A. All commercial aircraft used by commercial airline companies in the operation of their businesses and subject to valuation for property taxation purposes shall be valued in accordance with the provisions of this section.

B. The department shall value commercial aircraft as follows:

(1) all gasoline engine propeller driven aircraft shall be valued at ten percent of original cost regardless of age; and

(2) all jet propelled aircraft shall have an assumed life of twelve years and shall be valued by deducting from eighty percent of the original cost of the aircraft depreciation computed on a monthly basis, but no aircraft valued under this paragraph shall have computed a value of less than twenty percent of its original cost.

C. The department shall adopt regulations providing for the allocation of net taxable values of commercial aircraft to New Mexico and to the governmental units in the state, which regulations shall include allocation factors related to ground time in New Mexico compared to total ground time within the airline system and flight time over New Mexico compared to total flight time within the airline system, exclusive of flight time outside the continental limits of the United States.

D. The department shall adopt regulations pursuant to Section 7-38-88 NMSA 1978 [repealed] to implement the method of valuation of commercial aircraft specified in this section.

History: Laws 1973, ch. 258, § 33; 1953 Comp., § 72-29-21; Laws 1975, ch. 165, § 13.

Bracketed material. — The bracketed material was inserted by the compiler and is not part of the law. Laws 1991, ch. 166, § 14 repealed 7-38-88 NMSA 1978, referred to in Subsection D. For present comparable provisions, see 9-11-6.2 NMSA 1978.

Department determines property tax valuation of commercial aircraft by allocating a portion of the net book value of the aircraft to New Mexico based on the flight time over, and ground time in, New Mexico as a percentage of total flight and ground time of the aircraft for the preceding year. Fed. Express Corp. v. Abeyta, 2004-NMCA-011, 135 N.M. 37, 84 P.3d 85, cert. granted, 2004-NMCERT-001, 135 N.M. 160, 85 P.3d 802.