R884.
Tax Commission, Property Tax.
R884-24P. Property Tax.
- R884-24P-38.
Nonoperating Railroad Properties Pursuant to Utah Code Ann. Section
59-2-201.
-
(1) (a) "Railroad
right of way" (RR-ROW) means a strip of land upon which a
railroad company constructs the road bed.
-
(b) RR-ROW within
incorporated towns and cities shall consist of 50 feet on each side
of the main line main track, branch line main track or main spur
track. Variations to the 50-foot standard shall be approved on an
individual basis.
-
(c) RR-ROW outside
incorporated towns and cities shall consist of the actual
right-of-way owned if not in excess of 100 feet on each side of the
center line of the main line main track, branch line main track, or
main spur track. In cases where unusual conditions exist, such as
mountain cuts, fills, etc., and more than 100 feet on either side
of the main track is required for ROW and where small parcels of
land are otherwise required for ROW purposes, the necessary
additional area shall be reported as RR-ROW.
-
(2) Assessment of
nonoperating railroad properties. Railroad property formerly
assessed by the unitary method that has been determined to be
nonoperating, and that is not necessary to the conduct of the
business, shall be assessed separately by the local county
assessor.
-
(3) Assessment
procedures.
-
(a) Properties charged
to nonoperating accounts are reviewed by the Property Tax Division,
and if taxable, are assessed and placed on the local county
assessment rolls separately from the operating properties.
-
(b) RR-ROW is considered
operating and necessary to the conduct and contributing to the
income of the business. Any revenue derived from leasing of
property within the RR-ROW is considered railroad operating
revenues.
-
(c) Real property
outside of the RR-ROW that is necessary to the conduct of the
railroad operation is considered part of the unitary value. Some
examples are:
-
(i) company homes
occupied by superintendents and other employees on 24-hour call;
-
(ii) storage facilities
for railroad operations;
-
(iii) communication
facilities and
-
(iv) spur tracks outside
of RR-ROW.
-
(d) Abandoned RR-ROW is
considered nonoperating and shall be reported as such by the
railroad companies.
-
(e) Real property
outside of the RR-ROW that is not necessary to the conduct of the
railroad operations is classified as nonoperating and therefore
assessed by the local county assessor. Some examples are:
-
(i) land leased to
service station operations;
-
(ii) grocery stores;
-
(iii) apartments;
-
(iv) residences; and
-
(v) agricultural uses.
-
(f) RR-ROW obtained by
government grant or act of Congress is deemed operating property.
-
(4) Notice of
Determination. It is the responsibility of the Property Tax
Division to provide a notice of determination to the owner of the
railroad property and the assessor of the county where the railroad
property is located immediately after such determination of
operating or nonoperating status has been made. If there is no
appeal to the notice of determination, the Property Tax Division
shall notify the assessor of the county where the property is
located so that the property may be placed on the roll for local
assessment.
-
(5) Appeals. Any
interested party who wishes to contest the determination of
operating or nonoperating property may do so by filing a request
for agency action within ten days of the notice of determination of
operating or nonoperating properties. Request for agency action
may be made pursuant to Title 63G, Chapter 4.
-
- KEY: taxation,
personal property, property tax, appraisals
-
- Effective:
8/18/2008