Opinion ID: 1587456
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Sovereign Immunity from Taxation

Text: It is well settled that the State is immune from taxation. See Fla. Dep't of Revenue v. City of Gainesville, 918 So.2d 250, 255 (Fla.2005); Dickinson v. City of Tallahassee, 325 So.2d 1, 3 (Fla.1975). [4] We have explained that [p]recedent and logic both dictate that the sovereign's general freedom from taxation derives from an `immunity,' not from an `exemption.' Dickinson, 325 So.2d at 3. Further, we have observed that the immunity of State-owned lands from taxation is not dependent upon statutory or constitutional provisions but rests upon broad grounds of fundamentals in government. State ex rel. Charlotte County v. Alford, 107 So.2d 27, 29 (Fla.1958). Thus, in Dickinson we cited with approval Orlando Utilities Commission v. Milligan, 229 So.2d 262 (Fla. 4th DCA 1969), in which the Fourth District Court of Appeal clarified the distinction between an exemption and immunity: Exemption presupposes the existence of a power to tax whereas immunity connotes the absence of that power. The state and its political subdivisions, like a county, are immune from taxation since there is no power to tax them. 325 So.2d at 3 (quoting Milligan, 229 So.2d at 264); see also City of Gainesville, 918 So.2d at 255. Despite the State's immunity, within constitutional limits, the Legislature may provide for the taxation of lands or other property of the State. Alford, 107 So.2d at 29. However, the authority to tax the State cannot be inferred. Such authority must be manifested by clear and direct expression of the State's intention to subject itself to the tax. Dickinson, 325 So.2d at 4.