Bogus Basin Recreational Ass'n, Inc. v. Boise County Bd. of Equalization

• Decision Date: 25 October 1990
• Docket Number: 17676,Nos. 17643,s. 17643
• Citation: 118 Idaho 686,799 P.2d 974
• Parties: BOGUS BASIN RECREATIONAL ASSOCIATION, INC., an Idaho non-profit corporation, Appellant-Respondent on Appeal, v. BOISE COUNTY BOARD OF EQUALIZATION; County of Boise; and Boise County Board of County Commissioners, sitting as the Board of Equalization, Appellees-Appellants on Appeal, and Idaho State Tax Commission, Intervenor-Appellant on Appeal.
• Court: Idaho Supreme Court

Page 974

799 P.2d 974

118 Idaho 686

BOGUS BASIN RECREATIONAL ASSOCIATION, INC., an Idaho non-profit corporation, Appellant-Respondent on Appeal, v. BOISE COUNTY BOARD OF EQUALIZATION; County of Boise; and Boise County Board of County Commissioners, sitting as the Board of Equalization, Appellees-Appellants on Appeal and Idaho State Tax Commission, Intervenor-Appellant on Appeal.

Nos. 17643, 17676.

Supreme Court of Idaho.

Oct. 25, 1990.

Jim Jones, Atty. Gen., and Kelly W. Wright, Deputy Atty. Gen., (argued) Boise, for appellant Tax Com'n.

J. Patrick Riceci, Boise, for appellant Boise County.

Eberle, Berlin, Kading, Turnbow & Gillespie, Boise, for respondent. Berry Newall Squyres, Jr., argued.

BISTLINE, Justice.

The Bogus Basin Recreational Association (BBRA) is a non-profit organization which has been incorporated since 1941 and which has operated the Bogus Basin Ski Area since 1953. The BBRA has a two-tiered governing structure which consists of a fifty-member community body selected by the board of directors; the thirteen-member board is in turn elected by the fifty community representatives. Neither body's members are compensated in any way, with the exception of free skiing privileges for the board of directors.

The bylaws and articles of incorporation of the BBRA provide that any income from the corporation should be reinvested in the recreation facilities. No stock in the corporation is to be issued, nor are any members of the corporation to have any vested interest in the property or assets of the corporation. If the corporation is dissolved, its property and assets are to be transferred to any non-profit entity (or entities) organized to pursue recreational activities for the benefit of the public.

Fees are charged for the use of BBRA facilities. In 1986, the price of an adult lift ticket was $18.50, which was comparable to the lift ticket prices of other commercial ski areas in Idaho with similar facilities. Some discount tickets are offered to students and other special groups. The ski area also has educational programs/discounts offered in cooperation with Boise City recreation and with school districts in the Treasure Valley.

The BBRA reported a net income of $300,444 in 1986. Because it is a non-profit organization, the BBRA paid no tax on that income. In 1987, the association was assessed property taxes of $36,136.36 on property with an assessed market value of $4 million.

On June 11, 1987, the BBRA filed a claim with the Boise County Board of Equalization (Board) for property tax exemption pursuant to I.C. § 63-105C. The Board denied the exemption at the initial hearing and again on reconsideration. The BBRA appealed to the district court, requesting a trial de novo.

While the appeal was pending, the court granted the Idaho State Tax Commission's (Commission) motion for permission to intervene. After hearing arguments on all parties' motions for summary judgment, the district court granted the BBRA's motion and permitted the exemption. The Board and the Commission filed separate appeals. This Court ordered the appeals consolidated.

The trial court was correct in asserting that this case is governed by the principles enunciated in Appeal of Sunny Ridge Manor, Inc., 106 Idaho 98, 675 P.2d 813 (1984), and Coeur d'Alene Public Golf Club, Inc. v. Kootenai Board of Equalization, 106 Idaho 104, 675 P.2d 819 (1984). The trial court was also correct in its understanding that Appeal of Sunny Ridge Manor and Coeur d'Alene Golf Club expanded the class of organizations that can be considered charitable for purposes of Idaho Code § 63-105C beyond the traditional sense of religious and philanthropic organizations. Thus, an organization responsible for administering a ski area could, under the proper circumstances, qualify as such a charitable organization.

However, not every non-profit organization that provides some service to the public is entitled to claim that its property is exempt from taxation. Appeal of Sunny Ridge Manor and Coeur d'Alene Golf Club recognized that "charity" is not limited to religious and philanthropic activities, but it did not change the basic rules in tax exemption cases: Statutes granting tax exemptions must be strictly construed against the taxpayer and "cannot be extended by judicial construction so as to create an exemption not specifically authorized." "Exemptions are never presumed. The burden is on a claimant to establish clearly a right to exemption." Upper Columbia Mission Soc'y v. Kootenai County, 93 Idaho 880, 882-83, 477 P.2d 503, 505-06 (1970). See also Appeal of Sunny Ridge Manor, 106 Idaho 98, 675 P.2d 813 (1984) (retirement center which provided services "of great benefit" to its elderly residents and whose efforts as a non-profit...