Colorado § 29-3-120 - Payment in lieu of taxes.

§ 29-3-120. Payment in lieu of taxes.

(1) Pursuant to section 4 of article X of the state constitution, all property owned by a county or municipality pursuant to this article shall be and remain exempt from taxation. Nevertheless, any county or municipality acquiring or extending any project as provided in this article shall annually pay, solely out of the revenues from the project and not from any other source, to the state of Colorado and to the city, town, school district, and any other political subdivision or public body corporate wherein such project is located, authorized to levy taxes, a sum equal to the amount of tax which the taxing entity would annually receive if the property were owned by any private person or corporation, any other statute to the contrary notwithstanding. In addition to the requirements of sections 29-3-113 and 29-3-114, the governing body, before entering into a financing agreement pursuant to this article, shall make a prior determination of sufficiency of revenues for the purposes of this section, and each financing agreement shall provide for revenues sufficient to meet the payments required by this section.

(2) If and to the extent the proceedings under which the bonds so provide, the county or municipality may agree to cooperate with the user of a project in connection with any administrative or judicial proceedings for determining the validity or amount of any such payments and may agree to appoint or designate and reserve the right in and for such user to take all action which the county or municipality may lawfully take in respect of such payments and all matters relating thereto, but such user shall bear and pay all costs and expenses of the county or municipality thereby incurred at the request of such user or by reason of any such action taken by such user in behalf of the county or municipality.

(3) Any user of a project which has paid, as revenues additional to those required to be paid pursuant to section 29-3-114, the amounts required by subsection (1) of this section to be paid by the county or municipality shall not be required to pay taxes on such property to the state or to any county, city, town, school district, or other political subdivision, any other statute to the contrary notwithstanding. In the event the project is owned by a private person or corporation, the financing agreement shall require such private person or corporation to pay the taxes which such taxing entity or entities are entitled to receive from such private person or corporation with respect to the project.

Source: L. 67: p. 677, § 20. C.R.S. 1963: § 36-24-20. L. 73: pp. 480, 482, §§ 15, 18.

ANNOTATION

The property of a county is specifically exempted from tax. Allardice v. Adams County, 173 Colo. 133, 476 P.2d 982 (1970).

It is the interest of the lessee — the leasehold — upon which the charge in lieu of taxes is made under this section. Allardice v. Adams County, 173 Colo. 133, 476 P.2d 982 (1970).

This section makes it clear that it was designed to fully comply with §§ 3, 4, 8, 9, and 10 of art. X, Colo. Const. Allardice v. Adams County, 173 Colo. 133, 476 P.2d 982 (1970).

The obligation imposed by this section is constitutional. The obligation under this section to make annual payments "in lieu of", but in the same amount as, taxes on the county-owned project does not violate §§ 3, 4, 8, 9, or 10 of art. X, Colo. Const. Allardice v. Adams County, 173 Colo. 133, 476 P.2d 982 (1970).

If rentals "in lieu of taxes", can be considered taxes, there is no lack of uniformity under this section, which authorizes the taxing of all lessees of "projects" on the same basis, as the tax on other property and the rents on municipal property for industrial uses operate equally and uniformly on all persons and corporations in like circumstances. Allardice v. Adams County, 173 Colo. 133, 476 P.2d 982 (1970).

This section is intended to apply only to ad valorem property taxes, not to any excise taxes. City of Pueblo v. Weed, 39 Colo. App. 415, 570 P.2d 15 (1977), rev'd on other grounds, 197 Colo. 52, 591 P.2d 80 (1979).