Subdivision 1. Generally taxable. All real and personal property in this state is taxable, except Indian lands and such other property as is by law exempt from taxation.

Subd. 2. Exempt property used by private entity for profit. (a) When any real or personal property which is exempt from ad valorem taxes, and taxes in lieu thereof, is leased, loaned, or otherwise made available and used by a private individual, association, or corporation in connection with a business conducted for profit, there shall be imposed a tax, for the privilege of so using or possessing such real or personal property, in the same amount and to the same extent as though the lessee or user was the owner of such property.

(b) The tax imposed by this subdivision shall not apply to:

(1) property leased or used as a concession in or relative to the use in whole or part of a public park, market, fairgrounds, port authority, economic development authority established under chapter 469, municipal auditorium, municipal parking facility, municipal museum, or municipal stadium;

(2) property of an airport owned by a city, town, county, or group thereof which is:

(i) leased to or used by any person or entity including a fixed base operator; and

(ii) used as a hangar for the storage or repair of aircraft or to provide aviation goods, services, or facilities to the airport or general public;

the exception from taxation provided in this clause does not apply to:

(i) property located at an airport owned or operated by the Metropolitan Airports Commission or by a city of over 50,000 population according to the most recent federal census or such a city's airport authority; or

(ii) hangars leased by a private individual, association, or corporation in connection with a business conducted for profit other than an aviation-related business;

(3) property constituting or used as a public pedestrian ramp or concourse in connection with a public airport;

(4) property constituting or used as a passenger check-in area or ticket sale counter, boarding area, or luggage claim area in connection with a public airport but not the airports owned or operated by the Metropolitan Airports Commission or cities of over 50,000 population or an airport authority therein. Real estate owned by a municipality in connection with the operation of a public airport and leased or used for agricultural purposes is not exempt;

(5) property leased, loaned, or otherwise made available to a private individual, corporation, or association under a cooperative farming agreement made pursuant to section 97A.135; or

(6) property leased, loaned, or otherwise made available to a private individual, corporation, or association under section 272.68, subdivision 4.

(c) Taxes imposed by this subdivision are payable as in the case of personal property taxes and shall be assessed to the lessees or users of real or personal property in the same manner as taxes assessed to owners of real or personal property, except that such taxes shall not become a lien against the property. When due, the taxes shall constitute a debt due from the lessee or user to the state, township, city, county, and school district for which the taxes were assessed and shall be collected in the same manner as personal property taxes. If property subject to the tax imposed by this subdivision is leased or used jointly by two or more persons, each lessee or user shall be jointly and severally liable for payment of the tax.

(d) The tax on real property of the federal government, the state or any of its political subdivisions that is leased, loaned, or otherwise made available to a private individual, association, or corporation and becomes taxable under this subdivision or other provision of law must be assessed and collected as a personal property assessment. The taxes do not become a lien against the real property.

Subd. 3. Exceptions. The provisions of subdivision 2 shall not apply to:

(a) Federal property for which payments are made in lieu of taxes in amounts equivalent to taxes which might otherwise be lawfully assessed;

(b) Real estate exempt from ad valorem taxes and taxes in lieu thereof which is leased, loaned, or otherwise made available to telephone companies or electric, light and power companies upon which personal property consisting of transmission and distribution lines is situated and assessed pursuant to sections 273.37, 273.38, 273.40 and 273.41, or upon which are situated the communication lines of express, railway, or telephone companies, or pipelines used for the transmission and distribution of petroleum products, or the equipment items of a cable communications company subject to sections 238.35 to 238.42;

(c) Property presently owned by any educational institution chartered by the territorial legislature;

(d) Indian lands;

(e) Property of any corporation organized as a tribal corporation under the Indian Reorganization Act of June 18, 1934, (Statutes at Large, volume 48, page 984);

(f) Real property owned by the state and leased pursuant to section 161.23 or 161.431, and acts amendatory thereto;

(g) Real property owned by a seaway port authority on June 1, 1967, upon which there has been constructed docks, warehouses, tank farms, administrative and maintenance buildings, railroad and ship terminal facilities and other maritime and transportation facilities or those directly related thereto, together with facilities for the handling of passengers and baggage and for the handling of freight and bulk liquids, and personal property owned by a seaway port authority used or usable in connection therewith, when said property is leased to a private individual, association or corporation, but only when such lease provides that the said facilities are available to the public for the loading and unloading of passengers and their baggage and the handling, storage, care, shipment, and delivery of merchandise, freight and baggage and other maritime and transportation activities and functions directly related thereto, but not including property used for grain elevator facilities; it being the declared policy of this state that such property when so leased is public property used exclusively for a public purpose, notwithstanding the one-year limitation in the provisions of section 273.19;

(h) Notwithstanding the provisions of clause (g), when the annual rental received by a seaway port authority in any calendar year for such leased property exceeds an amount reasonably required for administrative expense of the authority per year, plus promotional expense for the authority not to exceed the sum of $100,000 per year, to be expended when and in the manner decided upon by the commissioners, plus an amount sufficient to pay all installments of principal and interest due, or to become due, during such calendar year and the next succeeding year on any revenue bonds issued by the authority, plus 25 percent of the gross annual rental to be retained by the authority for improvement, development, or other contingencies, the authority shall make a payment in lieu of real and personal property taxes of a reasonable portion of the remaining annual rental to the county treasurer of the county in which such seaway port authority is principally located. Any such payments to the county treasurer shall be disbursed by the treasurer on the same basis as real estate taxes are divided among the various governmental units, but if such port authority shall have received funds from the state of Minnesota and funds from any city and county pursuant to Laws 1957, chapters 648, 831, and 849 and acts amendatory thereof, then such disbursement by the county treasurer shall be on the same basis as real estate taxes are divided among the various governmental units, except that the portion of such payments which would otherwise go to other taxing units shall be divided equally among the state of Minnesota and said county and city.

Subd. 4. Severability. In the event that any of the provisions of subdivision 3 render this act unconstitutional, that portion of subdivision 3 shall be severable and of no effect.

History: (1974) RL s 794; Ex1959 c 1 s 1; Ex1959 c 85 s 1; 1961 c 361 s 1; 1965 c 622 s 1; 1967 c 865 s 1; 1973 c 123 art 5 s 7; 1980 c 607 art 2 s 5; 1Sp1981 c 1 art 2 s 2; 1986 c 399 art 2 s 3; 1986 c 400 s 3; 1986 c 444; 1Sp1986 c 3 art 2 s 41; 1987 c 268 art 8 s 1,2; 1988 c 698 s 4; 1988 c 719 art 6 s 2; 1989 c 239 s 1; 1989 c 277 art 2 s 14; 1991 c 350 art 1 s 17; 1992 c 464 art 1 s 32; 1993 c 375 art 5 s 2; 2005 c 151 art 5 s 4; 2007 c 138 s 10; 2013 c 143 art 17 s 5; 2014 c 308 art 9 s 20,21