DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE, APPELLANT/CROSS APPELLEE,
v.
LINEAS AEREAS COSTARRICENSES, ET AL. APPELLEES/CROSS APPELLANTS
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The Florida Supreme Court addressed whether foreign airlines could be exempted from Florida's aviation fuel excise tax under international agreements. The Court affirmed that the tax itself was constitutional but reversed the lower court's grant of an exemption to foreign airlines, finding no valid basis for the exemption under Florida law.
The Court affirmed that Florida's aviation fuel excise tax is constitutional, but reversed the circuit court's grant of an exemption for foreign airlines, finding no valid legal basis for such an exemption under international agreements.
[1] Aviation fuel purchased by foreign airlines for use in foreign commerce is subject to Florida sales tax unless exempted by international agreements.
[2] A provision of chapter 83-3, Laws of Florida, imposing sales tax on aviation fuel purchased by foreign airlines for use in foreign commerce, was previously determined to…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“the circuit court entered an order of final judgment upholding the tax as constitutional but granting the injunction on the basis that the foreign airlines were exempt under certain international agreements”
Describes the lower court's decision granting the exemption while upholding the tax's constitutionality
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceLACSA and nine other foreign airlines filed suit seeking to enjoin the Department of Revenue from collecting sales taxes on aviation fuel purchased fo…
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ADKINS, Justice.
We have before us an appeal here by an order from the First District Court of Appeal certifying the issue in the case to be of great public importance. We have jurisdiction pursuant to article V, section 3(b)(5), Florida Constitution.
This case arose when Lineas Aereas Cos-tarricenses (hereinafter LACSA) filed a complaint in circuit court in Leon County seeking to enjoin Florida’s Department of Revenue from collecting sales taxes, under a provision of chapter 83-3, Laws of Florida, on aviation fuel purchased by LACSA for use in foreign commerce. Transportes Aereos Nacionales, S.A., Aerolíneas Argen-tinas, Aeronaves de Mexico, S.A., Aerovías Nacionales de Columbia, S.A., Trinidad and Tobago (BWIA International) Airways Corp., Empresa Ecuatoriana de Aviación, S.A., Linea Aerea Nacional Chile, Compa-ñía Mexicana de Aviación, S.A. de C.V., Viacao Aerea Rio-Grandense, and Venzola-na Internacional de Aviación, S.A. were granted leave to intervene as party plaintiffs.
The circuit court entered an order of final judgment upholding the tax as constitutional but granting the injunction on the basis that the foreign airlines were exempt under certain international agreements. The Department of Revenue is appealing the exemption and LACSA is cross-appealing the determination that the tax is constitutional.
Inasmuch as the issues raised here have been addressed by us in Delta Air Lines, Inc. v. Department of Revenue, 455 So. 2d 317 (Fla.1984); Department of Revenue v. Wardair Canada Ltd., 455 So. 2d 326 (Fla.1984); and Department of Revenue v. Air Jamaica Ltd., 455 So. 2d 324 (Fla.1984), they will not be readdressed.
Accordingly, we affirm the circuit court’s order to the extent that it upheld the tax as constitutional with the exception of the portion regarding the corporate tax credit to Florida-based airlines. In Delta we determined that portion to be unconstitutional and ordered it stricken from chapter 83-3. We reverse the circuit court’s order to the extent that it recognized an exemption from the excise tax for the foreign airlines.
It is so ordered.
ALDERMAN, C.J., and BOYD and SHAW, JJ., concur.
OVERTON, J.,
dissenting: I dissent. See Department of Revenue v. Wardair Canada Ltd. [455 So. 2d 326], (Fla.1984).
McDONALD, J., dissents.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
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State v. AIR Jamaica Ltd., 522 So. 2d 446 (Fla. 1st DCA 1988)…erest owed the state. The orders appealed from are REVERSED and the causes are REMANDED to the trial court for further consistent proceedings. SMITH, C.J., and NIMMONS, J., concur. . See also Department of Revenue v. Lineas Aereas Costarricenses, 457 So. 2d 1007 (Fla.1984), appeal dismissed, 477 U.S. 901, 106 S.Ct. 3267, 91 L.Ed.2d 558 (1986); Delta Airlines, Inc. v. Department of Revenue, 455 So. 2d 317 (Fla. 1984), appeal dismissed, 474 U.S. 892, 106 S.Ct. 213, 88 L.Ed.2d 214 (U.S.1985); Northeastern Inte…
Authorities Cited
- DELTA AIR Lines, Inc. v. Dep't OF Revenue, 455 So. 2d 317 (Fla. 1984)
- Dep't OF Revenue v. Wardair Canada, Ltd., 455 So. 2d 326 (Fla. 1984)
- Dep't OF Revenue v. AIR Jamaica Ltd., 455 So. 2d 324 (Fla. 1984)