751 P.2d 679
No. 60,179Court of Appeals of Kansas
Opinion filed March 17, 1988 Petition for review denied May 5, 1988.
SYLLABUS BY THE COURT
1. MORTGAGES — Mortgage Registration Fee — Exemption for Mortgages Held by Federal Land Bank. Under 12 U.S.C. § 2055 (1982), mortgages held by federal land banks are exempt from the mortgage registration fee provided for in K.S.A. 1987 Supp. 79-3102(a).
2. SAME — Mortgage Registration Fee — Exemption for Mortgages Held by Federal Land Bank — Enforcement of Mortgages in Kansas Courts. Validly executed federal land bank mortgages may be filed without payment of the mortgage registration fee, and such mortgages are enforceable in Kansas courts.
Appeal from Marion District Court; JOHN F. CHRISTNER, judge. Opinion filed March 17, 1988. Affirmed.
Robert C. Johnson, of Herington, for the appellant.
Max M. Hinkle, of Lehman, Guilfoyle Hinkle, of Abilene, for the appellee.
Before ABBOTT, C.J., ELLIOTT and LARSON, JJ.
ELLIOTT, J.:
The sole issue in this foreclosure action is whether the Federal Land Bank of Wichita is exempt from paying the mortgage registration fee as provided for in K.S.A. 1987 Supp. 79-3102(a). We hold it is. As a result, the trial court did not err in admitting the mortgage into evidence, despite the language of K.S.A. 79-3107, which provides that any mortgage on which the registration fee has not been paid is not to be admitted into evidence and no judgment for its enforcement is to be rendered.
12 U.S.C. § 2055 (1982) clearly states that the mortgages held by federal land banks shall be exempt from all taxation, except for certain federal tax liabilities not relevant to this case.
The Kansas Supreme Court has consistently held that the mortgage registration fee called for in K.S.A. 1987 Supp. 79-3102(a) is a tax and not a user fee or a fee for administrative work. Berger v. Bierschbach, 201 Kan. 740, 745, 443 P.2d 186 (1968).
Appellant’s reliance on Federal Land Bank of Wichita v. Read, 237 Kan. 751, 703 P.2d 777 (1985), is simply misplaced. Holding that a federal land bank is a private corporation for due process consideration does not remove mortgages held by a
Page 562
federal land bank from the express exemption of 12 U.S.C. § 2055.
Consequently, validly executed federal land bank mortgages may be filed without payment of the mortgage registration fee, and such mortgages are enforceable in Kansas courts. See Att’y Gen. Op. No. 86-78.
The judgment is affirmed.
Page 563