V-1 Oil Co. v. Utah State Tax Commission

ZIMMERMAN, Chief Justice:

V-l Oil Company (“V-l”), a distributor of gasoline and other motor fuels, appeals from the district court’s dismissal of its claim that Utah’s one-half cent environmental “surcharge” on motor vehicle fuels delivered to underground storage tanks (“USTs”) is, in reality, a tax and, as such, violates article XIII, section 13 of the Utah Constitution’s ban on the expenditure of any motor fuel tax for nonhighway purposes. We find the surcharge in question to be a tax and its use to contravene article XIII, section 13. We reverse the district court and remand for further…