51 Kan. 747 | Kan. | 1893
The opinion of the court was delivered by
It is contended that, although the acts of congress intended to, and did, grant permission to the state to tax the lands, we have no statute to carry out the terms of these acts. In support of this contention, it is said that, under our statutes, it is the land itself in all cases, and not any mere equitable or inchoate interest in the land, that is taxed, or is sold at a tax sale or is conveyed by a tax deed; and again, that the sale in the present case is void, for the reason that it is based upon taxes levied in violation of § 1, art. 11, of the state constitution, which ordains, among other things, that “ the legislature shall provide for a uniform and equal rate of assessment and
The argument against the taxation of the land because the purchaser has only paid a part of the purchase price and given his notes for the balance is answered by this court in Prescott v. Beebe, supra. Brewer, J., speaking for the court in that case, said: ,
“Nor do we see any section of the law which orders a different rate of assessment and taxation in respect to these lands from that prevailing as to all other lands. The solitary provision is, that ‘the lands purchased under this act shall be subject to taxation as other lands/ etc. The real objection of counsel is exactly the reverse of this, and that is, that this property is assessed and taxed at the same rate as other property, when it ought not to be, because the purchaser does not*755 hold the full equitable or legal title. In other words, there is an equitable mortgage on the land belonging to the state, and in the assessment this mortgage ought to be deducted from the value of the land; the purchaser’s interest in the land should be taxed, and not the land itself. But in no other case is the amount of an incumbrance deducted from the value of the land in assessing it for taxation. The land is assessed at its full value, and no account is taken of any mortgage or other lien. This may work a hardship on the landowner, especially when the incumbrances nearly equal the value of the land; but still it furnishes no basis for enjoining the tax.”
After the sale of the lands by the United States to a purchaser, the property cannot be said “to belong exclusively to the United States,” if the original purchaser or his substitute (the tax purchaser) is able and ready to pay the balance of the purchase price. A purchaser at tax sale buys the land charged with the lien of the United States. This is a matter of which he has notice when he buys. The original purchaser also buys with full notice of the condition that, if he does not pay the taxes on the land, a tax purchaser may displace him, under the acts of congress, as owner of the premises, when he makes default in his payments. In that way the tax-sale purchaser may obtain full title for the lands sold at tax sale, the same as the tax purchaser of school lands of the state not paid for, where the original purchaser is in default to the United States. If the original purchaser goes on and makes payment to the United States- for his land, the tax purchaser
We have considered all the other objections urged against the taxation of the lands, but we do not think such objections tenable.
The judgment of the district court will be affirmed.