Request By:
Mr. Louis M. Waller
City Attorney
City of Adairville
P. O. Box 27
129 W. Fourth Street
Russellville, Kentucky 42276
Opinion
Opinion By: Steven L. Beshear, Attorney General; By Alex W. Rose, Assistant Attorney General
In your letter to the Attorney General, you ask two questions:
(1) Does KRS 134.800 provide for the collection of municipal ad valorem taxes on motor vehicles?
(2) If the answer to the first question is no, does KRS 91A.070 allow for the collection of municipal ad valorem taxes on motor vehicles?
KRS 134.800 states that the county clerk shall be the collector of all state, county, school and special taxing district ad valorem taxes on motor vehicles. It is a cardinal rule of statutory construction that statutory language must be given its clear and commonly accepted meaning.
Barnes v. Department of Revenue, Ky.App., 575 S.W.2d 169 (1978). It is our opinion that the term "special taxing district" does not refer to cities, but refers to such districts as library districts, ambulance districts, etc. Therefore, our answer to your first question is that KRS 134.800 does not provide for the collection of municipal ad valorem taxes on motor vehicles.
KRS 91A.070 allows a city to have its ad valorem taxes collected pursuant to the provisions of KRS Chapter 134. See KRS 91A.070(1)(b). The city must adopt an ordinance to that effect. See KRS 91A.070(1). Therefore, the answer to your second question is that if a city follows the provisions of KRS 91A.070, the municipal ad valorem taxes on motor vehicles may be collected pursuant to the provisions of KRS Chapter 134 including KRS 134.800 et seq.