Naumann v. Iowa Prop. Assessment Appeal Bd.

• Decision Date: 03 December 2010
• Docket Number: No. 09-0161.,09-0161.
• Citation: 791 N.W.2d 258
• Parties: James NAUMANN, Appellant, v. IOWA PROPERTY ASSESSMENT APPEAL BOARD, Appellee.
• Court: Iowa Supreme Court

791 N.W.2d 258

James NAUMANN, Appellant,

v.IOWA PROPERTY ASSESSMENT APPEAL BOARD, Appellee.

No. 09-0161.

Supreme Court of Iowa.

Dec. 3, 2010.

Mark L. Smith of Jordan, Oliver & Walters, P.C., Winterset, for appellant.

Jessica Braunschweig-Norris and Curtis Swain, Des Moines, for appellee.

James E. Brick and James E. Nervig of Brick Gentry P.C., Des Moines, intervenor-appellee Adair County Board of Review.

Thomas J. Miller, Attorney General, Donald D. Stanley, Jr., Special Assistant Attorney General, and James D. Miller, Assistant Attorney General for amicus curiae, the Director of the Iowa Department of Revenue.

HECHT, Justice.

An owner of agricultural property in Madison and Adair Counties contests the valuation of his property in Adair County, contending it violates Iowa Code section 441.21(1)( d ) (2007), because the valuation of his Adair County agricultural land exceeds by more than five percent the valuation of his adjacent agricultural land in Madison County. Because we conclude section 441.21(1)( d ) does not apply to agricultural property, we affirm.

I. Background Facts and Proceedings.

James Naumann owns approximately nine hundred acres of agricultural property spanning the Adair-Madison County line. After receiving January 1, 2007, property assessments from both counties, Naumann filed a petition to the Adair County Board of Review for each of his thirteen parcels of land located in Adair County, asserting his property was assessed for more than was authorized bylaw. The board of review denied each of his petitions, concluding Naumann had not provided "sufficient [evidence] to prove the assessment was excessive."

Naumann appealed to the Iowa Property Assessment Appeal Board (IPAAB), contending his Adair County property was assessed at a value more than five percent higher than his adjacent Madison County property in violation of Iowa Code section 441.21(1)( d ). After an evidentiary hearing, the IPAAB concluded the Adair County Assessor properly assessed the value of Naumann's land and the assessments were neither excessive nor done in error.

Naumann petitioned for judicial review of the IPAAB's decision. The district court allowed the Adair County Board of Review to intervene. Following oral arguments, the district court affirmed the IPAAB's decision.

Naumann appeals, contending the IPAAB erred in failing to adjust downward the valuation of his Adair County real estate under section 441.21(1)( d ) and asserting the district court erred in overruling his offer of new evidence supporting his theory of valuation.

II. Scope of Review.

In reviewing an agency decision on judicial review, we will apply the standards of chapter 17A to determine if we reach the same results as the district court. Renda v. Iowa Civil Rights Comm'n, 784 N.W.2d 8, 10 (Iowa 2010). If the agency's action was based on an erroneous interpretation of a provision of law whose interpretation has not been clearly vested in the agency, we shall reverse, modify or grant other appropriate relief from the agency action. Iowa Code § 17A.19(10)(c). The IPAAB was created "for the purpose of establishing a consistent, fair, and equitable [statewide] property assessment appeal process." Id. § 421.1A(1). The IPAAB has been delegated the authority to adopt rules "for the administration and implementation of its powers" and rules "necessary for the preservation of order and the regulation of proceedings before the board." Id. § 421.1A(4)( e), ( f). However section 421.1A does not give explicit authority to the IPAAB to interpret section 441.21(1)( d). Neither party contends, and we do not conclude, the IPAAB has implicitly been granted authority to interpret section 441.21(1)( d). Accordingly, we will not give deference to the interpretation applied by the IPAAB and will substitute our own judgment for that of the IPAAB if we conclude it made an error of law. Id. § 17A.19(10)( c); see also Renda, 784 N.W.2d at 14-15.

To the extent a challenge to a district court ruling on the admissibility of evidence requires the interpretation of a statute, our review is for errors at law. See State v. Stone, 764 N.W.2d 545, 548 (Iowa 2009).

III. Discussion.

The IPAAB concluded section 441.21(1)( e) and ( f) provided the basis for determining the value of the agricultural property in Iowa, implicitly rejecting Naumann's argument that the limitations on property valuation found in section 441.21(1)( d ) also applied to agricultural property. The IPAAB then concluded Naumann's property had been correctly valued pursuant to section 441.21(1)( e ) and ( f ). Naumann contends the IPAAB erred in concluding section 441.21(1)( d ) does not apply to agricultural land.

