West Valley City Corp. v. Salt Lake County

852 P.2d 1000, 1993 WL 154471
CourtUtah Supreme Court
DecidedMay 10, 1993
Docket900542
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 852 P.2d 1000 (West Valley City Corp. v. Salt Lake County) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Utah Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
West Valley City Corp. v. Salt Lake County, 852 P.2d 1000, 1993 WL 154471 (Utah 1993).

Opinions

ZIMMERMAN, Justice:

West Valley City appeals from a district court order denying its motion for summary judgment and granting summary judgment in favor of Salt Lake County. The trial court’s ruling permitted the County’s municipal-type service district to retain 1988 ad valorem property taxes collected from the owners of property that was annexed to and served by West Valley during 1988. We reverse the district court and direct entry of judgment for West Valley.

The material facts are not in dispute. On March 31, 1988, West Valley annexed approximately 4600 acres of unincorporated real property from the County.1 Prior to annexation, the property had been part of Salt Lake County’s Municipal-type Service District No. 1. See Utah Code Ann. [1002]*1002§§ 17-34-1, -2.2 Following annexation, West Valley assumed responsibility for providing municipal services to the annexed area. Despite this fact, the service district levied ad valorem taxes on the annexed property for the entire year.3 See id. § 17-34-3.4 The county treasurer then collected and distributed those taxes to the service district. West Valley requested a remittance of those taxes, but the County denied the request.

West Valley then brought this action in district court.5 Both parties filed motions for summary judgment, and on September 10, 1990, the court denied West Valley’s motion and granted the County’s, finding that West Valley was not entitled to the taxes because it had failed to notify the state tax commission of the March 31, 1988, annexation on or before December 31, 1987, as required by section 11-12-3 of the Code. See id. § 11-12-3. West Valley appeals.

When no facts are in dispute, a challenge to a summary judgment presents for review only conclusions of law. See Utah R.Civ.P. 56(c); Schurtz v. BMW of N. Am., Inc., 814 P.2d 1108, 1111 (Utah 1991). We accord no deference to a trial court’s legal conclusions but review them for correctness. Schurtz, 814 P.2d at 1112.

This case turns on the interpretation to be given section 11-12-3 of the Code, which provides:

Property annexed to any existing taxing entity or property in any new taxing entity shall carry any tax rate imposed by that taxing entity if notification, as required by Section 11-12-1, is made to the State Tax Commission not later than December 31 of the previous year.

Utah Code Ann. § 11-12-3.6 The County argues that because West Valley did not [1003]*1003notify the state tax commission of the annexation before December 31, 1987, some three months before it occurred, the property in the annexed area must carry the County’s tax rate for all of 1988 and the County is entitled to all the taxes that rate generated. On the other hand, West Valley claims that .section 11-12-3 specifies only the tax rate to be applied to annexed or newly incorporated property and is of no consequence in determining which entity is entitled to the revenues generated by that rate.

In deciding a statute’s meaning, we first consider its terms. Only if the statute is ambiguous need we look further. Schurtz, 814 P.2d at 1112. Here, there is no ambiguity. The statute states that when property is annexed, it “shall carry any tax rate” of the annexing entity the state tax commission is notified of the annexation and the relevant tax rate by December 31st of the previous year. Utah Code Ann. § 11-12-3. The statute does not purport to speak to the question of which entity is entitled to the tax revenue. Here, because West Valley did not notify the state tax commission of the annexation by December 31, 1987, the statute requires that the tax rate applicable to this property for 1988 be that of the County.

Because section 11-12-3 does not address the question of who receives the resulting tax revenue, we look to other sources. In Huntington City v. Peterson, 518 P.2d 1246, 1249 (Utah 1974), we held that the date of assessment and levy, not the statutory lien date of January 1st, is the relevant date for determining whether property is within the reach of a taxing entity’s power for the purpose of assessing, levying, and collecting taxes on the property. See also Utah Parks Co. v. Iron County, 380 P.2d 924, 925-26 (Utah 1963);

Gillmor v. Dale, 27 Utah 372, 75 P. 932, 934 (1907). Huntington leads us to conclude that although the date for fixing the tax rate may be December 31, 1987, and the lien date may be January 1, 1988, the levy date of June 22, 1988, is the relevant point for determining whether West Valley or the County should receive the ad valo-rem taxes for the entire 1988 tax year.7 See Utah Code Ann. § 59-2-912. In essence, the entity within which the property lies on the date the levy for the taxable year occurs is entitled to receive the taxes for the entire year. Because annexation of the property was complete as of March 31, 1988, we hold that West Valley is entitled to the taxes for the 1988 tax year.

The County claims that such a holding violates article XIII, sections 2 and 3 of the Utah Constitution, which, the County contends, require that all property within a municipality be taxed at a uniform and equal rate. The County argues that if West Valley is allowed to recover the ad valorem taxes, it will have effectively imposed two different tax rates on property within its boundaries during 1988, in violation of the constitution. On the other hand, West Valley argues that to rule against it would violate article XIII, section 10 of the Utah Constitution, which provides:

All corporations or persons in this State, or doing business herein, shall be subject to taxation for State, County, School, Municipal or other purposes, on the real and personal property owned or used by them within the Territorial limits of the authority levying the tax.

Utah Const, art. XIII, § 10. West Valley contends that this provision requires that all owners of property within its boundaries are subject to paying it taxes, something the trial court’s ruling would bar.

[1004]*1004If both constitutional arguments were accepted, a decision in favor of either party would necessarily create a constitutional violation. We think, however, that both parties read more into these constitutional provisions than is appropriate. These provisions mean exactly what they say, but none seems to have been drafted in contemplation of the problems that can arise when property is shifted from one taxing jurisdiction to another, much less if such a shift occurred in the midst of the process of determining rates and fixing liability for taxes. Each provision states a principle that seems to speak to different times during the tax year.

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West Valley City Corp. v. Salt Lake County
852 P.2d 1000 (Utah Supreme Court, 1993)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
852 P.2d 1000, 1993 WL 154471, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/west-valley-city-corp-v-salt-lake-county-utah-1993.