68 Mo. 320 | Mo. | 1878
The assessor in the city of St. Louis assessed the petitioner’s real estate in the year 1877 for the taxes of 1878. On appeal to the board of equalization of the city of St. Louis, the petitioner sought a reduction of the valuation, because, as he alleged, it was greater than that fixed upon it in former years, and greater than its actual cash value. The valuation was reduced ten per cent. The petitioner now brings this assessment before us, and alleges that the same'is illegal and void ; that under the law real estate can only be assessed biennially, that the valuation of the petitioner’s property in 1876, the time fixed by
In a proceeding by certiorari in this court, the petition for the writ may be regarded as in the nature of an assignment errors on the record sought to be reviewed, in the absence of any more formal assignment of errors after the record is returned to this court. Further than this the petition is not to be viewed as a pleading in the cause. The record of the inferior tribunal is to be examined by us just as it would be, if it could be and were brought before us by a writ of error or an. appeal. The record brought here may be amended, as in other cases, by the stipulation of the parties, but no issues of law or fact are to be made by the petition or writ, and return, to be tried by us, as in proceedings by mandamus or quo warranto. State ex rel. Lathrop v. Dowling, 50 Mo. 134.
The only question is, is there error in the record of the inferior tribunal brought before us by the writ ? As the assessment record returned in the present proceeding does not show what the valuation of the petitioner’s property was in the year 1876, the year in which it is claimed that the biennial assessment is, by law, required to be made elsewhere in the State, it does not appear that the petitioner has been damaged, and we might, therefore, decline to interfere with the action of the board of equalization on that ground ; but as the question sought to be presented has been stated in argument to be one of great importance to the State, as well as the tax-payers in the city of St. Louis, we will proceed to inquire whether annual assessments of real estate in the city of St. Louis are allowed by law.
The 20th section of article 9 of the constitution, which provided for the separation of the city from the county, authorized the people of the city to adopt a cparter for their government which should be in harmony with and subject to the constitution and
The revenue law as contained in the general statutes-of 1865, required the county boards of equalization, including the board of equalization for the county of St.Louis, to meet annually, and, at such meetings they were authorized to increase or diminish the assessment of real property so as to make it conform to its true value. Gen. Stat., p. 97, §§ 13, 14, 15; p. 108, § 65. In the year 1870 an act was passed, not as an amendment, in terms, of any existing law, but as an independent statute, entitled, “ An act in relation to the assessment and collection of revenue on real estate, and providing that taxes on real estate shall be a lien on the same, and for the sale and enforcement of such liens.” The first section of that act is as -follows: “ The assessment of real estate, made, for the year 1870, shall be the assessment thereof until the 1st Monday in July, 1871, between which last named time and the 1st day of October next thereafter, and in like time every two years thereafter, all real estate subject to taxation shall be assessed and listed numerically, as far as the same can be done as now provided by law; but nothing herein contained shall be so construed as to affect the right of any board of equalization, in pursuance of law, to increase or diminish the aggregate of such assessment, or the assessment of any tract or lot, or of any county court or other tribunal by law thereto authorized, to add to such lists all tracts and lots of land not asssessed, or to strike from such list any tract or lot improperly assessed. Acts 1870, p. 114. As this statute was an independent enactment, it might have been thought, but for the qualification contained in the foregoing section, that it was the purpose of the law to deprive county boards of equalization of all j)ower to interfere in any manner with the biennial assess
Perceiving no error in the action of the board of equalization, the relief sought by the petitioner will be denied, and the writ dismissed.
Writ Denied.