Recent Judicial Decisions  
- Property tax; substantial completion law stricken. Florida's Third District Court of Appeal has held unconstitutional the Florida statute which provides that real property improvements are not to be assessed for property tax purposes until they are substantially completed. Fuchs v. Robbins, 24 FLa. L. Weekly D1529 (3rd DCA 1999). The court disagreed with the Fourth District Court of Appeal, which had upheld the statute in 1983. If the decision stands, anyone with property in the process of construction will pay tax on some "value" which the property appraiser will assign as of January 1 of the tax year. The case is now pending in the Florida Supreme Court, which received oral argument on May 11, 2000.

- Documentary tax; transfer to limited partnership taxable. In Muben-Lamar, L.P. v. Department of Revenue, 2000 WL 423459 (Fla. 1st DCA 2000), the First District Court of Appeal held that a capital contribution of real estate to a limited partnership, without any payment by the partnership, was subject to documentary tax measured by the fair market value of the realty. The Court acknowledged that its decision conflicts with Kuro v. Department of Revenue, 713 So. 2d 1021 (Fla. 2d DCA 1998), in which another court held that the tax did not apply to a contribution of realty to a corporation. The Florida Supreme Court initially granted cert and then dismissed it as improvidently granted by order dated June 28, 2001. See 789 So.2d 337.

Posted: 2000-11-15 00:00:00.0

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