In re Ayala, 35 B.R. 651 (Bankr.D.Utah)
PUBLISHED
County filed proof of claim for garbage fees in debtor's chapter 7 bankruptcy, asserting unsecured tax priority under 11 U.S.C. § 507(a)(6) for the period prior to the claim's certification to the County Assessor, and treatment as a secured claim thereafter. By state statute, the provider service-district may certify unpaid fees to the assessor, which then become liens on real property. County did not specify when its claim was certified. The court held that § 507(a)(6) only extends priority status to "taxes" that fall within one of its subsections. Concluding that the fees portion of County's claim was "in the nature of a property tax," the court held that the fees were entitled to priority treatment under § 507(a)(6)(B). However, the "penalty," "fee rate," and "interest" portions of County's claim did not satisfy § 507(a)(6)(G), and were therefore unsecured, non-priority claims.