107 Ga. 1 | Ga. | 1899
Over a hundred years ago, the municipal am thorities of the City of Savannah, by ordinances duly passed,
We are aware of no act passed by the State legislature that has ever conferred upon the City of Savannah the power to exempt from taxation any property owned by its citizens. There is respectable and weighty authority to the effect that a legislative body, in the exercise of the sovereign powers of a State, has no inherent right, upon any consideration, to enact a law' perpetually exempting any particular species of property from the burden of taxation. Some of the decisions to which we refer
In the view we take of this case, we find it unnecessary to pass upon the power of a State government, or of its subordinate branches, to enact such legislation or make such contracts with its citizens. We think there can be no sort of question that when such an exemption is claimed by any citizen of the government, it is incumbent upon him to clearly show the existence of an express contract, unambiguous and definite in •creating by its terms the exemption claimed. Such a contract can not be implied, and if there is any doubt concerning its existence, or the exact and true meaning of its stipulations, the doubt ought always to be resolved in favor of the government upon which has been conferred the right to exercise this sovereign power. In this connection, we quote the following pertinent extract from the opinion of Mr. Justice Swayne in the case of Tucker v. Ferguson, 22 Wall. 575, as laying down the cor
Was such a contract shown in the present case? With the-view of determining whether or not there was, we have naturally looked to the official action taken by the governing body of the city, either in its ordinances or resolutions providing for-the plan upon which the sales were to be made and the consequences and effect thereof, or in its deed of conveyance to the-purchaser. Upon examining the various ordinances set out in the record, we fail to find any reference whatever to the matter of exempting this property from taxation ; and instead of finding any stipulation to that effect in the form of deed invariably made by the city to the various purchasers, there appears a. clause directly negativing the idea that the city ever intended to grant a perpetual exemption of this property from the burden of taxation. In each instance, it was recited in the deed given to the purchaser that the conveyance of the city was made, and the rights of the purchaser thereunder were conferred, “subject only to such assessments and burthens as shall be in common with other lot-holders in the said city.” The term “assessment” is often used as a synonym of “taxes.” Indeed, one of the definitions of this term given by Webster is “a tax.” But even if this word, as used in the deed, does not necessarily refer to taxation, the word “burthen,” which is also therein employed, is certainly sufficiently comprehensive to include municipal taxes. Taken all together, the language adopted is clearly broad enough to embrace every burden then existing or
Plaintiffs in error contend,.however, that the contract they insist upon is evidenced sufficiently by the conduct of the municipal officers at the time the sales by the city took place. It was shown that when lots were put up for sale, the city marshal publicly announced that they would not be subject to city taxes; that this was generally understood by the city at large, and that for nearly a hundred years after these sales first began the municipal authorities failed to tax the" lands, and in various ordinances afterwards passed these ground-rent lands were exempted. The effect of these ordinances was merely to grant an exemption from taxes for the particular years to which they related. Mere nonuser by a government of its power to levy a tax, it matters not for how long it continued, can never be construed into a forfeiture of the power. This question was directly passed upon by this court when the case was here before. As to this point, Chief Justice Bleckley said: “ Whatever the expectation of purchasers, or the unbroken practice of the city hitherto may have been, the mandate of the constitution of 1877 is to tax all property, save that expressly exempted by the legislature under constitutional authority, if any is taxed. That this mandate may have heretofore been disregarded, is no reason why it should not be obeyed now.”
There is an absolute want of any testimony in the record showing that the Mayor and Aldermen of the City of Savannah, by ordinance, resolution, or official action of any sort, ever authorized the marshal to make the public announcement above referred to, in offering for sale the city’s property. • The effort to create a contract by such proof is simply an attempt to engraft upon a written instrument by parol a stipulation
Our conclusion therefore is, that even if the City of Savannah had the power claimed for it, the record utterly fails to make it appear that its authorities ever attempted to exercise such power.
Judgment affirmed.