58 N.E.2d 40 | Ill. | 1944
[EDITORS' NOTE: THIS PAGE CONTAINS HEADNOTES. HEADNOTES ARE NOT AN OFFICIAL PRODUCT OF THE COURT, THEREFORE THEY ARE NOT DISPLAYED.] *299 Appellant, August W. Schreiber, filed an amended complaint, in the circuit court of Cook county, to enjoin the county of Cook and its officers and agents from expending any tax moneys or funds for any purpose in the sale of lands or in preparation for the sale of lands for delinquent general or special taxes and special assessments under an act entitled "An Act to amend Section 225 of `An Act to revise the law in relation to the assessment of property and the levy and collection of taxes and to repeal certain Acts herein named,' filed May 17, 1939, as amended, and to add Section 235a thereto," (Laws of 1943, vol. 1, p. 1075,) including any moneys or funds received under an appropriation of $1000 for preparing to sell delinquent tax lands under the provisions of said section 235a of the Revenue Act. (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1943, chap. 120, par. 716a.) *300 The complaint alleged that it was filed on behalf of complainant as a taxpayer and upon behalf of all other taxpayers similarly situated; that said section 235a is unconstitutional; and that the county board is about to cause a tax to be levied in preparing to sell delinquent tax lands, and that, unless restrained, the county of Cook, by and through its officers, agents and servants, would expend the sum appropriated for that purpose. The court sustained a motion to strike the complaint as amended and this appeal followed.
Appellant first contends that the said section 235a of the Revenue Act violates section 1 of article IX of the constitution of 1870, which was inserted in the fundamental law for the purpose of insuring equality and uniformity in the levying and collection of taxes. Section 1 of article IX of the constitution reads as follows: "The general assembly shall provide such revenue as may be needful by levying a tax, by valuation, so that every person and corporation shall pay a tax in proportion to the value of his, her or its property — such value to be ascertained by some person or persons, to be elected or appointed in such manner as the general assembly shall direct, and not otherwise."
Section 235a of the Revenue Act provides, in substance, (1) that the county collector shall annually publish a notice of intended application for judgment and sale of all lands and lots upon which all or a part of the general taxes for each of ten or more years are delinquent; (2) that he shall include therein all general taxes on said lands and lots which are delinquent as of the date of the notice; (3) all the lands and lots which would otherwise appear in the single annual notice and application for judgment may be published in separate notices and applications; (4) delinquent special assessments and special taxes with interest, penalties and costs, shall be included in the notice and application for judgment upon the written request of *301 the taxing districts levying the same; (5) a hearing shall be given to objectors in the county court after which judgment shall be given for such taxes, special taxes, special assessments, costs and penalties as appear to be due; (6) that the lands and lots against which judgments are entered be sold at public vendue to the highest bidder for cash, notwithstandingthe bid may be less than the full amount of taxes, special taxes,special assessments, interest, penalties and costs, for which judgment has been entered; (7) a confirmation of the sale shallextinguish the lien of the general taxes, special taxes andspecial assessments for which judgment has been entered and shallextinguish all forfeiture therefor, and a redemption shall notrevive the lien or the forfeiture; (8) the State or any taxing district may bid; (9) the sale shall be confirmed by the county court and upon confirmation the purchaser is given a certificate of purchase; and if the property is not redeemed within two years from the date of the sale the purchaser is entitled to a deed.
That section also provides for distribution of the proceeds of the sale, and authorizes the county board, in its discretion, to bid in the name of the county as trustee for all taxing districts, including the State, having any interest in the taxes for which the property is sold, and the unpaid taxes may be applied on the bid and no cash need be paid. When the county makes the bid it shall take all necessary steps to acquire title and may manage and operate the property, and may sell the lands or lots so acquired, or the certificate of purchase, and distribute the proceeds of sale to the various taxing districts in proportion to their respective interests. The section also provides that the remedy provided therein shall be in addition to other remedies for the collection of delinquent taxes.
On the basic proposition that there must be equality and uniformity in the levying and collection of taxes there is no judicial dissent. (People ex rel. Clarke v. Jarecki, *302
Appellant's argument is, however, that the provision of section 235a which authorizes a sale at public vendue for cash for less than the full amount of taxes with an extinguishment of the lien for the balance of the taxes, violates the equality and uniformity principle. If the section in question waives any part of the taxes or penalties on the property located in any particular county or taxing district of the State, and does not accord equal and uniform treatment to similar situations in other counties or taxing districts, there would arise a want of uniformity, as held in People v. Jarecki,
It is argued that if one piece of property may be sold for less than the amount of the tax judgment, and the confirmation of the sale extinguishes the lien for the remainder of the judgment, another property with a uniform assessed valuation, on which taxes are paid, may contribute unequally to the burdens of taxation for the support of the government. Perfect equality and uniformity of taxation as regards individuals or corporations or different classes of property subject to taxation can hardly be visualized. Absolute equality is impracticable in taxation and is not required by the equal protection clause of the constitution. Inequalities that result occasionally and incidentally in the application of a system that is not arbitrary in its classification, and not applied in a hostile and discriminatory manner, are not sufficient to defeat the tax. (People v. Franklin Nat. Ins. Co.
