Valuing Shopping Centers In Arizona

In Business Realty of Ariz., Inc. v. Maricopa County, 181 Ariz. 551, 553, 892 P.2d 1340, 1342 (1995), the supreme court considered whether the legislature intended to include market value concepts when valuing shopping centers under the statutory provisions pertaining to taxation of shopping centers. The court repeatedly cited the pipeline valuation statute as an example of the legislature's intent to utilize a formula as the exclusive method of determining full cash value of pipelines for property tax purposes: The Arizona Legislature has rarely used its power to prescribe an alternative to the fair market value concept of full cash value for tax valuation purposes; . . . for some examples, see A.R.S. 42-144.02 (utility companies); 42-144.01 (pipelines); . . . Id. at 554 & n.4, 892 P.2d at 1343 & n.4. The court contrasted the market value approach with statutory formulas such as 42-14204: We believe, then, that the text of the shopping center statute does not ignore market concept and theory when determining the value of shopping centers. Instead, it specifies a sequence for using recognized techniques to estimate fair market value in tax assessment. If the legislature intended otherwise, lawmakers would have chosen a valuation method that completely disregarded market value and specified the formula to be followed, instead of allowing the reviewing body to estimate the final value when "necessary" by use of "other valuation factors." Cf. 42-144.01 (special valuation system for pipeline companies); 42-144.02 (special valuation method for gas and electric utility district property); ..Id. at 557, 892 P.2d at 1346. The court further emphasized the distinction between market value appraisal methods and statutory formulas: We cannot envision, and the record discloses no reason, why the legislature would have offered owners of shopping center property the unique tax treatment afforded owners of such peculiar property as mines, utilities, and pipelines, for which there is, practically speaking, little or no market at all and which therefore require the use of convoluted mathematical formulae just to make a reasonable estimate of their value for taxation purposes. a good example is the pipeline valuation statute. Id. at 560, 892 P.2d at 1349.