Washington County Jeff Williams, Washington County Tax Assessor David Ruff, Washington County Tax Collector And…

Summary

The court affirmed summary judgment for the University of Arkansas, holding that the University is an instrumentality of the State and that the state-owned parcels at issue are immune from ad valorem taxation. The court reasoned that the Arkansas Constitution does not subject sovereign property to ad valorem taxation absent legislative enactment clearly imposing such taxation, and the General Assembly had enacted no such law. Special Justice Brian A. Vandiver concurred in the result but would have required an inquiry into whether the particular parcels were held for a public purpose.