Supreme Court of Missouri / Aug 9, 2022
Brent Johnson, in his Official Capacity as the Assessor for Greene County, Missouri and Greene County, Missouri, Appellants, vs. Springfield Solar 1, LLC, Respondent, vs. Allen Icet, in his Official Capacity as the Collector for Greene County, Missouri, Appellant.
Greene County and its Assessor appealed a circuit court's judgment that a solar energy system owned by Springfield Solar 1, LLC, was exempt from property taxes under section 137.100(10) RSMo. The circuit court had found the statute constitutional and ruled against the Assessor's challenge. The Missouri Supreme Court reversed, holding that section 137.100(10) is unconstitutional because the Missouri Constitution does not grant the legislature the power to create such a tax exemption. The Court vacated the circuit court's judgment and remanded the case for further proceedings, concluding the solar equipment is not tax-exempt.