Court Opinion

ID: 9560101
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-21 17:42:56.476253+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:12:09.040880
License: Public Domain

VAN HOOMISSEN, J.,
dissenting.
I respectfully dissent. I would hold that ORS 308.205(3) does not violate the uniformity requirements of Article I, section 32, of the Oregon Constitution.
The legislature had a rational basis for concluding that “holding time” or “time-for-sale” affects the market value of property, entitling the owner to differentiated valuation methods that recognize such factors in the property’s assessment value. The decision to draw the line at “four or more lots under one ownership” is not arbitrary. This unique tax treatment was intended to benefit those who are in the business of subdivision. It was appropriate for the legislature to define the tax class of ownership covered by the measure in the same terms as the subdivision statutes, which have a similar rationale.
*68DEFERENCE TO LEGISLATIVE ACTION
This case involves this court’s relationship to, and respect for, a coordinate branch of government. This court traditionally has given great deference to the legislature in its judgments and determinations. We have expressed a strong reluctance to find statutes to be unconstitutional. We also have stated that we should indulge every presumption in favor of validity and declare no act of the legislature void unless its invalidity is shown beyond a reasonable doubt. State v. Anthony, 179 Or 282, 301, 169 P2d 587 (1946). In my view, the majority has not followed these rules in this case. The majority has not overcome the presumption that ORS 308.205(3) is valid. The majority has not looked hard enough to discern a rational, non-arbitrary basis for the legislature’s conclusion that the true cash value of one class of property should be calculated in a manner which is different from the manner in which the true cash value of a different class of property is calculated.
CONSTITUTIONAL HISTORY
In 1917, the people inserted the phrase “all taxation shall be uniform on the same class of subjects” into Article I, section 32, of the Oregon Constitution.1 Before 1917, Article I, *69section 32, required that “all taxation shall be equal and uniform.” The pre-amendment language was construed to require that the rate of taxation “be absolutely equal upon all property of whatever kind * * * [and] property was required to be valued and taxed at equal rates.” Standard Lbr. Co. v. Pierce, 112 Or 314, 334, 228 P 812 (1924).
The 1917 constitutional amendment permitted “classification of property in respect to its nature, condition or class, and the imposition thereon of different rates of taxation upon different classes of property.” Id. at 335. In fact, “the primary purpose of the 1917 amendment was to permit classification.” Jarvill v. City of Eugene, 289 Or 157, 177, 613 P2d 1 (1980). “This power to classify includes the authority to subclassify persons included in the general class.” Id. at 183. In addition to allowing classification for different rates of taxation, the amendment also allowed taxing authorities to classify property and impose different methods of valuation on the classes of property. Robinson v. State Tax Com., 216 Or 532, 536, 339 P2d 432 (1959).
The power to make classifications of property for taxing purposes is solely in the hands of the taxing authority, in this case the legislature. See Standard Lbr. Co. v. Pierce, supra, 112 Or at 336 (“among the members or objects included in a class selected by the legislature, inherent urdformity as well as territorial uniformity is required”). The legislature has wide discretion in the exercise of its power to create tax classifications. Knight v. Dept. of Revenue, 293 Or 267, 271, 646 P2d 1343 (1982); Jarvill v. City of Eugene, supra, 289 Or at 178; Huckaba v. Johnson, 281 Or 23, 25, 573 P2d 305 (1978); Dutton Lbr. Corp v. Tax Com., 228 Or 525, 539, 365 P2d 867 (1961).
CLASSIFICATION
The discretion to classify and to subclassify, however, is not unfettered. A classification must have a “rational basis.” In Huckaba v. Johnson, supra, this court stated:
“What is required in assessing a constitutional challenge to classification for tax benefit is a review of the grounds for the classification to determine if it rests upon a rational basis. The legislature may make distinctions of degree having a rational basis, and when subjected to judicial scrutiny they must be presumed to rest on that basis if there is any conceivable state of facts which would support it. It, however, is not sufficient to *70merely point out differences between the groups of taxpayers for divergent treatment. The differences justifying the attempted classification must bear a reasonable relationship to the legislative purpose.” 281 Or at 26 (citations omitted).
Moreover, once the legislature has created a rational classification, the tax must be uniform within that classification. Or Const Art I, § 32.
The majority perverts this rational basis standard of review. In rejecting potential bases for the classification at issue, the majority repeatedly refers to the legislative history of the 1989 amendment adding subsection (3) to ORS 308.205. For example, the majority makes such statements as:
“A close examination of legislative history confirms that the land division statutes were the only source of the attempted numerical classification excluding three but including four.” 312 Or at 61-62.
“There simply is no indication that the legislature intended to require other taxpayers to pay a part of a subdivider’s property taxes.” 312 Or at 66.
“[N]othing in the legislative history supports reading the statute as a consciously enacted exemption, tax benefit, or subsidy.” 312 Or at 66.
