Opinion ID: 2546268
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Initial Tax Disputes

Text: ¶ 10 The agreement between Alliant and the BOE was intended to settle disputes for tax years 1995 through 1999 .... [and] include[d] all claims in all outstanding actions for those tax years involving real and personal property [and] NIROP. The outstanding actions for tax years 1995 through 1999 all relate to contests over the Assessor's valuation of Alliant's property in Salt Lake County, and can be organized into three separate groups. ¶ 11 The first is the Independent Action filed by Alliant in district court in February 1998. This action involved statutory and constitutional challenges to the Assessor's assessment of federal property that Alliant operates under control of the United States Navy (the Naval Industrial Reserve Ordinance Plant or NIROP). Alliant's complaint sought declaratory relief, alleging that taxation of the NIROP property violated the Constitution and requesting a refund of taxes paid under protest. Alliant also sought injunctive relief against the payment of future taxes on the NIROP property. Nevertheless, it continued to pay the taxes under protest until the case was decided. When Alliant and the BOE entered into their settlement agreement in December 2000, the matter was still pending before the district tax court. ¶ 12 The second group of cases covers the tax assessments of Alliant's real and personal property for tax years 1995 and 1996 (the 95-96 valuation dispute). In 1995, Alliant's real property was originally assessed at $168,801,600. On appeal to the board of equalization, Alliant sought to reduce the value assessment to $82,865,641 and the Assessor sought a reduction to $152,725,521. The board upheld the Assessor's reduced assessment. In 1996 Alliant's real property was assessed at $168,003,500. Before the board of equalization, Alliant sought to reduce the assessment to $82,965,641, while the Assessor sought an increase to $253,197,000. Ultimately, the board upheld the Assessor's original valuation. ¶ 13 Alliant appealed these decisions to the tax commission. Before the commission, the real property issues for 1995 and 1996 were separated from the personal property issues for those years. In November 1999, the commission rendered a decision on the real property assessments for both years, sustaining the values established by the board of equalization. Subsequently, Alliant filed multiple Petitions for Review of the commission's decision to the district court. In May 2000, these petitions were consolidated, and the appeal was transferred to tax judge Lynn Davis, before whom was pending the Independent Action involving the same parties. At the time of the settlement between the parties, the real property cases from the 95-96 valuation dispute were pending before the district court while the personal property cases from that dispute remained pending before the tax commission. ¶ 14 The third group of cases includes Alliant's contests over the Assessor's valuations of its real and personal property for tax years 1997 through 1999 (the 97-99 valuation dispute). Similar to the 95-96 valuation dispute, Alliant appealed the initial assessment of its property to the board of equalization. However, to facilitate the resolution of those appeals, the parties stipulated to a decision by the board that was adverse to Alliant and upheld the Assessor's original assessments. They then brought the matter before the tax commission where a formal hearing date was set for November 2000. The parties stipulated to a continuance of this hearing, however, in order to discuss a settlement agreement.