R884. Tax Commission, Property Tax.
R884-24P. Property Tax.
R884-24P-38. Nonoperating Railroad Properties Pursuant to
Utah Code Ann. Section 59-2-201(4).
A.
Definitions.
1.
"Railroad right of way" (RR-ROW) means a strip of land upon
which a railroad company constructs the road bed.
a.
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.
b.
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.
B.
Assessment of nonoperating railroad properties. Railroad property formerly assessed by the
unitary method which has been determined to be nonoperating, and which is not
necessary to the conduct of the business, shall be assessed separately by the
local county assessor. For purposes of
this rule:
C.
Assessment procedures.
1.
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.
2.
RR-ROW is considered as operating and as 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 as railroad operating revenues.
3.
Real property outside of the RR-ROW which is necessary to the conduct of
the railroad operation is considered as part of the unitary value. Some examples are: company homes occupied by
superintendents and other employees on 24-hour call, storage facilities for
railroad operations, communication facilities, and spur tracks outside of
RR-ROW.
4.
Abandoned RR-ROW is considered as nonoperating and shall be reported as
such by the railroad companies.
5.
Real property outside of the RR-ROW which 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: land leased
to service station operations, grocery stores, apartments, residences, and
agricultural uses.
6.
RR-ROW obtained by government grant or act of Congress is deemed
operating property.
D.
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 the property may be placed on the roll
for local assessment.
E.
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 Utah Code Ann. Title 63, Chapter 46b.
Effective: 11/24/89