Request By:
Mr. J. Gary Bale
General Counsel
Office of Legal Services
Kentucky Department of Education
Capital Plaza Tower
Frankfort, Kentucky 40601
Opinion
Opinion By: David L. Armstrong, Attorney General; Nathan Goldman, Assistant Attorney General
In your letter to the Attorney General you ask whether the state Department of Education is required to certify the tax rate on motor vehicles pursuant to KRS 132.487(2).
KRS 132.487(2) was amended in 1984 to read, in part:
"Except as otherwise provided by law, the tax rate levied by . . . schools . . . on motor vehicles shall not exceed the rate that could have been levied on motor vehicles by the district on the January 1, 1983 assessments."
KRS 157.564(1) was amended in 1985 to read, in part:
"Notwithstanding any statutory provisions to the contrary, effective for school years beginning on or after July 1, 1986, the board of education of each school district shall levy for general school purposes a minimum equivalent tax rate of twenty-five (25) cents or the maximum rate supported by the common school district power equalization program in that or the next subsequent school year as provided for in KRS 157.555 and 157.560, whichever is greater. Equivalent tax rate is defined as the rate which results when the income collected during the prior year from all taxes levied by the district for school purposes is divided by the total assessed value of property plus the assessment for motor vehicles certified by the Commonwealth of Kentucky revenue cabinet."
Prior to 1985, KRS 157.564(1) required school districts to levy a 15 cent ad valorem tax rate on all property including motor vehicles. The Department of Education interpreted KRS 157.564(1) as superseding KRS 132.487(2) and required school districts to levy a 15 cent rate on motor vehicles. For many districts this rate was greater than the maximum rate allowed under KRS 132.487(2).
The 1984 amendment to KRS 157.564 creates an equivalent tax rate in place of the ad valorem tax rate. The equivalent tax rate is the resulting rate from all taxes levied by the district divided by the assessed value of all property including motor vehicles. Some districts may achieve an equivalent tax rate of 25 cents without having to levy a tax rate of 15 cents on motor vehicles. Your question involves those districts and asks whether the maximum rate allowed by KRS 132.487(2) would again be in effect. To illustrate: District A has an equivalent tax rate of 25 cents which it achieves without the necessity of a 15 cent rate on motor vehicles. The 1983 rate [which would be the maximum allowed by KRS 132.487(2)] was 7 cents. The rate levied in 1985 pursuant to the prior KRS 157.564 was 15 cents.
In our opinion, District A in our illustration could not levy a rate exceeding 7 cents on motor vehicles for 1986. KRS 132.487(2) was not repealed. It is still effective. The amendment to KRS 157.564 in 1985 made a situation possible whereby KRS 132.487(2) would effect the tax rate of certain districts on motor vehicles. KRS 132.487(2) is a more specific statute on motor vehicle tax rates than KRS 157.564. The specific governs over the general. Land v. Newsome, Ky., 614 S.W.2d 948 (1981). Thus, in those cases where an equivalent tax rate of 25 cents is achieved without the necessity of levying a 15 cent rate on motor vehicles, KRS 132.487(2) would apply to limit the maximum rate permitted on motor vehicles.
In conclusion, it is our opinion that the state Department of Education is required to certify. tax rates on motor vehicles for school districts pursuant to KRS 132.487(2).