County of Clark v. LB Properties, Inc.

Summary

The Nevada Supreme Court held that Nevada Tax Commission Regulation NAC 361.61038, which established an apportionment formula for valuing remainder parcels for tax-abatement purposes, could not be applied retroactively to a valuation made before the regulation took effect. The court further held that the assessor’s pre-regulation multifactor valuation method did not violate Nevada’s constitutional uniformity requirements or governing statutes. The court reversed the district court and upheld the Nevada Tax Commission’s decision.

Holdings

1. NAC 361.61038 is a legislative regulation that establishes a substantive valuation method, not merely an interpretive regulation, and it may not be applied retroactively to a valuation occurring before its effective date absent a clearly manifested legislative or regulatory intent to do so.
2. The assessor's pre-2007 multifactor method did not violate Nevada law or the constitutional requirement of uniform and equal taxation because the record did not show that the method produced unequal taxation or conflicted with existing statutory requirements and practice.

Questions Presented

1. Whether NAC 361.61038, a regulation promulgated in 2007 to establish an apportionment formula for valuing remainder parcels, could be applied retroactively to a valuation occurring before the regulation's effective date.
2. Whether the Clark County Assessor's pre-2007 multifactor valuation method violated Nevada's constitutional requirement of uniform and equal assessment and taxation or otherwise conflicted with Nevada law.

Disposition

reversed