This focus on the legislative history of the provision at issue to determine that provision’s validity is a sharp break from the traditionally deferential level of review provided to this category of legislation. In our review of such legislation in the past, we have looked to the standard, quoted above, in Huckaba v. Johnson, supra, that the validity of the legislation must be sustained if there is any conceivable rational basis to support it. In contrast, in the past, we have rejected the view that we look to only those bases which are clearly articulated and dutifully recorded in the legislative history. In reviewing the legislation in this case the majority should be asking the question, “Could the legislature enact this statute as an exemption, tax benefit, or subsidy,” not whether such an intent is clearly expressed in the legislative history.
By ignoring potential rational bases that the legislature could have considered (not necessarily did consider), the majority is applying a standard of review far more rigorous than our traditional test requires in these taxation cases. In my view, *71it is “conceivable” that the legislature enacted this provision on one or more of the grounds pointed to by the majority. Any such ground, moreover, would also be rational, at a minimum, as an aid to the benefited industry, i.e., economic development.
A. Rational Basis for Classification
This case involves a legislative classification of property on which a unique method of valuation is imposed. In general, all property, real or personal, is required to be valued and assessed at 100 percent of its true cash value. ORS 308.232. Before 1989, “true cash value” was defined:
“True cash value of all property, real and personal, means the market value of the property as of the assessment date. True cash value in all cases shall be determined by methods and procedures in accordance with rules adopted by the Department of Revenue and in accordance with the following:
“(1) If the property has no immediate market value, its true cash value is the amount of money that would justly compensate the owner for loss of the property.
‘! (2) If the property is subject to governmental restriction as to use on the assessment date under applicable law or regulation, true cash value shall not be based upon sales that reflect for the property a market value that the property would have if the use of the property were not subject to the restriction unless adjustments in value are made reflecting the effect of restrictions.” ORS 308.205 (1987).
In 1989, the legislature amended the definition of true cash value by adding the so-called “developer’s discount.” Or Laws 1989, ch 796, § 30. That provision provides:
“(3) If the property consists of four or more lots within one subdivision, and the lots are held under one ownership, the lots shall be valued under a method which recognizes the time period over which those lots must be sold in order to realize current market prices.” ORS 308.205(3).
With the implementation of the “developer’s discount,” the legislature exercised its power under Article I, section 32, to create a classification of real property and impose a method of valuation on that class that differs from the method of valuation for other kinds of real property.2 See Robinson v. *72State Tax Com., supra (different methods of valuation legitimate for different classes of property).
In my opinion, there is a rational basis on which the legislature could have determined that the class selected was unique and worthy of unique tax treatment. The legislative classification is based on “inherent, qualitative, genuine, rational differences between the classes of properly to be accorded different treatment.” 312 Or at 60.
The legislative history of ORS 308.205(3) and the plain language of the statute reveal the basis on which the classification in the statute was authorized by the legislature, i.e., the effect of holding-time on the market value of certain property. The assumption behind the classification is straightforward and is backed by common sense and experience. It takes longer to sell four or more lots than it does to sell three or fewer. The legislators were apprised of this reality. For example, the attorney for the Oregon Homebuilders Association and original author of the amendment explained to the Senate Committee on Revenue and School Finance:
“So what we’re attempting to recognize here is that when the single lot owner sells, he gets $14,000. When the owner of 31 sells, he gets only $9,000 per lot, and that’s looking to the market.” Testimony of David Carmichael, Senate Committee on Revenue and School Finance (SB 2338), May 24,1989, Tape 166, Side B, Cue No. 354.
In its review of the legislative history, the majority notes:
“The recorded discussion is but an argument that a more accurate current assessed value will be obtained by applying this method [of valuation] to individual lots that may, arguably, take some time to sell * * 312 Or at 66.
The valuation method eventually implemented was adopted to expressly recognize “the time period over which those lots must be sold in order to realize current market prices.” ORS 308.205(3). The effect of holding-time on the market value of *73certain property is at least one basis on which the legislature could rationally create a classification.
The department argues in its brief that, generally, lots in a given subdivision will be of relatively uniform size, and it is reasonable to conclude that the aggregate size of four or more lots will be greater than three or fewer. Assuming this to be true, the legislature also could have concluded that the market value of a large piece of ‘ ‘property consisting of four or more lots within one subdivision, under one ownership,” may be different than a smaller piece of property and, therefore, would require a unique method of valuation. For example, this court has also recognized distinctions in the marketability of larger and smaller parcels of land. See, e.g., Ward v. Dept. of Revenue, 293 Or 506, 510, 650 P2d 923 (1982) (“The market value of a large parcel does not necessarily equal the sum of the market value of the parts into which that parcel may be divided or subdivided because smaller parcels may be more readily marketable”).
B. Reasonable Relationship to Permissible Objective
The majority never evaluates the effect of holding-time on the market value of certain property as a conceivable state of facts supporting a classification of that property for differentiated tax treatment. Is not “a more accurate current assessed value” a permissible legislative objective? Why may the legislature not rationally determine that a certain class of lots does, in fact, take longer to sell and, thus, requires unique tax treatment? Why does the statute not reasonably relate to the legislative goal?
