Opinion Letter No. 65-75
Contents of letter
January 9, 1975
WITHDRAWN
Honorable Donald L. Manford
Missouri Senate, 8th District
Room 334, State Capitol Building
Jefferson City, Missouri 65101
Dear Senator Manford:
This letter is issued in response to your request for a ruling on the question of whether certain real estate may be classified as actively devoted to agricultural or horticultural use in order to be assessed for general property tax purposes according to its value with respect to such use. You have asked whether such a policy may be enacted by statute or whether the Constitution of Missouri must be amended to permit such a change.
We would point out that Article X, Section 4(a) of the Constitution of Missouri provides in part as follows:
"All taxable property shall be classified for tax purposes as follows: class 1, real property; class 2, tangible personal property; class 3, intangible personal property. The general assembly, by general law, may provide for further classification within classes 2 and 3, based solely on the nature and characteristics of the property, and not on the nature, residence or business of the owner, or the amount owned. . . ."
This constitutional provision does not permit the subclassification of real property, as opposed to tangible personal property and intangible personal property. See Drey v. State Tax Commission, 345 S.W.2d 228, 236, 237 (Mo. 1961); Cupples Hesse Corporation v. State Tax Commission, 329 S.W.2d 696, 699 (Mo. 1959). Therefore, it is our opinion that a statute such as the one you have suggested will not be valid unless the Constitution of Missouri is amended to permit subclasses of real property to be assessed and taxed in a manner different from the principles governing assessment and taxation of real property generally.
Very truly yours,
John C. Danforth
Attorney General