Irvin Usen Co. v. Board of Assessors of Boston

• Decision Date: 09 September 1941
• Parties: IRVING USEN COMPANY, INC. v. ASSESSORS OF BOSTON.
• Court: United States State Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts Supreme Court

309 Mass. 544

36 N.E.2d 373

IRVING USEN COMPANY, INC. v. ASSESSORS OF BOSTON.

Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts, Suffolk.

September 9, 1941

May 13, 14, 1941.

Present: FIELD, C.

J., DONAHUE, DOLAN & RONAN, JJ.

Tax, On real estate: Commonwealth Flats. Landlord and Tenant, Lease of Commonwealth Flats.

A lessee of part of the Commonwealth Flats under a lease, dated January 6 and providing for a term commencing January 1, was not lessee on January

1 and was improperly assessed a tax as of that date.

APPEAL from a decision by the Appellate Tax Board. A. A. Ginzberg, for the taxpayer.

W. S. Casey Assistant Corporation Counsel, (N.

Moger, Assistant Corporation Counsel, with him,) for the Assessors of Boston.

DOLAN, J. This is an appeal from a decision of the Appellate Tax Board rendered in favor of the assessors of the city of Boston on an appeal from their refusal to abate a tax. The petitioner elected to be governed by the informal procedure provided for by G. L (Ter. Ed.) c. 58A, Section 7A.

The relevant facts are as follows: The land in question forms a part of "Commonwealth Lands" in South Boston, commonly known as the Commonwealth Flats. By an indenture dated January 6, 1939, the Commonwealth, under the authority of G L. (Ter. Ed.) c. 91, Section 2, demised the land involved to the petitioner for a term of four years, beginning January 1 1939, and ending on December 31, 1942. The indenture contained the following covenant: "The Lessee covenants . . . [to] pay all taxes . . . whatsoever which may be payable for or in respect of the said premises or any part thereof during the term hereof." The assessors valued the land at $15.500, and assessed a tax thereon to the petitioner as of January 1, 1939, in the amount of $618.45. On November 21, 1939, the petitioner paid $400 on account of this tax, and on November 23, 1939, paid the balance of $218.45. Each of these payments was made under protest. The petitioner applied to the assessors for an abatement of the tax on October 16, 1939 (see St. 1939, c. 493, Section 2), and on February 2, 1940, received written notice from the assessors of their decision to refuse to abate the tax.

Under the terms of G. L. (Ter. Ed.) c. 91, Section 2, the State department of public works is authorized to lease "lands at and near South Boston known as the Commonwealth flats." G. L. (Ter. Ed.) c. 59, Section 5, Second, exempts from taxation, so far as here material, property of the Commonwealth "except . . . lands in Boston known as the commonwealth flats, if leased for business purposes." Statute 1909, c. 490, Part I, Section 12 (omitted from the General Laws because regarded as special legislation), provides that the Commonwealth Flats "shall, if leased for business purposes, be taxed by the city of Boston to the lessees thereof, respectively, in the same manner as the lands and buildings thereon would be taxed to such lessees if they were the owners of the fee." Grasselli Chemical Co. v. Assessors of Boston, 281 Mass. 79 , 81. Boston v. Boston Port Development Co. 308 Mass. 72 , 80. G. L. (Ter. Ed.) c. 59, Section 11, as appearing in St. 1936, c. 92 (see now St. 1939, c. 175), so far as here pertinent provides that "Taxes on real estate shall be assessed, in the town where it lies, to the person who is the owner on January first, and the person appearing of record, in the records of the county . . . where the estate lies, as owner on January first, . . . shall be held to be the true owner thereof . . . ."

Real estate taxes are assessed annually, not, however, for any period of time but as of a fixed day, Miller v. Wadsworth, Howland & Co Inc. 296 Mass. 172, 174; and it is settled that the assessment of the tax must be levied as of the tax day (here January 1, 1939) on the person or persons designated by the governing statute, and that it is immaterial if the property has been alienated in the meantime. J. L. Hammett Co. v. Alfred Peats Co. 217 Mass. 520 , 522. See also Kearns v. Cunniff, 138 Mass. 434 . The assessors could not lawfully assess the tax in any other way than that prescribed...