Northwest Airlines, Inc. v. Tennessee State Board of Equalization

861 S.W.2d 232, 1993 Tenn. LEXIS 318
CourtTennessee Supreme Court
DecidedAugust 30, 1993
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 861 S.W.2d 232 (Northwest Airlines, Inc. v. Tennessee State Board of Equalization) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Tennessee Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Northwest Airlines, Inc. v. Tennessee State Board of Equalization, 861 S.W.2d 232, 1993 Tenn. LEXIS 318 (Tenn. 1993).

Opinion

OPINION

DROWOTA, Justice.

Pursuant to Rule 23 of the Rules of the Tennessee Supreme Court, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit has certified the following questions to this Court:

1. Does Tennessee provide any forum to the air carriers other than a hearing before the State Board of Equalization, provided by Tennessee Code Annotated § 67-5-1328, with review of its decision by a petition to review to the Middle Division of the Court of Appeals under Tennessee Code Annotated § 4 — 5—322(b)(1)?

2. As an alternative to the review provided by Tennessee Code Annotated § 4-5-322(b)(1), does Tennessee law authorize the airlines to pay the tax under protest and sue for a refund in circuit court?

3. If Tennessee provides an alternative forum, what is that forum and what must the carriers do proeedurally to have their claim heard?

4. If Tennessee has an alternative forum (or fora), what bodies, if any, have jurisdiction to review the decision?

This Court accepts certification under the provisions of its Rule 23.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

The petitioners are commercial air carrier companies that do business in the state of Tennessee. Each of them owns certain personal property, consisting of airplanes and related equipment, that is subject to ad valo-rem taxation pursuant to the provisions of T.C.A § 67-5-1301, et seq.

The petitioners instituted a proceeding in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee in which they seek to restrain and enjoin the assessment and collection of property taxes on their equipment for tax year 1990. They also seek a declaratory judgment, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2201, that the 1990 assessment violates 49 U.S.CApp. § 1513(d) of the Airport and Airway Improvement Act.1 This federal statute prohibits valuation of air carrier company property for property tax purposes at a higher ratio to “true market value” than that ratio that applies for other commercial and industrial property of the same type in the same taxing jurisdiction.

The U.S. District Court (Judge Thomas A Wiseman, Jr.) granted a Motion to Dismiss filed by the Tennessee State Board of Equalization. The U.S. District Court granted that motion based on the Tax Injunction Act, 28 U.S.C. § 1341. That federal statute provides as follows:

“The district courts shall not enjoin, suspend or restrain the assessment, levy or collection of any tax under state law where a plain, speedy and efficient remedy may be had in the courts of such State.”

The U.S. District Court stated that the parties did not dispute that (1) the plaintiffs’ claim “would ordinarily be barred by the Tax Injunction Act,” and (2) “facially the remedy provided in Tennessee is plain, speedy and efficient” for purposes of the Tax Injunction Act. The U.S. District Court rejected the petitioner’s argument that such a remedy was not in fact available due to the State Board of Equalization’s bias; the petitioner’s contend that such bias exists because, in other litigation, the State Board of Equaliza[234]*234tion has taken a position contrary to that taken by the petitioners in this case.

OUR ANALYSIS

Most commercial and residential real and personal property in Tennessee is assessed and valued for property tax purposes by local (county and municipal) authorities pursuant to the provisions of T.C.A. § 67-5-101, et seq.

Part 13 of Chapter 5 of Title 67 of Tennessee Code Annotated, entitled “Classification and Assessment — Utilities and Carriers,” contains a special set of statutory provisions that governs the assessment and collection of property taxes with respect to property owned by certain public utilities and common carriers. T.C.A. § 67-5-1301(a) provides, in pertinent part, as follows:

“The public service commission, hereinafter called the commission, is authorized and directed to assess for taxation, for state, county, and municipal purposes, all of the properties of every description, tangible and intangible, within the state, owned by and all personal property used and/or leased by the following named persons hereinafter referred to as companies, namely:
“... (12) Commercial air carrier companies holding a certificate of convenience and necessity from the public service commission, civil aeronautics board, federal aviation administration or any other federal or state regulatory agency excepting those companies whose operations are solely chartered operations.”

Pursuant to the provisions of T.C.A. §§ 67-5-1302(b)(l) and 67-5-1606(c), the value of commercial air carriers’ property that is assessed by the public service commission is adjusted so that the value of such property within each local tax jurisdiction bears the same ratio to fair market value as does the property within such local jurisdiction that is appraised and assessed by local taxing authorities. This process is generally referred to as “equalization.”

Pursuant to T.C.A. § 67-5-1303, commercial air carriers and other companies subject to ad valorem taxation under these statutory provisions are required to file with the Public Service Commission schedules describing ■ property owned (or leased) by them that is subject to taxation. These schedules are to be filed annually on or before April 1st of each year.

Assessments made by the Public Service Commission are reviewed by the State Board of Equalization. In this regard, T.C.A § 67-5-1328(a)(l) provides, in part, as follows:

“The state board of equalization shall proceed to examine such assessments as made by the commission, and is authorized to increase or diminish the valuation placed upon any property valued by the commission, and is further authorized to require of the commission any additional evidence touching one (1) or more of the properties assessed, and shall consider such additional evidence so furnished in fixing the correct value of any property so assessed, and the assessments shall not be deemed complete until corrected and approved by the board.”

Valuation of property by the State Board of Equalization is certified to the Public Service Commission pursuant to T.C.A. § 67-5-1329(a), which provides as follows:

“On or before the third Monday in October, the state board of equalization shall certify to the commission the valuation fixed by it upon each property assessed under this part. The action of the board in fixing the valuation upon such property shall be conclusive and final and the valuation so fixed shall be assessed against such property and the taxes due thereunder be paid.”

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
861 S.W.2d 232, 1993 Tenn. LEXIS 318, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/northwest-airlines-inc-v-tennessee-state-board-of-equalization-tenn-1993.