Opinion ID: 2794543
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Valuation of

Text: Personal Property Prior to 1992, personal property, like real property, was valued at its actual value.13 A series of federal and state court decisions prompted changes to Nebraska’s framework for taxation of personal property.14 In 1992, voters approved an amendment to portions of Neb. Const. art. VIII, §§ 1 and 2.15 As amended, article VIII, § 1, provided that “tangible personal property, as defined by the Legislature, not exempted by this Constitution or by legislation, shall all be taxed at depreciated cost using the same depreciation method with reasonable class lives, as determined by the Legislature, or shall all be taxed by valuation uniformly and proportionately.” And, as amended, article VIII, § 2, provided that “the Legislature may exempt inventory from taxation” and that “the Legislature may define and classify personal property in such manner as it sees fit, whether by type, use, user, or owner, and may exempt any such class or classes of property from taxation if such exemption is reasonable or may exempt all personal property from taxation.” By means of special sessions, the Nebraska Legislature adopted the legislation necessary to implement these constitutional changes.16 Effective January 1, 1992, personal property, unless expressly exempt from taxation, was to be valued at its net book v­ alue.17 The county board of equalization and the State Board of Equalization and Assessment—TERC’s predecessor—were 13 See Neb. Rev. Stat. § 77-201(1) (Supp. 1991). 14 See, generally, MAPCO Ammonia Pipeline v. State Bd. of Equal., 238 Neb. 565, 471 N.W.2d 734 (1991). 15 See 1992 Neb. Laws, L.R. 219CA. 16 See 1992 Neb. Laws, L.B. 1, 2d Spec. Sess. (Aug. 12, 1992) and 4th Spec. Sess. (Nov. 12, 1992). 17 See § 77-201(3) (Reissue 1996). Nebraska Advance Sheets CARGILL MEAT SOLUTIONS v. COLFAX CTY. BD. OF EQUAL. 733 Cite as 290 Neb. 726 no longer required to equalize the values of personal property, but their obligation to equalize the values of real property remained.18