WPPA v. State, Dept. of Revenue

62 P.3d 462
CourtWashington Supreme Court
DecidedJanuary 30, 2003
Docket71934-9
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 62 P.3d 462 (WPPA v. State, Dept. of Revenue) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Washington Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
WPPA v. State, Dept. of Revenue, 62 P.3d 462 (Wash. 2003).

Opinion

62 P.3d 462 (2003)
148 Wash.2d 637

WASHINGTON PUBLIC PORTS ASSOCIATION, Appellant,
Port of Olympia; and Port of Port Angeles, Plaintiffs,
v.
STATE of Washington, DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE, Respondent.

No. 71934-9.

Supreme Court of Washington, En Banc.

Argued November 13, 2002.
Decided January 30, 2003.

*463 Lane, Powell, Spears & Lubersky, George Mastrodonato, Robert Hauth, Olympia, Lane, Powell, Spears, Lubersky, Michael King, Seattle, for Appellant.

Christine Gregoire, Atty. Gen., David Hankins, Asst. Atty. Gen., Olympia, for Respondent.

Thomas Tanaka, Seattle, amicus curiae on behalf of Port of Seattle.

Dennis Dunphy, Seattle, amicus curiae on behalf of Port of Vancouver Wash.

BRIDGE, J.

The Washington Public Ports Association (WPPA) has appealed a trial court ruling denying its petition for a declaratory judgment invalidating the leasehold excise tax (LET) provisions of WAC 458-29A-500 (Rule 500). WPPA argues that the Department of Revenue (DOR) exceeded its statutory authority under RCW 82.29A.050 by holding public port districts liable in certain situations *464 for unpaid or uncollected LET under Rule 500. WPPA also claims that Rule 500 violates state constitutional prohibitions against the taxation of publicly owned lands and the lending of government money or credit to private individuals. We disagree.

I

WPPA is a trade association consisting of 69 public port districts in Washington State.[1] Although WPPA is a nonprofit corporation, the public port districts are municipal corporations.[2] Public port districts often lease publicly owned facilities and real property within their boundaries to private individuals and businesses. The private lessees of publicly owned property are subject to a LET, and as required by chapter 82.29A RCW, public port districts regularly collect the LET from their private lessees and remit the same to DOR. In the process of collecting and remitting the excise tax to DOR, public lessors are held, per statute, fully liable.[3] To regulate the collection of the LET, DOR promulgated a series of rules including Rule 500. This rule provides that DOR may hold the public lessor responsible for payment of the LET in cases where the lessor fails to notify DOR in writing of a private lessee's nonpayment of rent and/or taxes, or in cases where the public lessor collects the LET, but fails to remit the same to DOR.[4]

In January 2001, the ports of Olympia and Port Angeles[5] and WPPA filed a petition for declaratory relief and request for refund of assessed LET with Thurston County Superior Court. The ports and WPPA claimed that under RCW 82.29A.050, public port districts should be held liable only when the LET is collected but not remitted to DOR. They argued that the law makes only the private lessee liable for unpaid or uncollected LET, and nothing in chapter 82.29A RCW justifies a rule imposing personal liability upon the public lessor. The ports and WPPA also asserted that Rule 500's imposition of excise tax liability on public lessors effected an unconstitutional tax on the property of municipal corporations, which is in violation of article VII, section 1 of the Washington State Constitution. Finally, WPPA claimed that Rule 500 violates article VIII, sections 5 and 7, since it forces public lessors to make unconstitutional loans or gifts of public money to private individuals and businesses.

The trial court denied the ports and WPPA's petition for declaratory judgment and request for tax refund. The trial court held that RCW 82.29A.050 was clear and unambiguous, and DOR had the discretion to impose tax liability on public lessors who fail to collect and remit LET from their private lessees. The trial court also held that the promulgation of Rule 500 did not exceed DOR's statutory authority, that the rule was not arbitrary and capricious, and that Rule 500 was constitutional.

WPPA alone[6] petitioned this court for direct review challenging the trial court's interpretation of the LET statute and Rule 500. We accepted direct review because this case raises fundamental and urgent issues of broad public import requiring prompt and ultimate determination. See RAP 4.2(a)(4).

*465 II

Overview of RCW 82.29A.050 and WAC 458-29A-500

A LET is imposed on private parties or individuals for "the act or privilege of occupying or using publicly owned real or personal property through a leasehold interest" at a rate of 12 percent of taxable rent. RCW 82.29A.030(1).[7] Chapter 82.29A RCW defines "leasehold interest" as

an interest in publicly owned real or personal property which exists by virtue of any lease, permit, license, or any other agreement, written or verbal, between the public owner of the property and a person who would not be exempt from property taxes if that person owned the property in fee, granting possession and use, to a degree less than fee simple ownership[.]

RCW 82.29A.020(1). Under article VII, section 1 of our state constitution, publicly owned real or personal property is exempt from taxation. By leasing publicly owned property, private lessees receive significant benefits in the form of services by the government. RCW 82.29A.010(1)(a). Therefore, the LET is intended "to fairly compensate governmental units for services rendered to such lessees of publicly owned property." RCW 82.29A.010(1)(c). The LET is measured by the private lessee's "taxable rent," which is defined as

contract rent ... where the lease or agreement has been established or renegotiated through competitive bidding, or negotiated or renegotiated in accordance with statutory requirements regarding the rent payable, or negotiated or renegotiated under circumstances, established by public record, clearly showing that the contract rent was the maximum attainable by the lessor[.]

RCW 82.29A.020(2).[8]

Under RCW 82.29A.050, the LET is paid by the lessee to the lessor, and the "lessor shall collect such tax and remit the same" to DOR. RCW 82.29A.050(1).

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62 P.3d 462, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/wppa-v-state-dept-of-revenue-wash-2003.