Title: BOB HOOK CHEV. ISUZU v. Transp. Cabinet
Citation: 983 S.W.2d 488
Docket Number: 97-SC-776-DG
State: Kentucky
Issuer: Kentucky Supreme Court
Date: November 19, 1998

983 S.W.2d 488 (1998) BOB HOOK CHEVROLET ISUZU, INC., Appellant, v. COMMONWEALTH of Kentucky, TRANSPORTATION CABINET, Appellee. No. 97-SC-776-DG. Supreme Court of Kentucky. November 19, 1998. Rehearing Denied February 18, 1999. *489 David H. Vance, Dandridge F. Walton, Walton &amp; Vance, Frankfort, for Appellant. Thomas G. Karageorge, Borowitz &amp; Goldsmith, PLC, Louisville, for Appellee. Timothy J. Eifler, Thomas M. Williams, Ogden Newell &amp; Welch, Louisville, for Amicus Curiae, Greater Louisville Auto Dealers Association, Inc. BEFORE: HUDDLESTON, JOHNSON and KNOPF, Judges. This Court granted discretionary review and upon due consideration of the briefs filed herein and after having heard oral argument, has determined that the Opinion of the Court of Appeals rendered on July 18, 1997, adequately represents our view. Accordingly, we hereby adopt the Opinion of the Court of Appeals and reproduce it in full herein: All Concur. The opinion of the court of Appeals is affirmed. LAMBERT, C.J., and COOPER, STEPHENS, STUMBO and WINTERSHEIMER, JJ ., concur. JOHNSTONE, J., files a separate opinion concurring in part and dissenting in part in which GRAVES, J., joins. JOHNSTONE, Justice, Concurring in Part, Dissenting in Part. Respectfully, I dissent, concerning one limited aspect of the opinion. The majority opinion implies that a rental company would be responsible for usage tax on charges due, even if the rental company is unable to collect the fees owed to it. This interpretation would be an overextension of the holding in Revenue Cabinet v. Budget Rent-A-Car, Ky., 704 S.W.2d 199 (1986), in which the issue was whether the tax was to be assessed on all charges in the rental transaction, not whether the rental agency would owe usage tax if the company is not paid by its customer. The pertinent statute (at issue in the case now before us) provides that tax assessments are to be made on gross charges paid by a customer. KRS 138.463(1). This does not include charges owed, but uncollectible. With this exception, I concur in the opinion in all other respects. GRAVES, J., joins. [1] Now Ky.Rev.Stat. (KRS) 281.014(3). References to statutes in this opinion will be to those in effect for the time period covered by the Cabinet's audit of Hook Chevrolet. [2] Penalties were originally assessed as well, but waived when Hook Chevrolet protested. [3] KRS 281.014(3), the section currently in effect, is identical. [4] The current version of this section provides for a usage tax rate of six percent (6%). [5] KRS 138.460(1) now provides for a tax rate of six percent (6%). [6] KRS 138.450(4) is now KRS 138.450(9) and is essentially the same. [7] Hook Chevrolet paid no usage taxes on these vehicles during the period covered by the audit. [8] The version of KRS 138.463(3) currently in effect is identical. [9] The current version of KRS 138.463(9) provides: "The usage tax reported and paid on every rental or lease of a vehicle registered pursuant to this section shall be based on the fair market rental or lease value of the vehicle.... However, the tax reported and paid to the Transportation Cabinet shall not be less than the amount due based on the actual terms of a rental or lease agreement. The burden of proving that the consideration charged by the holder satisfies this subsection is on the holder." [10] The current version of KRS 138.4631(1) is identical.