52 Neb. 258 | Neb. | 1897
In tbe year 1896, and for some years prior thereto, Gage county was under township organization. In said year the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Bailroad Company owned certain property and lines of railway situate in certain townships of said county. In said year the electors of said townships, at their annual township meetings provided for by law, assessed for township purposes certain taxes upon the property of the railway company situate in said townships. The aggregate of these taxes did not exceed 7 mills on the dollar, the amount which the law allowed said electors to assess upon property in their townships for township purposes. In the same year the board of supervisors of Gage county assessed the property of the railway company in said townships for county purposes. The aggregate assessment made by the county board did not exceed 15 mills on the dollar. However, the aggregate assessment made by the electors of the townships and the supervisors of the county exceeded 15 mills on the dollar, and the railway company instituted this proceeding against the county treasurer of Gage county to enjoin him from collecting the excess of such taxes over 15 mills on the dollar, on the ground that such excess was void. The railway company had a decree as prayed in the district court of Gage county, and the treasurer has appealed.
1. The record before us does not disclose that the taxes assessed by the electors of the townships against the appellee’s property exceeded the legal limit of 7 mills upon the dollar, nor is it suggested that any of said taxes so assessed by the township electors were for an illegal or an unauthorized purpose; nor does the record disclose
The justness of this argument appeals with great force to this court; and it would afford' us pleasure to be able to adopt this construction of the constitution, as the writer at least is persuaded that one of the crying evils of the times is the legal confiscation of the citizens’ property under the name or guise of taxation. But we are not at liberty to adopt this construe lion.. Both upon principle and authority we think the construction erroneous. Section 5, article 9, of the constitution provides: “County authorities shall never assess taxes the aggregate of which shall exceed one and one-half dollars per one hundred dollars valuation, except for the payment of indebtedness existing at the adoption of this constitution, unless authorized by a vote of the people-of the county.” Section 6 of said article is as follows: “The legislature may vest the corporate authorities of cities, towns, and villages with power to make-local improvements by special assessment or by special taxation of property benefited. For all other corporate purposes, all municipal corporations may be vested with authority to assess and collect taxes, but such taxes shall be uniform in respect to persons and property within the jurisdiction of the body imposing the same.” Section 5, article 10, of the constitution is as follows: “The legislature shall provide by general law for township organization, under which any county may organize whenever a majority of the legal voters of such county voting at any general election shall so determine,” etc. '
Looking to all these provisions we think the framers of that instrument committed to the legislature the
Counsel for the appellee insist, with much force, it must be confessed, that it was not the intention of the framers of the constitution to permit counties under township-organization to assess taxes to a greater extent for what are in fact county purposes than such a county could have lawfully assessed had not the county adopted township organization. On the contrary, we think this very contingency was in the mind of the framers of the constitution. They knew, and must have known, that the government of a county under township organization might be more expensive than one governed by a board of county commissioners. They also knew that many of the people of this commonwealth are advocates of township government, on the theory that the power which administers their affairs and which assesses the taxes upon their property is nearer and more easily controlled by them
One other argument of appellee in support of this contention deserves consideration. It is said that section 5, article 10, of tbe Illinois constitution of 1870, from which section 5, article 10, of our constitution was copied, contained a provision wbicb was omitted from our consti
We conclude, therefore, that in counties under township organization the board of supervisors may assess taxes upon all the taxable property in the county for county purposes, and the electors of the various townships may assess taxes for township purposes upon all the property in the townships; and that, although the aggregate of the taxes so assessed exceeds 15 mills upon the dollar valuation, such excess is not for that reason void, even though the taxes so assessed were not for the payment of a debt existing at the adoption of the constitution of 1875, nor for a purpose authorized by a vote of the people of such county. The decree of the district court is reversed and the action dismissed.
Rbvebsed and dismissed.