In a word NO!

As we’ve elsewhere stated, GIDs have the express power to levy and collect ad valorem taxes. But it’s important to understand NRS 318.225 instructs that those taxes must be levied “against all (and not just some of the) taxable property within the district.”

“Uniform And Equal Rate:” Article 10 Section 1(1) of the Nevada Constitution instructs that

“The Legislature shall provide by law for a uniform and equal rate of assessment and taxation, and shall prescribe such regulations as shall secure a just valuation for taxation of all property, real, personal and possessory…”

Has the Legislature prescribed regulations allowing for the exemption of some but not all properties within its boundaries from payment of its ad valorem taxes? The answer is no.

Right to Exempt: Article 10 Section 1(8) of the Nevada Constitution: instructs that

“The Legislature may exempt by law…for taxation of all property, real, personal and possessory…used for municipal, educational, literary, scientific or other charitable purposes, or to encourage the conservation of energy or the substitution of other sources for fossil sources of energy.”

Has the Legislature exempted any parcel within a GID’s boundaries from the ad valorem taxes it levies? The answer is no! Has the Incline Village General Improvement District (“IVGID”) exempted any parcel within a GID’s boundaries from the ad valorem taxes it levies? Again the answer is no!

NRS 318.225 Means What it Says, And Says What it Means: Yes. See our How The Legislature Instructs We Construe The Powers a GID May Exercise discussion. As well as our How Courts Instruct We Construe The Powers a GID May Exercise discussion.

Expressio Unius est Exclusio Alterius: means “the expression of one thing is (to) the exclusion of another.”¹ Therefore “when a statute limits a thing to be done (to) a particular mode, it includes the negative (insofar as) any other mode”² is concerned.

May IVGID Insert Words or Terms Into NRS 318.225 That Are Not There? Because it is improper to “insert into statutes terms or provisions which are obviously not there,” courts are “reluctant to second-guess the wisdom of a statute and (for this reason are)…unwilling to insert words…the court believes the Legislature left out, be it intentionally or inadvertently.”³

Had The Legislature Intended: that which is not stated in a statute, it certainly knew how to “express (those words)…in straightforward English.”⁴ Therefore where the statute doesn’t, it means the omission was intentional.

Dillon’s Rule: “provides that (a)…governing body…possesses and may exercise only the following powers and no others:

1. Those…granted in express terms by the Nevada Constitution, statute or…charter;

2. Those…necessarily or fairly implied in or incident to the powers expressly granted⁵; and,

3. Those…(absolutely) essential to the accomplishment of the declared objects and purposes of the (local governing body at issue) and not merely convenient but indispensable.”⁶

4. And “if there (be) any fair or reasonable doubt concerning the existence of a power, that doubt is (to be) resolved against the governing body…and the power (be) denied.”⁷

IVGID’s Right to Adopt Legislation Exempting Property From The Ad Valorem Taxes it Adopts:

GIDs Have Not Been Granted The Power to Legislate Nor to Make Laws: As elsewhere discussed, GIDs are limited purpose special districts along the lines of vector control (mosquitos), library, fire, water, sewer and cemetery districts. They are creatures of statute, and in Nevada those statutes are set forth at Title 25 of Chapter NRS 318⁸. Take a long hard look at NRS 318. Do you see any language which authorizes GIDs to exempt any property within its boundaries from paying those ad valorem taxes it has adopted? Do you see any language which authorizes GIDs to make law or pass legislation? Take a look at our Powers All GIDs Are Authorized to Exercise discussion. Do you see anywhere where a GID can fill the alleged void the Legislature created insofar as passing legislation allowing the GID to create exemptions from paying its ad valorem taxes?

So now you know.

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1. This maxim has been expressly recognized in Nevada in SFR Invs. Pool 1, LLC v. U.S. Bank, N.A., 130 Nev. Adv. Op. 75, 334 P.3d 408, 414 (2014).
2. See Nunez v. Sahara Nevada Corp., 677 F. Supp. 1471, 1474 (D. Nev. 1988).
3. See Saint Alphonsus Reg’l Med. Ctr. v. Gooding Cty., 159 Idaho 84, 356 P.3d 377, 382 (2015).
4. See dissent of Justice Stevens in FMC Corp. v. Holliday, 498 U.S. 52, 66, 111 S.Ct. 403 (1990).
5. NRS 318.210 is the statutory embodiment of this portion of Dillon’s Rule: a GID Board of Trustees (“Board”) shall have and exercise all rights and powers necessary or incidental to or implied from the specific powers granted in this chapter.”
6. See NRS 244.137(3) and 268.001(3).
7. See NRS 244.137(4) and 268.001(4).
8. See Public Organizations for Community Service.