3 Or. Tax 307 | Or. T.C. | 1968
Decision for plaintiffs rendered October 30, 1968.
The plaintiffs, contract purchasers of 41 acres of farm land in Jackson County, applied to the Jackson *308
County Assessor for special assessment of their farm property for the tax year 1967-68 under the provisions of ORS
The parties have stipulated that the sole issue is whether a purchaser of farm land under an executory contract is an "owner of farm land" within the meaning of ORS
Subsection (2) of ORS
1. As a general rule under an executory contract of sale and purchase the vendee is treated as the owner of the land.Reynolds Aluminum v. Multnomah Co.,
In Ritchie v. Green Bay,
To support the denial of the special assessment the commission relies on the case of First EUB Church v.Commission,
2. In the EUB Church case the court was dealing with a specific and total tax exemption granted to property belonging to religious organizations. Here, while the special assessment of qualified farm lands might be similar to an exemption, it does not provide for the total exemption of farm lands. ORS
The defendant commission argues also that ORS
3. The emphasis throughout all the statutes relating to special assessment of farm properties is on the land and its use as a farm, not on its ownership. The primary qualification is that the land be devoted to farm use. ORS
4. For several years legislators and others have been concerned about the effect of expanding metropolitan areas, increased population and industrial growth on farm values and income. These factors have raised many questions regarding the valuation and taxation of farm properties and resulted in the enactment of ORS
5. An examination of the statutes ORS
The order of the commission is set aside.