59-2-102 (Superseded 01/01/09). Definitions.
As used in this chapter and title:
(1) "Aerial applicator" means aircraft or rotorcraft used exclusively for the purpose of
engaging in dispensing activities directly affecting agriculture or horticulture with an
airworthiness certificate from the Federal Aviation Administration certifying the aircraft or
rotorcraft's use for agricultural and pest control purposes.
(2) "Air charter service" means an air carrier operation which requires the customer to
hire an entire aircraft rather than book passage in whatever capacity is available on a scheduled
trip.
(3) "Air contract service" means an air carrier operation available only to customers who
engage the services of the carrier through a contractual agreement and excess capacity on any trip
and is not available to the public at large.
(4) "Aircraft" is as defined in Section 72-10-102.
(5) (a) Except as provided in Subsection (5)(b), "airline" means an air carrier that:
(i) operates:
(A) on an interstate route; and
(B) on a scheduled basis; and
(ii) offers to fly one or more passengers or cargo on the basis of available capacity on a
regularly scheduled route.
(b) "Airline" does not include an:
(i) air charter service; or
(ii) air contract service.
(6) "Assessment roll" means a permanent record of the assessment of property as
assessed by the county assessor and the commission and may be maintained manually or as a
computerized file as a consolidated record or as multiple records by type, classification, or
categories.
(7) (a) "Certified revenue levy" means a property tax levy that provides the same amount
of ad valorem property tax revenue as was collected for the prior year, plus new growth, but
exclusive of revenue from collections from redemptions, interest, and penalties.
(b) For purposes of this Subsection (7), "ad valorem property tax revenue" does not
include property tax revenue received by a taxing entity from personal property that is:
(i) assessed by a county assessor in accordance with Part 3, County Assessment; and
(ii) semiconductor manufacturing equipment.
(8) "County-assessed commercial vehicle" means:
(a) any commercial vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer which is not apportioned under Section
41-1a-301 and is not operated interstate to transport the vehicle owner's goods or property in
furtherance of the owner's commercial enterprise;
(b) any passenger vehicle owned by a business and used by its employees for
transportation as a company car or vanpool vehicle; and
(c) vehicles which are:
(i) especially constructed for towing or wrecking, and which are not otherwise used to
transport goods, merchandise, or people for compensation;
(ii) used or licensed as taxicabs or limousines;
(iii) used as rental passenger cars, travel trailers, or motor homes;
(iv) used or licensed in this state for use as ambulances or hearses;
(v) especially designed and used for garbage and rubbish collection; or
(vi) used exclusively to transport students or their instructors to or from any private,
public, or religious school or school activities.
(9) (a) Except as provided in Subsection (9)(b), for purposes of Section 59-2-801,
"designated tax area" means a tax area created by the overlapping boundaries of only the
following taxing entities:
(i) a county; and
(ii) a school district.
(b) Notwithstanding Subsection (9)(a), "designated tax area" includes a tax area created
by the overlapping boundaries of:
(i) the taxing entities described in Subsection (9)(a); and
(ii) (A) a city or town if the boundaries of the school district under Subsection (9)(a) and
the boundaries of the city or town are identical; or
(B) a special service district if the boundaries of the school district under Subsection
(9)(a) are located entirely within the special service district.
(10) "Eligible judgment" means a final and unappealable judgment or order under
Section 59-2-1330:
(a) that became a final and unappealable judgment or order no more than 14 months prior
to the day on which the notice required by Section 59-2-919.1 is required to be mailed; and
(b) for which a taxing entity's share of the final and unappealable judgment or order is
greater than or equal to the lesser of:
(i) $5,000; or
(ii) 2.5% of the total ad valorem property taxes collected by the taxing entity in the
previous fiscal year.
(11) (a) "Escaped property" means any property, whether personal, land, or any
improvements to the property, subject to taxation and is:
(i) inadvertently omitted from the tax rolls, assigned to the incorrect parcel, or assessed
to the wrong taxpayer by the assessing authority;
(ii) undervalued or omitted from the tax rolls because of the failure of the taxpayer to
comply with the reporting requirements of this chapter; or
(iii) undervalued because of errors made by the assessing authority based upon
incomplete or erroneous information furnished by the taxpayer.
(b) Property which is undervalued because of the use of a different valuation
methodology or because of a different application of the same valuation methodology is not
"escaped property."
(12) "Fair market value" means the amount at which property would change hands
between a willing buyer and a willing seller, neither being under any compulsion to buy or sell
and both having reasonable knowledge of the relevant facts. For purposes of taxation, "fair
market value" shall be determined using the current zoning laws applicable to the property in
question, except in cases where there is a reasonable probability of a change in the zoning laws
affecting that property in the tax year in question and the change would have an appreciable
influence upon the value.
