption as a procedural issue with a non-binding time limit, as argued by the Chapter 11 bankruptcy trustee, or a substantive issue of entitlement governed by state law, as argued by Dade County.

The authority of the bankruptcy court to determine the debtor’s tax liabilities is set forth in 11 U.S.C. § 505(a)(1), which provides:

Except as provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection, the court may determine the amount or legality of any tax, any fine or penalty relating to a tax, or any addition to tax, whether or not previously assessed, whether or not paid, and whether or not contested before and adjudicated by a judicial or administrative tribunal of competent jurisdiction.

Appellant’s Position

Dade County contends that the bankruptcy court improperly exercised its authority to grant the debtor’s tax exemption because the bankruptcy court did not apply Florida law, which requires a timely application to qualify for exempt status. Appellant argues that (1) there can be no exemption granted for property if there was no application filed seeking the exemption; and (2) the bankruptcy court does not have the authority to preempt the threshold requirement and time limitation to establish entitlement to the tax exemption.

Appellant relies on Section 196.011(1), Fla. Stat., which states, in part, that:

“Failure to make application when required, by March 1 of any year shall constitute a waiver of the exemption privilege for that year ... [other than exceptions for homestead].”

Dade County acknowledges that 11 U.S.C. § 505(a)(1) preempts the state’s procedure for the debtor/taxpayer to dispute an assessment, so that an incorrect tax assessment *494 may be redetermined by the bankruptcy court. However, the time limit to contest a tax assessment, set forth in Section 194.171(2), Fla.Stat., is not at issue in this case.

The County’s arguments analyze the extent of the authority granted to the bankruptcy court under 11 U.S.C. 505(a)(1), which extends jurisdiction to adjudicate tax issues that are normally subject to the jurisdiction of other bodies as a matter of procedure. See In re Ledgemere Land Corp., 135 B.R. 193, 196-97 (Bankr.D.Mass.1991) (discussing bankruptcy court’s jurisdiction in matters of taxation).

The County asserts that the property appraiser made a correct assessment in the manner dictated by state law. Relying on Butner v. United States, 440 U.S. 48, 55, 99 S.Ct. 914, 918, 59 L.Ed.2d 136 (1979), Appellant argues that property interests should not be analyzed differently solely because a bankruptcy proceeding is involved, except to the extent that there is an overriding federal interest.

Therefore, the issue on appeal concerns the principle of giving full faith and credit to the state law upon which a tax is based. See Matter of Pine Knob Inv., 20 B.R. 714, 716 (Bankr.E.D.Mich.1982) (citing Ark. Corp. Comm. v. Thompson, 313 U.S. 132, 61 S.Ct. 888, 85 L.Ed. 1244 (1941)); In re Ga. Air, Inc., 345 F.Supp. 636, 637 (N.D.Ga.1972).

Appellee’s Position

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
220 B.R. 492, 1998 WL 199342, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/metropolitan-dade-county-v-kapila-in-re-home-housing-of-dade-county-flsd-1998.