STATE OF SOUTH DAKOTA
OFFICE OF
THE ATTORNEY GENERAL

November 22, 1971

The Honorable Maurice A. Olson
Representative, District Nineteen
Waubay, South Dakota 57273

OFFICIAL OPINION NO. 71-58

Doubled taxation of snowmobiles authorized during 1971.

Dear Honorable Olson:

You have asked for an opinion on the following factual situation:

Prior to this year, snowmobiles have been taxed as personal property. The 1971 Legislature enacted a bill taxing snowmobiles as motor vehicles. Snowmobile owners in 1971 had to list their vehicles on their personal property inventories prior to July 1st. After July 1st, when the law went into effect, the owners also had to pay a motor vehicle tax on the same piece of property.

Your question is as follows:

Will the 1971 licensure law entitle the owners of snowmobiles to a reduction in their personal property taxes?

All personal property in this state, and all personal property belonging to persons residing in this state, is subject to taxation, and such property shall be listed by the taxpayer each year. SDCL 10-4-1. The value of such property is to be determined according to its value on the first day of February. SDCL 10-6-2.

One of the exceptions to the personal property listing is licensed motor vehicles. SDCL 32-5-78. Prior to 1971, snowmobiles were not classified as motor vehicles, and were not licensed. However, the 1971 Legislature passed Senate Bill 24 (now SDCL 32-5-9.1) which provided snowmobiles should be licensed and taxed as motor vehicles. This law did not become effective until July 1, 1971.

The assessment date for owners of personal property is fixed at January 2nd. SDCL 10-6-3. Personal property must be assessed during the first six months of each year. SDCL 10-6-2. Therefore, anyone owning a snowmobile on .January 2, 1971 is legally obligated to list that vehicle on his personal property tax form. The exception for vehicles which are subject to license fees would not apply as the exception was not in existence until July 1, 1971. I am unable to find any legislation which would authorize the removal of this class of property from a tax listing, after it has once been included. Nor am I able to find any authorization for a pro rata reduction of personal property taxes due to this change in the law. In the absence of a law to the contrary, it is my opinion that persons owning a snowmobile on January 2, 1971 would have to pay personal property taxes on it for the entire year of 1971 in addition to paying the motor vehicle license fee.

My predecessors have issued previous opinions on this topic. In 1941-42 AGR 416, it was held that all motor vehicles not licensed; as of the assessment date should be assessed as personal property. In 1943-44 AGR 181, the opinion was upheld. The Attorney General added also that payment of the personal property taxes could not be avoided by procuring a license plate subsequent to the assessment date.

Although equity would seem to require an abatement of personal property taxes in this instance, it appears to be a valid exercise of legislative authority. In the Case of Martin Co. v. Drake,  41 N.W. 942, the Minnesota Supreme Court had this to say about the equity of taxation:

All tax laws have to fix upon some particular date in the year at which to determine the taxability as well as the ownership and value of property for the purposes of assessment and taxation.... Every man must pay taxes on what he then owns, and at its then value, no matter how short a time he may have owned it or how soon thereafter it is lost. All property, if in being as taxable property at that date, is liable to taxation for that year at its then value, although it may be only have come into being the day before, and may be, in whole or in part, destroyed the very day after.

It should be emphasized that license fees for snowmobiles are not required under the law. If a person wishes to purchase a snowmobile and use it only on his own property, never crossing a public highway, he would not be required to purchase a license. However, on any assessment date on which the vehicle was not properly licensed, the snowmobile owner would be required to list the snowmobile as personal property.

Respectfully submitted,

Gordon Mydland
Attorney General