To assess Naumann's claim, we begin with a review of section 441.21(1), describing how taxable property is to be valued in Iowa.

a. All property subject to taxation shall be valued at its actual value ...and, except as otherwise provided in this section, shall be assessed at one hundred percent of its actual value....

b. The actual value of all property subject to assessment and taxation shall be the fair and reasonable market value of such property except as otherwise provided in this section.

....

d. Actual value of property in one assessing jurisdiction shall be equalized as compared with actual value of property in an adjoining assessing jurisdiction. If a variation of five percent or more exists between the actual values of similar, closely adjacent property in adjoining assessing jurisdictions in Iowa, the assessors thereof shall determine whether adequate reasons exist for such variation. If no such reasons exist, the assessors shall make adjustments in such actual values to reduce the variation to five percent or less.

e. The actual value of agricultural property shall be determined on the basis of productivity and net earning capacity of the property determined on the basis of its use for agricultural purposes capitalized at a rate of seven percent and applied uniformly among counties and among classes of property. Any formula or method employed to determine productivity and net earning capacity of property shall be adopted in full by rule.

f. In counties or townships in which field work on a modern soil survey has been completed since January 1, 1949, the assessor shall place emphasis upon the results of the survey in spreading the valuation among individual parcels of such agricultural property.

g. Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, the actual value of any property shall not exceed its fair and reasonable market value, except agricultural property which shall be valued exclusively as provided in paragraph " e " of this subsection.

Iowa Code § 441.21(1).

Naumann asserts that because the plain language of section 441.21(1)( d ) applies the five percent variance limitation to "property" without excluding agricultural property, the valuation of his agricultural property in Adair County must be adjusted so it does not exceed by more than five percent the valuation of his adjacent property in Madison County. Because he claims the variance between the Adair and Madison County valuations is thirty-six percent, he seeks to have the actual value of his property in Adair County reduced. ¹

The IPAAB contends the five percent variance limitation in paragraph ( d ) is inapplicable to agricultural land valuations. This contention relies on paragraph ( g ) providing agricultural property shall be valued "exclusively as provided in" paragraph ( e ) on the basis of productivity and net-earning capacity.

A statute is ambiguous when reasonable persons could disagree as to its meaning. IBP, Inc. v. Harker, 633 N.W.2d 322, 325 (Iowa 2001). "Ambiguity may arise from specific language used in a statute or when the provision at issue is considered in the context of the entire statute or related statutes." Midwest Auto. III, LLC v. Iowa Dep't of Transp., 646 N.W.2d 417, 425 (Iowa 2002). "Ambiguityarises in two ways-either from the meaning of specific words or 'from the general scope and meaning of the statute when all of its provisions are examined.' " State v. McCullah, 787 N.W.2d 90, 94 (Iowa 2010) (quoting Carolan v. Hill, 553 N.W.2d 882, 887 (Iowa 1996)). "Even when a statute appears unambiguous on its face it can be rendered ambiguous by its interaction with and its relation to other statutes." 2A Norman J. Singer & J.D. Shambie Singer, Statutes and Statutory Construction § 46:4, at 188-89 (7th ed.2007).

We conclude section 441.21(1) is ambiguous. Reasonable minds could disagree as to whether section 441.21(1)( d ) applies to all land, including agricultural land, or whether section 441.21(1)( e ), ( f ), and ( g ) together preclude the application of section 441.21(1)( d ) to agricultural land. Because the statute is ambiguous, we will apply our rules of statutory construction to ascertain the intent of the legislature. Am. Home Prods. Corp. v. Iowa State Bd. of Tax Review, 302 N.W.2d 140, 142 (Iowa 1981). We will avoid "strained, impractical or absurd results." Id. We will generally give the language its usual and ordinary meaning, but "the manifest intent of the legislature will prevail over the literal import of the words used." Id. at 142-43. We consider the object to be accomplished by the statute as well as the evils to be remedied in reaching a "reasonable or liberal construction which will best effect its purpose rather than one which will defeat it," considering all parts of the statute together without giving undue importance to any single or isolated portion. Id. at 143. Finally, when construing tax statutes, we will resolve doubt in favor of the taxpayer. Id.

Reviewing the statute with these considerations in mind, we conclude section 441.21(1)( d ) does not apply to agricultural property. Paragraph ( a ) provides that all property shall be assessed at its actual value. While property's actual value is generally its fair and reasonable market value as determined in paragraph ( b ),...