59-2-201.  Assessment by commission — Determination of value of mining property — Determination of value of aircraft — Notification of assessment — Local assessment of property assessed by the unitary method — Commission may consult with county.

(1) 

Terms Used In Utah Code 59-2-201

  • Air charter service: means an air carrier operation that requires the customer to hire an entire aircraft rather than book passage in whatever capacity is available on a scheduled trip. See Utah Code 59-2-102
  • Air contract service: means an air carrier operation available only to customers that engage the services of the carrier through a contractual agreement and excess capacity on any trip and is not available to the public at large. See Utah Code 59-2-102
  • Aircraft: means the same as that term is defined in Section 72-10-102. See Utah Code 59-2-102
  • airline: means an air carrier that:
(i) operates:
(A) on an interstate route; and
(B) on a scheduled basis; and
(ii) offers to fly one or more passengers or cargo on the basis of available capacity on a regularly scheduled route. See Utah Code 59-2-102
  • Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
  • Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • Fair market value: The price at which an asset would change hands in a transaction between a willing, informed buyer and a willing, informed seller.
  • Fair market value: means the amount at which property would change hands between a willing buyer and a willing seller, neither being under any compulsion to buy or sell and both having reasonable knowledge of the relevant facts. See Utah Code 59-2-102
  • Land: includes :Utah Code 68-3-12.5
  • Mine: means a natural deposit of either metalliferous or nonmetalliferous valuable mineral. See Utah Code 59-2-102
  • Mining: means the process of producing, extracting, leaching, evaporating, or otherwise removing a mineral from a mine. See Utah Code 59-2-102
  • Person: means :Utah Code 68-3-12.5
  • Personal property: All property that is not real property.
  • Personal property: includes :
    (a) every class of property as defined in Subsection (29) that is the subject of ownership and is not real estate or an improvement;
    (b) any pipe laid in or affixed to land whether or not the ownership of the pipe is separate from the ownership of the underlying land, even if the pipe meets the definition of an improvement;
    (c) bridges and ferries;
    (d) livestock; and
    (e) outdoor advertising structures as defined in Section 72-7-502. See Utah Code 59-2-102
  • Property: means property that is subject to assessment and taxation according to its value. See Utah Code 59-2-102
  • State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes a state, district, or territory of the United States. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
  • Telecommunications service provider: means the same as that term is defined in Section 59-12-102. See Utah Code 59-2-102
    • (a)  By May 1 of each year, the following property, unless otherwise exempt under the Utah Constitution or under 11, shall be assessed by the commission at 100% of fair market value, as valued on January 1, in accordance with this chapter:

    (i)  except as provided in Subsection (2), all property that operates as a unit across county lines, if the values must be apportioned among more than one county or state;

    (ii)  all property of public utilities;

    (iii)  all operating property of an airline, air charter service, and air contract service;

    (iv)  all geothermal fluids and geothermal resources;

    (v)  all mines and mining claims except in cases, as determined by the commission, where the mining claims are used for other than mining purposes, in which case the value of mining claims used for other than mining purposes shall be assessed by the assessor of the county in which the mining claims are located; and

    (vi)  all machinery used in mining, all property or surface improvements upon or appurtenant to mines or mining claims. For the purposes of assessment and taxation, all processing plants, mills, reduction works, and smelters that are primarily used by the owner of a mine or mining claim for processing, reducing, or smelting minerals taken from a mine or mining claim shall be considered appurtenant to that mine or mining claim, regardless of actual location.

    (b) 

    (i)  For purposes of Subsection (1)(a)(iii), operating property of an air charter service does not include an aircraft that is:

    (A)  used by the air charter service for air charter; and

    (B)  owned by a person other than the air charter service.

    (ii)  For purposes of this Subsection (1)(b):

    (A)  “person” means a natural person, individual, corporation, organization, or other legal entity; and

    (B)  a person does not qualify as a person other than the air charter service as described in Subsection (1)(b)(i)(B) if the person is:

    (I)  a principal, owner, or member of the air charter service; or

    (II)  a legal entity that has a principal, owner, or member of the air charter service as a principal, owner, or member of the legal entity.

    • (2) 

    (a)  The commission may not assess property owned by a telecommunications service provider.

