53 A.2d 889 | Pa. Super. Ct. | 1947
Argued April 14, 1947. In September 1942 Willis W. Phinney bought the land, in the City of Franklin, involved in this appeal. He paid $10,000 for the property and took title in his name and that of his wife. The premises consist in two adjoining parcels of land in the heart of the most desirable residential section of Franklin. The property as a whole extends 300 feet along Fifteenth Street with a frontage also of 112 feet on Liberty Street and 75 feet on Elk Street. There were two large buildings on the land; a three-story brick dwelling facing Liberty Street and a brick barn on the Elk Street lot. For the triennium beginning with 1943, the board of revision of taxes for the City of Franklin assessed the Liberty Street property at $12,000 for city tax purposes and the Elk Street lot, *103 with the improvements, at $2,500. On appeals, the lower court, in its final order, reduced these assessments to $10,000 and $2,000, respectively. Appellants here contend that these amounts are in excess of the actual value of the premises and that, in any event, the assessments as determined by the lower court must be further reduced to 65% of their actual values to conform with a ratio between actual and assessed valuations adopted by the assessor and the board in computing assessment values for tax purposes throughout the city.
The buildings on the premises were constructed prior to 1905 at a cost many times the amount which appellants paid for the property. They are substantial and conform with architectural standards of the era to which they belong. The structures are not of unattractive design and were well built; depreciation has come, for the most part, from obsolescence. The size and bulk of the house has been an important factor in reducing its market value. The trend of the demand, for a number of urgent reasons, has been to smaller and less pretentious homes. The market for large houses everywhere is limited and such properties usually can be sold only when price is sacrificed.
The Act of June 23, 1931, P.L. 932, as amended May 25, 1939, P.L. 225 controlled the 1943 triennial assessment in Franklin. The standard of assessment of lands under that amendment was "the actual value", i.e., the market value thereof. McConomy TaxAssessment Case,
But appellants contend that it is established by the weight of the evidence that assessments of real estate generally throughout Franklin were computed on the basis of 65% of actual value. Accordingly they say that, in the interest of equality, they are entitled to a reduction in the assessment even if it be conceded that the order reflects the actual or market value of the premises. The weight of the evidence is before this court but we may not reverse the lower court except for clear error. WestburyApartments, Inc., Appeal,
It is settled law that "where it is impossible to secure both the standard of the true value, and the uniformity and equality required by law [Article IX, section 1, of *105
our State Constitution] the latter requirement is to be preferred as the just and ultimate purpose of the law." The rule was thus stated in Cumberland Coal Co. v. Board of Revision, Etc.,
In the present case there was competent testimony, sufficient both in quantity and quality to support the determination of the lower court as to the value of the land for assessment purposes. The final orders, supported as they are by the findings and the weight of the evidence, are conclusive on us.
Orders affirmed.