(13) "Farm machinery and equipment," for purposes of the exemption provided under
Section 59-2-1101, means tractors, milking equipment and storage and cooling facilities, feed
handling equipment, irrigation equipment, harvesters, choppers, grain drills and planters, tillage
tools, scales, combines, spreaders, sprayers, haying equipment, and any other machinery or
equipment used primarily for agricultural purposes; but does not include vehicles required to be
registered with the Motor Vehicle Division or vehicles or other equipment used for business
purposes other than farming.
(14) "Geothermal fluid" means water in any form at temperatures greater than 120
degrees centigrade naturally present in a geothermal system.
(15) "Geothermal resource" means:
(a) the natural heat of the earth at temperatures greater than 120 degrees centigrade; and
(b) the energy, in whatever form, including pressure, present in, resulting from, created
by, or which may be extracted from that natural heat, directly or through a material medium.
(16) (a) "Goodwill" means:
(i) acquired goodwill that is reported as goodwill on the books and records:
(A) of a taxpayer; and
(B) that are maintained for financial reporting purposes; or
(ii) the ability of a business to:
(A) generate income:
(I) that exceeds a normal rate of return on assets; and
(II) resulting from a factor described in Subsection (16)(b); or
(B) obtain an economic or competitive advantage resulting from a factor described in
Subsection (16)(b).
(b) The following factors apply to Subsection (16)(a)(ii):
(i) superior management skills;
(ii) reputation;
(iii) customer relationships;
(iv) patronage; or
(v) a factor similar to Subsections (16)(b)(i) through (iv).
(c) "Goodwill" does not include:
(i) the intangible property described in Subsection (20)(a) or (b);
(ii) locational attributes of real property, including:
(A) zoning;
(B) location;
(C) view;
(D) a geographic feature;
(E) an easement;
(F) a covenant;
(G) proximity to raw materials;
(H) the condition of surrounding property; or
(I) proximity to markets;
(iii) value attributable to the identification of an improvement to real property, including:
(A) reputation of the designer, builder, or architect of the improvement;
(B) a name given to, or associated with, the improvement; or
(C) the historic significance of an improvement; or
(iv) the enhancement or assemblage value specifically attributable to the interrelation of
the existing tangible property in place working together as a unit.
(17) "Governing body" means:
(a) for a county, city, or town, the legislative body of the county, city, or town;
(b) for a local district under Title 17B, Limited Purpose Local Government Entities -
Local Districts, the local district's board of trustees;
(c) for a school district, the local board of education; or
(d) for a special service district under Title 17D, Chapter 1, Special Service District Act:
(i) the legislative body of the county or municipality that created the special service
district, to the extent that the county or municipal legislative body has not delegated authority to
an administrative control board established under Section 17D-1-301; or
(ii) the administrative control board, to the extent that the county or municipal legislative
body has delegated authority to an administrative control board established under Section
17D-1-301.
(18) (a) For purposes of Section 59-2-103:
(i) "household" means the association of persons who live in the same dwelling, sharing
its furnishings, facilities, accommodations, and expenses; and
(ii) "household" includes married individuals, who are not legally separated, that have
established domiciles at separate locations within the state.
(b) In accordance with Title 63G, Chapter 3, Utah Administrative Rulemaking Act, the
commission may make rules defining the term "domicile."
(19) (a) Except as provided in Subsection (19)(c), "improvement" means a building,
structure, fixture, fence, or other item that is permanently attached to land, regardless of whether
the title has been acquired to the land, if:
(i) (A) attachment to land is essential to the operation or use of the item; and
(B) the manner of attachment to land suggests that the item will remain attached to the
land in the same place over the useful life of the item; or
(ii) removal of the item would:
(A) cause substantial damage to the item; or
(B) require substantial alteration or repair of a structure to which the item is attached.
(b) "Improvement" includes:
(i) an accessory to an item described in Subsection (19)(a) if the accessory is:
(A) essential to the operation of the item described in Subsection (19)(a); and
(B) installed solely to serve the operation of the item described in Subsection (19)(a); and
(ii) an item described in Subsection (19)(a) that:
(A) is temporarily detached from the land for repairs; and
(B) remains located on the land.
(c) Notwithstanding Subsections (19)(a) and (b), "improvement" does not include:
(i) an item considered to be personal property pursuant to rules made in accordance with
Section 59-2-107;
(ii) a moveable item that is attached to land:
(A) for stability only; or
(B) for an obvious temporary purpose;
(iii) (A) manufacturing equipment and machinery; or
(B) essential accessories to manufacturing equipment and machinery;
(iv) an item attached to the land in a manner that facilitates removal without substantial
damage to:
(A) the land; or
(B) the item; or
(v) a transportable factory-built housing unit as defined in Section 59-2-1502 if that
transportable factory-built housing unit is considered to be personal property under Section
59-2-1503.
