Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Pikes Peak Rural Transportation Authority

Citations

• 2018 COA 73
• 434 P.3d 725

Syllabus

Annexation—Colorado Constitution Article XX, section 6—Regional Transportation Authority—Sales Tax—Use Tax—Matter of Mixed Local and State Concern. Colorado's Regional Transportation Authority law (RTA Law) allows municipalities, counties, special districts, and the state to combine to provide regional transportation services and to collect sales and use taxes to pay for such services. In 2014, the City of Fountain annexed a parcel of vacant land (the Property) from unincorporated El Paso County. The Property was within the boundaries of the Authority when it was formed in 2004. Fountain, a home rule city in El Paso County, has never been a member of the Authority. After the Pikes Peak Rural Transportation Authority (Authority) announced its intention to collect a 1% sales tax from recently built retail businesses on the Property, the operators of the businesses, WalMart Stores, Inc. and Sam's West, Inc. (collectively, plaintiffs) filed a declaratory judgment action against the Authority and the Colorado Department of Revenue (DOR), which collects sales tax on behalf of both Fountain and the Authority. Plaintiffs sought a declaration that defendants could not collect sales and use taxes on the Property because the Property was now part of Fountain, which was not a member of the Authority. On cross-motions for summary judgment the district court declared that the taxes could be collected and entered summary judgment for defendants. On appeal, plaintiffs first argued that Fountain's annexation of the Property removed it from the Authority's boundaries and that the Authority's attempt to tax retail sales outside of its boundaries violates the RTA law. A municipality may annex property from unincorporated parts of the county in which it lies. However, that annexation power does not permit a municipality to automatically remove territory from other political subdivisions of the state. The Property remained within the Authority's boundaries. Plaintiffs' also argued that u