KRS 136.188 — Annual fee on trucks, tractors, and buses operating partly within and partly outside Kentucky -- Fee to replace ad valorem tax -- Determination of value and fee -- Collection and distribution -- Protest

(1) Notwithstanding KRS 132.487, any tru ck, tractor, or bus which is operated on a
route or as part of a system that is partly within and partly outside Kentucky shall be
subject to an annual fee at the time the vehicle is registered with and the registration
fee is paid to the Transportation Ca binet pursuant to KRS 186.020 and 186.050(3)
and (13). The fee shall be imposed on the vehicle's owner or the owner's legal
designee as of January 1 of each year. Such payment shall be made to the
Transportation Cabinet either directly, in the case of a vehicle based in Kentucky, or
indirectly, through the International Registration Plan, in the case of a vehicle based
outside of Kentucky.
(2) The fee imposed by subsection (1) of this section replaces the state and local ad
valorem property tax the Departme nt of Revenue previously imposed and centrally
collected against trucks, tractors, and buses operated on a route or as part of a
system that is partly within and partly outside Kentucky. The fee imposed by
subsection (1) of this section shall not be constr ued as a fee imposed upon the
registration, operation, or use of the vehicles on public highways. The Department
of Revenue shall use the following method for determining the rate for fixing the
assessed value of the property and for determining the annual fee amount:
(a) The Department of Revenue shall determine the assessed value on an annual
basis by multiplying the purchase price of the truck, tractor, or bus by a
depreciation value expressed as a percentage of the original cost from an
authoritative so urce that the Department of Revenue prescribes by
promulgation of an administrative regulation;
(b) The Department of Revenue shall determine an aggregate state and local rate
on an annual basis. The state rate shall be the weighted average commercial
and industrial tangible personal property tax rate, and the local rate shall be
determined using the method set forth in KRS 136.180(3) and (4);
(c) The Department of Revenue shall determine the amount subject to the annual
fee by multiplying the total assessed value of all vehicles by an apportionment
factor. The apportionment factor shall be determined as provided in KRS
186.050(13)(a); and
(d) The annual fee shall be determined by multiplying the amount subject to the
annual fee by the rate determined in paragraph (b) of this subsection.
The Department of Revenue shall provide the Transportation Cabinet with the
information needed to collect the fee.
(3) The Transportation Cabinet shall forward the money it collects from the fee
imposed by subsection (1) of this section to the Department of Revenue on a
monthly basis. The Department of Revenue shall divide and distribute the money
among the state, counties, cities, urban-counties, charter counties, consolidated local
governments, school districts, and special taxing districts in the same manner as the
Department of Revenue divided and distributed the state and local ad valorem
property tax previously imposed and centrally collected.
(4) Pick-up and delivery vehicles operating from a terminal within this state and
vehicles that do not leave the state in the normal course of business shall not be
required to pay the fee imposed by subsection (1) of this section, but shall instead
be subject to the ad valorem tax under KRS 132.487.
(5) Any person paying the fee imposed by subsection (1) of this section shall have sixty
(60) days from the date the person is notified of the fee amount to protest. The
protest shall be filed with the Commonwealth of Kentucky, Department of
Revenue, in accordance with the provisions of KRS 131.110. Notification by any
state's or Canadian province's or territory's registration authority of the amount due
shall satisfy the notification requirement of KRS 131.110(1).
(6) No protest or appeal shall delay the collection or payment of the fee imposed by
subsection (1) of this section. The fee amount due as determined in subsection (2)
of this section shall be paid at the time of registration. If the fee is not paid, the
Commonwealth of Kentucky, Transportation Cabinet, shall not register the ve hicle
for which registration is sought. Persons registering vehicles in other states or
Canada shall be subject to requirements of those registration authorities.