Bradley County School System v. City of Cleveland, Tennessee

May 9, 2019 by Justia

In this case regarding the proper distribution of liquor-by-the-drink (LBD) tax proceeds between a county and a municipality within the county, the Supreme Court affirming the decision of the court of appeals affirming the judgment of the trial court granting summary judgment against the county on its claim that the LBD tax distribution statute, Tenn. Code Ann. 57-4-306, required cities to distribute the tax proceeds as the counties distribute the county property tax schools, holding that that the city was not required to share those proceeds with the county or the county schools.The county in this case had not approved the LBD sales, but the city had. The Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Revenue distributed tax proceeds to the city in accordance with section 57-4-306. The city distributed half its tax proceeds to its own city school system and did not share the proceeds with the county. The trial court granted summary judgment in favor of the city. The court of appeals affirmed. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the statute directed the city to distribute the education portion of its LBD tax proceeds in support of its own municipal school system and did not require the city to share the proceeds with the county or its schools. View "Bradley County School System v. City of Cleveland, Tennessee" on Justia Law