2005 California Revenue and Taxation Code Sections 1150-1156 Article 6. Certificated Aircraft

1150.  As used in this article, "certificated aircraft" means
aircraft operated by an air carrier or foreign air carrier engaged in
air transportation, as defined in subdivisions (3), (5), (10), and
(19) of Section 101 of Title I of the "Federal Aviation Act of 1958"
(P.L. 85-726; 72 Stat.  731), while there is in force a certificate
or permit issued by the Civil Aeronautics Board of the United States,
or its successor, or a certificate or permit issued by the
California Public Utilities Commission, or its successor, authorizing
such air carrier to engage in such transportation.
1151.  Certificated aircraft shall be deemed to be situated in this
state only to the extent that such aircraft are normally physically
present within the state, whether in flight or on the ground.  To
determine such extent for purposes of property taxation, the
allocation formula specified by Section 1152 shall be applied.
1152.  The allocation formula to be used by each assessor is as
follows:
   (a) The time in state factor is the proportionate amount of time,
both in the air and on the ground, that certificated aircraft have
spent within the state during a representative period as compared to
the total time in the representative period.  For purposes of this
subdivision, all time, both in the air and on the ground, that
certificated aircraft have spent within the state prior  to the
aircraft's first entry into the revenue service of the air carrier in
control of the aircraft on the current lien date shall be excluded
from the time in state factor.  This factor shall be multiplied by 75
percent.
   (b) The arrivals and departures factor is the proportionate number
of arrivals in and departures from airports within the state of
certificated aircraft during a representative period as compared to
the total number of arrivals in and departures from airports during
the representative period.  This factor shall be multiplied by 25
percent.
   (c) For the 1983-84 fiscal year and fiscal years thereafter, in
computing the time-in-state factor, on each occasion during the
representative period that a certificated aircraft has spent 720 or
more consecutive hours on the ground, all ground time in excess of
168 hours shall be excluded from the time in state attributable to
that aircraft.
   (d) The time-in-state factor shall be added to the arrivals and
departures factor.
   (e) The figure produced by application of subdivision (d) equals
the allocation to be applied to full cash value to determine the
value to which the assessment ratio shall be applied.
1153.  After consulting with the assessors of the counties in which
aircraft of an air carrier normally make physical contact, the board
shall designate for each assessment year the representative period to
be used by the assessors in assessing the aircraft of the carrier.
1153.5.  (a) The Aircraft Advisory Subcommittee of the California
Assessors' Association shall, after soliciting input from commercial
air carriers operating in the state, do both of the following:
   (1) On or before March 1, 2006, and on or before each March 1
thereafter, designate a lead county assessor's office for each
commercial air carrier operating certificated aircraft in this state
in that assessment year.
   (2) Every third year thereafter, redesignate a lead county
assessor's office for each of these air carriers, unless an air
carrier and its existing lead county assessor's office concur to
waive this redesignation.
   (b) The lead county assessor's office described in subdivision (a)
shall do all of the following:
   (1) Calculate, pursuant to Section 401.17, an unallocated value of
the certificated aircraft of each commercial air carrier to which he
or she is designated.
   (2) Electronically transmit to the assessor of each county in
which the property described in paragraph (1) has situs for the
assessment year the values determined by the lead county assessor's
office under paragraph (1).
   (3) Receive the property statement, as described in subdivision
(l) of Section 441, of each commercial air carrier to which he or she
is designated.
   (4) Lead the audit team described in subdivision (d) when that
team is conducting an audit of a commercial air carrier to which he
or she is designated.
   (5) Notify, in writing, each commercial air carrier for which he
or she has been designated of this designation on or before the first
March 15 that follows that designation.
   (c) (1) Notwithstanding subdivision (b), the county assessor of
each county in which the personal property of a commercial air
carrier has situs for an assessment year is solely responsible for
assessing that property, applying the allocation formula set forth in
Section 1152, and enrolling the value of the property in that
county, but, in determining the unallocated fleet value for each
make, model, and series of certificated aircraft of a commercial air
carrier, the assessor may consult with the lead county assessor's
office designated for that commercial air carrier.
   (2) The lead county assessor's office is subject to Section 322 of
Title 18 of the California Code of Regulations and Sections 408,
451, and 1606 to the same extent as the assessor described in
paragraph (1).
   (d) Notwithstanding Section 469, an audit of a commercial air
carrier shall be conducted once every four years on a centralized
basis by an audit team of auditor-appraisers from at least one, but
not more than three, counties, as determined by the Aircraft Advisory
Subcommittee of the California Assessors' Association. An audit, so
conducted, shall encompass all of the California Personal Property
and fixtures of the air carrier and is deemed to be made on behalf of
each county for which an audit would otherwise be required under
Section 469.
   (e) This section shall remain in effect only until December 31,
2010, and as of that date is repealed.
1154.  (a) As used in this section, "air taxi" means aircraft used
by an air carrier which does not utilize aircraft having a maximum
passenger capacity of more than 30 seats or a maximum payload
capacity of more than 7,500 pounds in air transportation and which
does not hold a certificate of public convenience and necessity or
other economic authority issued by the Civil Aeronautics Board of the
United States, or its successor, or by the California Public
Utilities Commission, or its successor.
   (b) Air taxis which are operated in scheduled air taxi operations
are not subject to the provisions of Part 10 (commencing with Section
5301) of this division and shall be assessed in accordance with the
allocation formula set forth in Section 1152.
   (c) All other air taxis shall be assessed in the county where the
aircraft is habitually situated in the same manner and at the same
ratio as other personal property in the county subject to general
property taxation.  Such aircraft shall be taxed at the same rate and
in the same manner as all other property on the unsecured roll.
1155.  For purposes of Section 404, certificated aircraft shall be
deemed to be situated only in those taxing agencies in which the
aircraft normally make physical contact with sufficient regularity to
entitle such agencies to tax the aircraft under the laws and
Constitution of the United States.  Flight time within the state
shall be allocated as follows:
   (a) If the aircraft takes off in one taxing agency which is
entitled to tax (within the meaning of the preceding sentence) and
lands in another agency which is entitled to tax, the flight time
between such taxing agencies shall be allocated one-half to each such
agency.
   (b) If the aircraft arrives from out of state or leaves the state,
the flight time from or to the state boundary shall be allocated to
the taxing agency entitled to tax in which the aircraft first lands
or last takes off, as the case may be.
1156.  Nothing in this article shall be construed to enlarge the
right of any taxing agency to tax certificated aircraft in a manner
not permitted by the laws or Constitution of the United States.