Request By:
Mr. Roger Peterman
Executive Director
Kentucky Development Finance Authority
24th Floor
Capital Plaza Tower
Frankfort, Kentucky 40601
Opinion
Opinion By: Steven L. Beshear, Attorney General; By: Alex W. Rose, Assistant Attorney General
A letter from Mr. Jeffrey Hobart, an attorney on the Legal Staff of the Commerce Cabinet, has requested an opinion as to the entitlement to exemption from ad valorem property taxation for real estate 50% of which is owned by the Kentucky Development Finance Authority (hereinafter the Authority).
The Authority was created by statute and is a public agency of the state. KRS 154.005 specifically states that the purposes of the Authority are public purposes. One of the purposes of the Authority is to lend money to businesses, taking a mortgage on the real estate to secure the loan. If the business defaults, the Authority then becomes an owner of the real estate.
In the case presented by your letter, the Authority has acquired 50% ownership of a piece of real estate. The real estate was acquired by the Authority on December 18, 1979. The real estate is to be sold during 1981.
Property owned by the Authority is exempt from ad valorem property taxation under § 170 of the Constitution as "public property used for public purposes." See
Travis v. Landrum, Ky.App., 607 S.W.2d 124 (1980).
The exemption, however, is limited to the extent of the Authority's ownership interest (here 50%) and the time that the land is actually owned by the Authority. See OAG 81-231 Copy attached.