(20) "Intangible property" means:
(a) property that is capable of private ownership separate from tangible property,
including:
(i) moneys;
(ii) credits;
(iii) bonds;
(iv) stocks;
(v) representative property;
(vi) franchises;
(vii) licenses;
(viii) trade names;
(ix) copyrights; and
(x) patents;
(b) a low-income housing tax credit; or
(c) goodwill.
(21) "Low-income housing tax credit" means:
(a) a federal low-income housing tax credit under Section 42, Internal Revenue Code; or
(b) a low-income housing tax credit under:
(i) Section 59-7-607; or
(ii) Section 59-10-1010.
(22) "Metalliferous minerals" includes gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc, and uranium.
(23) "Mine" means a natural deposit of either metalliferous or nonmetalliferous valuable
mineral.
(24) "Mining" means the process of producing, extracting, leaching, evaporating, or
otherwise removing a mineral from a mine.
(25) (a) "Mobile flight equipment" means tangible personal property that is:
(i) owned or operated by an:
(A) air charter service;
(B) air contract service; or
(C) airline; and
(ii) (A) capable of flight;
(B) attached to an aircraft that is capable of flight; or
(C) contained in an aircraft that is capable of flight if the tangible personal property is
intended to be used:
(I) during multiple flights;
(II) during a takeoff, flight, or landing; and
(III) as a service provided by an air charter service, air contract service, or airline.
(b) (i) "Mobile flight equipment" does not include a spare part other than a spare engine
that is rotated:
(A) at regular intervals; and
(B) with an engine that is attached to the aircraft.
(ii) In accordance with Title 63G, Chapter 3, Utah Administrative Rulemaking Act, the
commission may make rules defining the term "regular intervals."
(26) "Nonmetalliferous minerals" includes, but is not limited to, oil, gas, coal, salts, sand,
rock, gravel, and all carboniferous materials.
(27) "Personal property" includes:
(a) every class of property as defined in Subsection (28) which is the subject of
ownership and not included within the meaning of the terms "real estate" and "improvements";
(b) gas and water mains and pipes laid in roads, streets, or alleys;
(c) bridges and ferries;
(d) livestock which, for the purposes of the exemption provided under Section
59-2-1112, means all domestic animals, honeybees, poultry, fur-bearing animals, and fish; and
(e) outdoor advertising structures as defined in Section 72-7-502.
(28) (a) "Property" means property that is subject to assessment and taxation according to
its value.
(b) "Property" does not include intangible property as defined in this section.
(29) "Public utility," for purposes of this chapter, means the operating property of a
railroad, gas corporation, oil or gas transportation or pipeline company, coal slurry pipeline
company, electrical corporation, telephone corporation, sewerage corporation, or heat corporation
where the company performs the service for, or delivers the commodity to, the public generally
or companies serving the public generally, or in the case of a gas corporation or an electrical
corporation, where the gas or electricity is sold or furnished to any member or consumers within
the state for domestic, commercial, or industrial use. Public utility also means the operating
property of any entity or person defined under Section 54-2-1 except water corporations.
(30) "Real estate" or "real property" includes:
(a) the possession of, claim to, ownership of, or right to the possession of land;
(b) all mines, minerals, and quarries in and under the land, all timber belonging to
individuals or corporations growing or being on the lands of this state or the United States, and
all rights and privileges appertaining to these; and
(c) improvements.
(31) "Residential property," for the purposes of the reductions and adjustments under this
chapter, means any property used for residential purposes as a primary residence. It does not
include property used for transient residential use or condominiums used in rental pools.
(32) (a) "State-assessed commercial vehicle" means:
(i) any commercial vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer which operates interstate or intrastate to
transport passengers, freight, merchandise, or other property for hire; or
(ii) any commercial vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer which operates interstate and transports
the vehicle owner's goods or property in furtherance of the owner's commercial enterprise.
(b) "State-assessed commercial vehicle" does not include vehicles used for hire which
are specified in Subsection (8)(c) as county-assessed commercial vehicles.
(33) "Taxable value" means fair market value less any applicable reduction allowed for
residential property under Section 59-2-103.
(34) "Tax area" means a geographic area created by the overlapping boundaries of one or
more taxing entities.
(35) "Taxing entity" means any county, city, town, school district, special taxing district,
local district under Title 17B, Limited Purpose Local Government Entities - Local Districts, or
other political subdivision of the state with the authority to levy a tax on property.
(36) "Tax roll" means a permanent record of the taxes charged on property, as extended
on the assessment roll and may be maintained on the same record or records as the assessment
roll or may be maintained on a separate record properly indexed to the assessment roll. It
includes tax books, tax lists, and other similar materials.
Amended by Chapter 231, 2008 General Session
Amended by Chapter 283, 2008 General Session
Amended by Chapter 360, 2008 General Session
Amended by Chapter 382, 2008 General Session
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Last revised: Wednesday, July 23, 2008