Board of County Commissioners v. Vail Associates, Inc.

The Majority concludes that the General Assembly's decision not to impose a property tax on possessory interests in federal recreational leases is unconstitutional. Initially, the majority reads the applicable statutes, as *1281interpreted in Mesa Verde Co. v. Montezuma County Board of Equalization, 898 P.2d 1 (Colo.1995) (Mesa Verde III ), to compel the inclusion of possessory interests in "real property" for purposes of taxation, despite the specific statute that exeludes those interests from the definition of real property. Additionally, the majority states that because all tax exemptions must…