The legislature was careful in deciding that property consisting of four or more lots in single ownership in one subdivision is the type of property which is entitled to a differentiated method of valuation for tax purposes. As the majority correctly states, the number “four or more” was not “drawn out of a hat.” Wfiiether or not property consists of four or more lots is the initial dividing line between whether the property is, or is not, a subdivision. ORS 92.010(13); 92.010(14). If a piece of property consists of four or more lots, then that property is subject to subdivision laws and regulations. That is why the legislature drew the line where it did. The classification bears a reasonable relationship to the end it sought to achieve.
*74The majority understands the department’s argument that the legislature “borrowed” the number “four or more” from the subdivision statute to be: “What number shall we use? Well, we used the phrase ‘four or more’ in the subdivision law and that number seems to work there, so we might as well use it here.” The majority then reasons that just because the number “four or more” is good for one purpose does not mean that it is good for another. The majority misunderstands the department’s argument. The department does not argue that the number was merely borrowed from the subdivision laws, and that any number is as good as any other. Rather, the department argues that the legislature specifically chose that number because it was used in the subdivision laws, i.e., that there was a direct relationship between the number used in the subdivision laws and its use in the 1989 statutory amendments. Minutes, House Committee on Revenue and School Finance, April 6, 1989, at 5; Tape 81, Side B, Cue No. 261.
The legislature easily could have concluded that the tax treatment of property in a subdivision might influence the development of subdivisions. For example, a land developer contemplating a decision to subdivide a parcel of land (create four or more lots) inevitably is faced with the prospect of paying taxes on that subdivision. Without the tax treatment of a subdivision (four or more lots) provided for in ORS 308.205(3), if the developer decides to subdivide (create four or more lots), the developer will be forced to pay taxes on the retail value of each individual lot while it is being held for sale. That developer might conclude that it is not economically feasible to subdivide (create four or more lots) the property. The legislature rationally could conclude that that would have undesirable economic impacts for the state. In short, the legislature had a rational reason for granting differentiated tax treatment for property consisting of four or more lots within one subdivision under one ownership, as is permitted by the 1989 amendments to ORS 308.205.
The process of subdivision development typically results in smaller parcels with a greater aggregate taxable market value than the original large, undivided parcel. See Ward v. Dept. of Revenue, supra, 293 Or at 510. The legislature reasonably could have recognized the ultimate tax benefits accruing to the state from the process of subdivision and could *75reasonably have chosen to facilitate the process by recognizing pre-sale holding costs in the tax valuation system.
The majority notes that the subdivision laws
“do not relate to taxation and, thus, are not themselves within the scope of the uniformity in taxation mandate of Article I, section 32. Land division regulations are, therefore, not directly subject to Article I, section 32.” 312 Or at 61.
Whether the subdivision laws are subject to Article I, section 32, however, is of no consequence. The question at issue is whether the legislature had a rational basis for creating a classification that is subject to Article I, section'32. For the reasons noted above, I believe that it did. The classification contained in ORS 308.205(3) is rationally based and is reasonably related to a permissible legislative objective. Therefore, the classification is valid.
Carson, J., joins in this dissent.

 Preliminarily, it should be noted that there is but one necessary constitutional analysis to determine the validity of ORS 308.205(3). Taxpayers argue that both Article I, section 32, and Article IX, section 1, of the Oregon Constitution are violated by the taxing scheme at issue. Article I, section 32, provides in part:
“[A]I1 taxation shall be uniform on the same class of subjects within the territorial limits of the authority levying the tax.”
Article IX, section 1, provides in part:
“The Legislative Assembly shall * * * provide by law uniform rules of assessment and taxation. All taxes shall be levied and collected under general laws operating uniformly throughout the state.”
The majority holds that the legislative classification at issue here is void because it violates Article I, section 32. Because it decides this case under Article I, section 32, itdoesnot further consider the question under Article IX, section 1. This implies that a separate analysis may be required under Article IX, section 1, if the statute at issue is found to be consistent with Article I, section 32. That implication, however, is inconsistent with our case law which expressly states that Article I, section 32, and Article IX, section 1, are to be read together. Jarvill v. City of Eugene, 289 Or 157, 171 n 15, 613 P2d 1 (1980); State ex rel. v. Malheur County Court, 185 Or 392, 411, 203 P2d 305 (1949). For purposes of this case, the analysis under both provisions is the same, because, read together, both provisions permit the legislature to classify the subjects of taxation. Knight v. Dept. of Revenue, 293 Or 267, 271, 646 P2d 1343 (1982).

 The department first recognized the “developer’s discount” in 1983. In First Interstate Bank v. Dept. of Rev., 306 Or 450, 760 P2d 880 (1988), however, this court *72held that ORS 308.205, as it then existed, did not permit the department to use the “developer’s discount” for property tax valuation. In response to this court’s decision in First Interstate Bank, the 1989 legislature amended that statute, giving the department specific authority to continue its former practice. Thus, the legislative history leaves no doubt but that the legislature specifically intended to authorize the “developer’s discount” at issue in this case.