California Supreme Court Rules L.A. Assessor Can Include Certain Payments Representing Use of Property Income in Assessment

The California Supreme Court ruled that the Los Angeles (L.A.) County Assessor could include occupancy tax and key money revenue when assessing a hotel’s property value. The taxpayer argued the revenue was attributable to intangible contractual rights, while the county argued they constituted earnings from use of the property. The Court agreed with the county. The county also argued that the value of various enterprise assets were properly accounted for by deducting certain management fees, while the taxpayer contended there was insufficient evidence to support the claim. The Court affirmed the lower court’s remand of the issue for further proceedings ...