    (b)  The commission shall assess and collect property tax on state-assessed commercial vehicles at the time of original registration or annual renewal.

    (i)  The commission shall assess and collect property tax annually on state-assessed commercial vehicles that are registered pursuant to Section 41-1a-222 or 41-1a-228.

    (ii)  State-assessed commercial vehicles brought into the state that are required to be registered in Utah shall, as a condition of registration, be subject to ad valorem tax unless all property taxes or fees imposed by the state of origin have been paid for the current calendar year.

    (iii)  Real property, improvements, equipment, fixtures, or other personal property in this state owned by the company shall be assessed separately by the local county assessor.

    (iv)  The commission shall adjust the value of state-assessed commercial vehicles as necessary to comply with 49 U.S.C. § 14502, and the commission shall direct the county assessor to apply the same adjustment to any personal property, real property, or improvements owned by the company and used directly and exclusively in their commercial vehicle activities.

    (3) 

    (a)  The method for determining the fair market value of productive mining property is the capitalized net revenue method or any other valuation method the commission believes, or the taxpayer demonstrates to the commission’s satisfaction, to be reasonably determinative of the fair market value of the mining property.

    (b)  The commission shall determine the rate of capitalization applicable to mines, consistent with a fair rate of return expected by an investor in light of that industry’s current market, financial, and economic conditions.

    (c)  In no event may the fair market value of the mining property be less than the fair market value of the land, improvements, and tangible personal property upon or appurtenant to the mining property.

    (4) 

    (a)  As used in this Subsection (4), “aircraft pricing guide” means a nationally recognized publication that assigns value estimates for individual commercial aircraft that are:

    (i)  identified by year, make, and model; and

    (ii)  in average condition typical for the aircraft’s type and vintage.

    (b) 

    (i)  Except as provided in Subsection (4)(d), the commission shall use an aircraft pricing guide, adjusted as provided in Subsection (4)(c), to determine the fair market value of aircraft assessed under this part.

    (ii)  The commission shall use the Airliner Price Guide as the aircraft pricing guide, except that:

    (A)  if the Airliner Price Guide is no longer published or the commission determines that another aircraft pricing guide more reasonably reflects the fair market value of aircraft, the commission, after consulting with the airlines operating in the state, shall select an alternative aircraft pricing guide;

    (B)  if an aircraft is not listed in the Airliner Price Guide, the commission shall use the Aircraft Bluebook Price Digest as the aircraft pricing guide; and

    (C)  if the Aircraft Bluebook Price Digest is no longer published or the commission determines that another aircraft pricing guide more reasonably reflects the fair market value of aircraft, the commission, after consulting with the airlines operating in the state, shall select an alternative aircraft pricing guide.

    (c) 

    (i)  To reflect the value of an aircraft fleet that is used as part of the operating property of an airline, air charter service, or air contract service, the fair market value of the aircraft shall include a fleet adjustment as provided in this Subsection (4)(c).

    (ii)  If the aircraft pricing guide provides a method for making a fleet adjustment, the commission shall use the method described in the aircraft pricing guide.

    (iii)  If the aircraft pricing guide does not provide a method for making a fleet adjustment, the commission shall make a fleet adjustment by reducing the aircraft pricing guide value of each aircraft in the fleet by .5% for each aircraft over three aircraft up to a maximum 20% reduction.

    (d)  The commission may use an alternative method for valuing aircraft of an airline, air charter service, or air contract service if the commission:

    (i)  has clear and convincing evidence that the aircraft values reflected in the aircraft pricing guide do not reasonably reflect fair market value of the aircraft; and

    (ii)  cannot identify an alternative aircraft pricing guide from which the commission may determine aircraft value.

    (5)  Immediately following the assessment, the commission shall send, by certified mail, notice of the assessment to the owner or operator of the assessed property and the assessor of the county in which the property is located.

    (6)  The commission may consult with a county in valuing property in accordance with this part.

    (7)  The local county assessor shall separately assess property that is assessed by the unitary method if the commission determines that the property:

    (a)  is not necessary to the conduct of the business; and

    (b)  does not contribute to the income of the business.

    Amended by Chapter 471, 2023 General Session

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