The troublesome question is whether the classification of properties, to which section 235a of the Revenue Act, as passed in 1943, applies, is reasonable for purposes of collection of taxes and the application of a new statutory remedy. The only class to which this new remedy may be applied is that class of properties, wherever located within the State, upon which all or a part of the general taxes for each year of ten or more years are delinquent, and, under such conditions, we do not see how it can reasonably be said that such classification for such purposes is *304 unreasonable. Such classification is not arbitrary and discriminatory, but reasonable in view of the existing conditions. Property on which taxes have been paid in full are relieved of some of the burdens of taxation by the realization of a part, rather than none, of the delinquent taxes, and by restoring the delinquent properties to the tax rolls so that they may share their proportion of the burden of taxation in the future. The inequities resulting from administrative defects in the law for enforcement of payment of taxes did not arise from any arbitrary acts of officers charged with its administration. The purpose of section 235a, being to relieve other properties from these inequities and to confer an advantage, cannot be held invalid on the ground of violating the uniformity rule, when the very purpose of it is to obviate any want of uniformity in the future by restoring properties to the tax rolls through a process which necessity requires and expediency permits.
Appellant's counsel further contend that the section now under consideration contravenes section 6 of article IX of the constitution, which reads: "The general assembly shall have no power to release or discharge any county, city, township, town or district whatever, or the inhabitants thereof, or the property therein, from their or its proportionate share of taxes to be levied for state purposes, nor shall commutation for such taxes be authorized in any form whatever."
That section of the constitution applies only to the prohibition of any release or commutation of State taxes.(Raymond v. Hartford Fire Ins. Co.
In Woodrough v. Douglas County,
For the same reasons, a sale under the statute for less than the total judgment for taxes, although extinguishing the lien in part, is, nevertheless, not a release within the meaning of section 23 of article IV of the constitution, because it is not a discharge of a debt, liability or obligation to the State or to any municipal corporation, by any voluntary act of a party, but by operation of law, as was held, in effect, in the case ofWoodrough v. Douglas County,
It is argued that the law violates section 22 of article IV of the constitution and appellant's counsel urge that the omission of delinquent special assessments from the judgment and sale for delinquent general taxes grants a special immunity to the taxing district levying such specials, and that their exclusion confers the special privilege of having the lien of the special assessments become a first lien on the property when the general tax lien is extinguished. It is contended that the effect is to destroy the parity of the liens for general and special taxes and assessments. It will be observed that the special immunity and privilege complained of is imposed upon or in favor of a taxing district or municipal or public corporation. It is well settled that section 22 of article IV of the constitution applies only to private corporations and not to public corporations. (People ex rel. Greening v. Green,
The taxpayers represented by appellant in this case can not be injuriously affected by the provisions of section 235a of the Revenue Act, because any destruction of the parity of liens can have no other effect upon the general taxpayers than the application of a different statutory remedy would have for collecting delinquent special assessment installments. If any of such installments are collected by other provisions of the statute, the analogy is to that of enforcing a trust deed in the nature of a mortgage given to secure several notes. The same principle applies. (Village of Lansing v. Sundstrom,
Appellant invokes section 14 of article II of the constitution on the theory that section 235a, by permitting the county to bid without the payment of cash and to apply the delinquent taxes in payment of the bid, impairs the obligation of a contract. He assumes that the assessments levied against property in an improvement district and the special assessment bonds issued, payable out of the funds raised from the collection of said assessment, constitute a contract with the owners of the bonds, into which the law, in force at the time the bonds are issued, is included. The fatal weakness in that argument is that the judgment of confirmation of an assessment in a local improvement proceeding, on which a delinquency judgment is predicated, is not a contract, and, consequently, section 14 of article II has not been infringed. (Hoehamer v.Village of Elmwood Park,
The statute in question is not in contravention of the due-process-of-law clauses of the State and Federal constitutions. It provides for notice to every taxpayer and full opportunity to be heard on any objections they may *311
see fit to interpose. This complies with the requirement of due process of law. People ex rel. Stuckart v. Arnold Bros.
Appellant contends that there is an arbitrary classification in the section of the statute here in question, because a property which is delinquent for ten years is not substantially different from one which is delinquent for nine years. This court is not to consider whether the classification is wise or unwise; whether it is based upon sound economic theory; or whether it is the best means to achieve the desired result. A difference of opinion is not sufficient to bring such matters within the range of judicial review. (Stewart v. Brady,
The Revenue Act is a law complete in itself. Section 235a is a part of that complete act. It is an independent section aptly providing an additional remedy for a tax situation not contemplated in the enactment of previous sections. It is not in violation of section 13 of article IV of the constitution.(People v. City of Chicago,
The objections to the constitutionality of the act not being sufficient, the decree of the trial court is affirmed.
Decree affirmed. *312