Definitions

(Statutory Reference: 59-2-102)

Property

“Property” means property which is subject to assessment and taxation according to its value, but does not include moneys, credits, bonds, stocks, representative property, franchises, goodwill, copyrights, patents, or other intangibles.

Personal Property

Every class of property defined as a property which is subject of ownership and not included within the meaning of the terms “real estate” and “improvements”.

Percent Good Schedule

A schedule used to calculate the approximate remaining value of an item of personal property. Multiplying the appropriate percentage from the table, based on the class of property and its age, by the historical cost will yield the percent good, or remaining value.

Acquisition cost

Cost of acquisition must include all costs required to put an item into service. In addition to the cost of the item include the following costs:

1. Freight in, includes shipping costs, loading at origin, unloading at destination, crating, skidding and other applicable costs of shipping.
2. Installation, engineering, rigging, erection or assembly to include foundations, pilings, utility connections, any other such costs.
3. Excise and sales tax.
4. Any other costs related to putting personal property into service are to be included in acquisition cost.

Indirect costs such as debugging, licensing fees, permits, insurance or security are not included in the acquisition cost.

Escaped Property

“Escaped Property” means any property, whether personal, land, or any improvements to the property, subject to taxation and is:

• Inadvertently omitted from the tax rolls, assigned to the incorrect parcel, or assessed to the wrong taxpayer by the assessing authority;
• Undervalued or omitted from the tax rolls because of the failure of the taxpayer to comply with the reporting requirements of this chapter, or
• Undervalued because of errors made by the assessing authority based upon incomplete or erroneous information
• furnished by the taxpayer.
• Property which is undervalued because of the use of different valuation methodology or because of a different application of the same valuation methodology is not “escaped property”.

Property Willfully Concealed

Any property found to be willfully concealed, removed, transferred, or misrepresented by its owner or agent in order to evade taxation is subject to a penalty equal to the tax on its value, and neither the penalty nor assessment may be reduced or waived by the assessor, county, county Board of Equalization, or the commission, except pursuant to a procedure for the review and approval of waivers adopted by county ordinance, or by administrative rule adopted in accordance with Title 63, Chapter 46a, Utah Administrative Rulemaking Act.