63-602A. PROPERTY EXEMPT FROM TAXATION — GOVERNMENT PROPERTY. (1) The following property is exempt from taxation: property belonging to the United States, except when taxation thereof is authorized by the congress of the United States; property belonging to the state of Idaho; property belonging to a federally recognized Indian tribe, as defined in section 67-4001, Idaho Code, which property is situated within the boundaries of the reservation of the Indian tribe; and property belonging to any county or municipal corporation or school district within this state.

(2) However, inventory property acquired under agricultural credit programs of the consolidated farm service agency of the United States department of agriculture shall be subject to taxation as other property in the county.

(3) However, unimproved real property of more than ten (10) contiguous acres owned in fee simple by the department of fish and game shall be subject to a fee in lieu of property taxes contingent upon the following conditions and requirements:

(a) The fee in lieu of property taxes shall not exceed the property tax for the property at the time of acquisition by the department of fish and game, unless the property tax rate for the property shall have been increased.

(b) The department shall determine and identify the parcels of property and their current use as qualified under the provisions of this chapter. The department shall consult with the appropriate county treasurer and determine the fee to be paid on the property and credited continuously to the county current expense fund. The fee shall be an amount equal to the property tax the property would generate if assessed as agricultural property.

(c) Any future increase in the fee paid in lieu of property taxes shall be determined by the amount of property taxes the property would generate if assessed as agricultural property. The increase may be determined by the department working cooperatively with the appropriate county assessor. The method used for determining the fee that would be due on department property is to be used only under this subsection and has no other application in any other section of the Idaho Code.

(d) The department shall then provide to the assessor of the county where the parcels are located on or before the second Monday of March each year, a listing identifying each parcel of unimproved property by legal description, size and amount of the fee for the preceding calendar year. The treasurer shall prepare and submit a billing for payment based on this information to the department. Once the fee has been determined, payment shall be made by June 20 of that year from moneys appropriated for that purpose. However, if the fees exceed the moneys appropriated for that purpose, the director of the department of fish and game shall calculate the percent reduction that must be made and certify the proportionate reduction to each county treasurer.

(e) For the purpose of this section only, unimproved real property shall mean property on which no homesite or improved site is located, and homesite or improved site shall mean any buildings, structures, or fixtures which have been erected or affixed to the land and the necessary acreage required to utilize the homesite or improved site as determined by the county assessor shall be exempt. For purposes of this subsection only, roads or fences shall not be considered as improvements.

History:

[63-602A added 1996, ch. 98, sec. 7, p. 348; am. 2003, ch. 8, sec. 2, p. 16; am. 2013, ch. 134, sec. 1, p. 306.]