Hayward v. People ex rel. Butler

• Decision Date: 02 April 1895
• Citation: 40 N.E. 287,156 Ill. 84
• Parties: HAYWARD v. PEOPLE ex rel. BUTLER.
• Court: Illinois Supreme Court

156 Ill. 84

40 N.E. 287

HAYWARD

v.PEOPLE ex rel. BUTLER.¹

Supreme Court of Illinois.

April 2, 1895.

Appeal from Christian county court; Vincent E. Foy, Judge.

Action by the people of the state of Illinois, on the relation of Thomas E. Butler, for the use of the city of Pana, against William E. Hayward, to collect a tax. Plaintiff obtained judgment. Defendant appeals. Reversed.

Taylor & Abrams, for appellant.

J. C. Creighton, State's Atty., E. A. Humphreys, City Atty., and J. C. McBride, for appellee.

CARTER, J.

This is an appeal from a judgment of the county court of Christian county rendered against certain land of appellant, for an alleged omitted city tax, assessed for the city of Pana for the years 1883, 1884, 1887, 1888, 1889, and 1890, not extended on the tax books for those years respectively; but the amount of the same, with 10 per cent. interest, aggregating $519.18, was brought forward and placed on the tax books for 1892 by the county clerk, and, the same not being paid, the land was returned delinquent, as to such ‘omitted tax,’ and application was made to the county court for judgment. Appellant, having paid all other taxes assessed against this land, filed and urged in the county court various objections to the rendition of judgment. The court, after hearing the evidence, rendered the statutory judgment against the land for the tax and interest thereon, as demanded, and appellant took this appeal.

The evidence shows that a city tax was levied by the city of Pana upon all real and personal property in said city for the years in question, and was certified to the county clerk, as required by law; that this land lay within the city limits, belonged to appellant, and had been regularly assessed to him during said time, but that the county clerk had omitted to extend the city tax against it for said years of 1883, 1884, 1887, 1888, 1889, and 1890. The provisions of the revenue act bearing upon the questions presented by the record are as follows:

‘Par. 278. If any real or personal property shall be omitted in the assessment of any year or number of years, or the tax thereon, for which such property was liable, from any cause has not been paid, or if any such property, by reason of defective description or assessment thereof, shall fail to pay taxes for any year or years, in either case the same, when discovered, shall be listed and assessed by the assessor and placed on the assessment and tax books. The arrearages of tax which might have been assessed, with ten per cent. interest thereon, from the time the same ought to have been paid, shall be charged against such property by the county clerk. It shall be the duty of county clerks to add uncollected personal property tax to the tax of any subsequent year, whenever they may find the person owing such uncollected tax assessed for any subsequent year.

‘Par. 279. If the tax or assessment on property liable to taxation is prevented from being collected for any year or years, by reason of any erroneous proceeding or other cause, the amount of such tax or assessment which such property should have paid may be added to the tax on such property for any subsequent year, in separate columns designating the year or years.

‘Par. 280. No such charge for tax and interest for previous years, as provided for in the preceding section, shall be made against any property prior to the date of ownership of the person owning such property at the time the liability for such omitted tax was first ascertained: provided, that the owner of property,...