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DRAFT FOR ATTORNEY REVIEW — NOT FINAL

Kentucky Tax Commission v. Jefferson Motel, Inc., 387 S.W.2d 293 (1965)

Citation
Kentucky Tax Commission v. Jefferson Motel, Inc., 387 S.W.2d 293 (1965)
Parent Document
Kentucky Tax Commission v. Jefferson Motel, Inc., 387 S.W.2d 293 (1965)
Jurisdiction
Kentucky (state)
Effective Date
1965-02-19

Other Sections in This Document (25)

Full Text

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In Fayette County Board of Supervisors v. O’Rear, Ky., 275 S.W.2d 577 (1955), it was held that the leasehold and the fee may not ordinarily be separated for ad valorem tax purposes. Cf. KRS 132.-220(3). The underlying reasons for that approach are practical in nature. When the lessor is not tax-exempt he bears the incidence of ad valorem taxes on the entire yalue of the property as a whole, and he passes it on to the tenant through the rental rate agreed upon between them. Hence, even though the lessee may have the better of the bargain (e. g., if the rent is lower than another lessee would be willing to pay), the taxing authority still collects a tax on the full value of the property. But this is not so when the landlord is tax-exempt, and in such a case we agree that if the non-exempt lessee’s contract right has a fair cash value it is taxable. This does not violate the uniformity requirement of Const. § 171. In fact, it is not fundamentally a question of tax classification at all; it is more a mechanical matter of sifting a clearly taxable private property interest from a non-taxable public interest with which it has been commingled. 8