Sec 42-5069. Commercial lease classification; definitions

A. The commercial lease classification is comprised of the business of leasing for a consideration the use or occupancy of real property.

B. A person who, as a lessor, leases or rents for a consideration under one or more leases or rental agreements the use or occupancy of real property that is used by the lessee for commercial purposes is deemed to be engaged in business and subject to the tax imposed by article 1 of this chapter, but this subsection does not include leases or rentals of real property used for residential or agricultural purposes.

C. The commercial lease classification does not include:

1. Any business activities that are classified under the transient lodging classification.

2. Activities engaged in by the Arizona exposition and state fair board or county fair commissions in connection with events sponsored by those entities.

3. Leasing real property to a lessee who subleases the property if the lessee is engaged in business classified under the commercial lease classification or the transient lodging classification.

4. Leasing real property pursuant to a written lease agreement entered into before December 1, 1967. This exclusion does not apply to the businesses of hotels, guest houses, dude ranches and resorts, rooming houses, apartment houses, office buildings, automobile storage garages, parking lots or tourist camps, or to the extension or renewal of any such written lease agreement.

5. Leasing real property between affiliated companies, businesses, persons or reciprocal insurers. For the purposes of this paragraph:

(a) "Affiliated companies, businesses, persons or reciprocal insurers" means the lessor holds a controlling interest in the lessee, the lessee holds a controlling interest in the lessor, affiliated persons hold a controlling interest in both the lessor and the lessee, or an unrelated person holds a controlling interest in both the lessor and lessee.

(b) "Affiliated persons" means members of an individual's family or persons who have ownership or control of a business entity.

(c) "Controlling interest" means direct or indirect ownership of at least eighty percent of the voting shares of a corporation or of the interests in a company, business or person other than a corporation.

(d) "Members of an individual's family" means the individual's spouse and brothers and sisters, whether by whole or half blood, including adopted persons, ancestors and lineal descendants.

(e) "Reciprocal insurers" has the same meaning prescribed in section 20-762.

6. Leasing real property for boarding horses.

7. Leasing or renting real property or the right to use real property at exhibition events in this state sponsored, operated or conducted by a nonprofit organization that is exempt from taxation under section 501(c)(3), 501(c)(4) or 501(c)(6) of the internal revenue code if the organization is associated with major league baseball teams or a national touring professional golfing association and no part of the organization's net earnings inures to the benefit of any private shareholder or individual.

8. Leasing or renting real property or the right to use real property for use as a rodeo featuring primarily farm and ranch animals in this state sponsored, operated or conducted by a nonprofit organization that is exempt from taxation under section 501(c)(3), 501(c)(4), 501(c)(6), 501(c)(7) or 501(c)(8) of the internal revenue code and no part of the organization's net earnings inures to the benefit of any private shareholder or individual.

9. Leasing or renting dwelling units, lodging facilities or trailer or mobile home spaces if the units, facilities or spaces are intended to serve as the principal or permanent place of residence for the lessee or renter or if the unit, facility or space is leased or rented to a single tenant thirty or more consecutive days.

10. Leasing or renting real property and improvements for use primarily for religious worship by a nonprofit organization that is exempt from taxation under section 501(c)(3) of the internal revenue code and no part of the organization's net earnings inures to the benefit of any private shareholder or individual.

11. Leasing or renting real property used for agricultural purposes under either of the following circumstances:

(a) The lease or rental is between family members, trusts, estates, corporations, partnerships, joint venturers or similar entities, or any combination thereof, if the individuals or at least eighty percent of the beneficiaries, shareholders, partners or joint venturers share a family relationship as parents or ancestors of parents, children or descendants of children, siblings, cousins of the first degree, aunts, uncles, nieces or nephews of the first degree, spouses of any of the listed relatives and listed relatives by the half-blood or by adoption.

(b) The lessor leases or rents real property used for agricultural purposes under no more than three leases or rental agreements.

12. Leasing, renting or granting the right to use real property to vendors or exhibitors by a trade or industry association that is a qualifying organization pursuant to section 513(d)(3)(C) of the internal revenue code for a period not to exceed twenty-one days in connection with an event that meets all of the following conditions:

(a) The majority of such vending or exhibition activities relate to the nature of the trade or business sponsoring the event.

(b) The event is held in conjunction with a formal business meeting of the trade or industry association.

(c) The event is organized by the persons engaged in the particular trade or industry.

13. Leasing, renting or granting the right to use real property for a period not to exceed twenty-one days by a coliseum, civic center, civic plaza, convention center, auditorium or arena owned by this state or any of its political subdivisions.

14. Leasing or subleasing real property used by a nursing care institution as defined in section 36-401 that is licensed pursuant to title 36, chapter 4.

15. Leasing or renting an eligible facility as defined in section 28-7701.

16. Granting or providing rights to real property that constitute a profit à prendre for the severance of minerals, including all rights to use the surface or subsurface of the property as is necessary or convenient to the right to sever the minerals. This paragraph does not exclude from the commercial lease classification leasehold rights to the real property that are granted in addition to and not included within the right of profit à prendre, but the tax base for the grant of such a leasehold right, if the gross income derived from the grant is not separately stated from the gross income derived from the grant of the profit à prendre, shall not exceed the fair market value of the leasehold rights computed after excluding the value of all rights under the profit à prendre. For the purposes of this paragraph, "profit à prendre" means a right to use the land of another to mine minerals, and carries with it the right of entry and the right to remove and take the minerals from the land and also includes the right to use the surface of the land as is necessary and convenient for exercise of the profit.

17. The leasing or renting of space to make attachments to utility poles as follows:

(a) By a person that is engaged in business under section 42-5063 or 42-5064 or that is a cable operator.

(b) To a person that is engaged in business under section 42-5063 or 42-5064 or that is a cable operator.

D. The tax base for the commercial lease classification is the gross proceeds of sales or gross income derived from the business, but reimbursements to the lessor for utility service shall be deducted from the tax base.

E. Notwithstanding section 42-1104, subsection B, paragraph 1, subdivision (b) and paragraph 2, the failure to file tax returns for the commercial lease classification that report gross income derived from any agreement that constitutes, in whole or in part, a grant of a right of profit à prendre for the severance of minerals does not constitute an exception to the general rule for the statute of limitations.

F. For the purposes of this section:

1. "Cable operator" has the same meaning prescribed by section 9-505.

2. "Leasing" includes renting.

3. "Real property" includes any improvements, rights or interest in such property.

4. "Utility pole" means any wooden, metal or other pole used for utility purposes and the pole's appurtenances that are attached or authorized for attachment by the person controlling the pole.