US Postal Serv. v. DALLAS CTY. APP. D.

857 S.W.2d 892
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedMay 25, 1993
Docket05-92-00524-CV
StatusPublished

This text of 857 S.W.2d 892 (US Postal Serv. v. DALLAS CTY. APP. D.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
US Postal Serv. v. DALLAS CTY. APP. D., 857 S.W.2d 892 (Tex. Ct. App. 1993).

Opinion

857 S.W.2d 892 (1993)

UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE, et al., Appellants,
v.
DALLAS COUNTY APPRAISAL DISTRICT and Dallas County Appraisal Review Board, Appellees.

No. 05-92-00524-CV.

Court of Appeals of Texas, Dallas.

May 25, 1993.
Rehearing Denied July 5, 1993.

John E. Collins, Dallas, for appellants.

Mike M. Tabor, David A. Scott, Dallas, for appellees.

Before THOMAS, MALONEY and KAPLAN,[1] JJ.

*893 OPINION

MALONEY, Justice.

The United States Postal Service and ten of its lessors (collectively postal service) sued the Dallas County Appraisal District and the Dallas County Appraisal Review Board (collectively the appraisal district) over its taxation of the postal service's leasehold interest. The trial court found that the appraisal district could tax the lessors, as sole owners, on the full fee simple value. Because we find the postal service's leasehold interest is exempt from taxation and the appraisal district did not consider the postal service's leaseholds in appraising the properties, we reverse the trial court's judgment.

FACTUAL BACKGROUND

The postal service leased the properties for twenty years. The leases contained six five-year options to renew.

The appraisal district assessed all property taxes against the lessors. The postal service and its lessors sued the appraisal district claiming that because the postal service is a federal entity, its leasehold interests are exempt from taxation.

The trial court adopted and incorporated "all matters of fact stated in Stipulations of Fact 1-35." The parties stipulated: to the market values of the leased fee estates, the leasehold estates, and the fee simple estates;[2] that the appraisal district did not independently appraise the leaseholds; that "[l]ease clauses can influence property value;" and that the postal service's rents were "below market."

APPRAISED VALUES

The postal service contends the district's appraisal methods are unconstitutional because the appraisal district appraises property as if the property was not subject to any leases, or as if it was subject to leases with current market rental rates. They argue that this practice penalizes prudent lessees who negotiate favorable long-term leases. The postal service claims the appraisal district's practice violates article VIII, section 20 of the Texas Constitution because it ignores the fair cash market value of the lessor's fee simple interest.[3]

The appraisal district counters that the postal service waived its right to appeal this issue by entering into stipulation number twenty-seven. At trial, the postal service contended that "even if the Court does not find as [sic] property interest is exempt, then it's our position that the fair cash market value of the properties represents the leased fee values which have also been stipulated, if it please the Court, in stipulation number 27." Stipulation number twenty-seven provides:

27. The market values of the fee simple estate in the properties as of January 1, 1990 and January 1, 1991 are listed in Column C following paragraph 27 below. The market value of the properties as of January 1, 1990 and January 1, 1991, if they were not subject to any leases, or if they were subject to leases at current market rental rates, are listed in Column C below. The figures in Column C represent what willing buyers would have paid willing sellers for the properties in a sale consistent with the terms of TEX.PROP.TAX CODE § 1.04(7) if the properties were not subject to any leases or if they were subject to leases at current market rates.
Owner-Station/ Column A Column B Column C Account Number Leased Fee Leasehold Fee Simple

* * * *

(Emphasis added.)

The postal service also stipulated that "if the properties were not subject to any leases or if they were subject to leases at current market rates," the valuations were *894 correct. (Emphasis added.) It did not agree that the properties should be valued as if they were not subject to any lease or if subject to leases at current market rates. See First Nat'l Bank v. Kinabrew, 589 S.W.2d 137, 143 (Tex.Civ.App.-Tyler 1979, writ ref'd n.r.e.). Nor did it stipulate that the methods the appraisal district used to determine these values were constitutional or consistent with state tax law. We hold the postal service only to the facts to which it specifically agreed.

EXEMPTION

In its first point of error, the postal service contends that the trial court erred in entering judgment for the appraisal district because the postal service's leasehold interests are exempt from taxation. In its second point of error, it maintains that assessment of taxes against the properties in question imposes a tax on the United States Postal Service. In its third point of error, it argues the trial court erred in determining its leaseholds are not exempt under the United States Constitution, the Texas Constitution, and both state and federal law.

The postal service challenges only the tax assessment on the value of its leasehold interest. Under its challenge, the property owner by law, and the postal service by contract, would still be liable for taxes on the leased fee (column A in Stipulation twenty-seven). The postal service argues that the appraisal district should refund the taxes attributable to its leasehold interests. See United States v. State Tax Comm'n, 645 F.2d 4, 5 (5th Cir. Unit A May), cert. denied, 454 U.S. 896, 102 S.Ct. 394, 70 L.Ed.2d 211 (1981).

a. Applicable Law

State and local entities cannot directly tax federal property. M'Culloch v. Maryland, 17 U.S. (4 Wheat) 316 (1819), 4 L.Ed. 579. Texas tax law exempts all property belonging to the United States. See Tex.Tax Code Ann. § 11.12 (Vernon 1992); Dawson v. Childs, 665 F.2d 705, 711 (5th Cir. Unit A 1982). Section 11.12 does not distinguish between different types of property. Dawson, 665 F.2d at 711. If federal law exempts certain properties from ad valorem taxes, Texas law exempts them. TEX.TAX.CODE ANN. § 11.12 (emphasis added).

"A leasehold interest of the United States is not taxable, therefore, the [local appraisal district] may only tax the landlord's interest." United States Postal Serv. v. Brazos County Appraisal Dist., 736 F.Supp. 735, 736 (S.D.Tex.1988). If the federal government owns the fee but leases its property to a private entity, the local governmental entity taxes the private leaseholder's interest. Tex.Tax Code Ann. §§ 25.06, 25.07 (Vernon 1992). By taxing the leasehold, the local entity's tax "falls neither on the Federal Government nor on federal property." United States v. County of Fresno, 429 U.S. 452, 464, 97 S.Ct. 699, 705, 50 L.Ed.2d 683 (1977); see United States v. City of Detroit, 355 U.S. 466, 470, 475, 78 S.Ct. 474, 476, 479, 2 L.Ed.2d 424 (1958).

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