Lutheran Campus Council v. Board of County Com'rs, Ward County

• Decision Date: 20 February 1970
• Docket Number: No. 8561,8561
• Citation: 174 N.W.2d 362
• Parties: LUTHERAN CAMPUS COUNCIL, a North Dakota religious corporation, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS, WARD COUNTY, North Dakota, and Edwin Sjaastad, State Tax Commissioner of North Dakota, Defendants and Appellants. Civ.
• Court: North Dakota Supreme Court

Page 362

174 N.W.2d 362

LUTHERAN CAMPUS COUNCIL, a North Dakota religious corporation, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS, WARD COUNTY, North Dakota and Edwin Sjaastad, State Tax Commissioner of North Dakota, Defendants and Appellants.

Civ. No. 8561.

Supreme Court of North Dakota.

Feb. 20, 1970.

Syllabus by the Court

1. It is well settled that provisions exempting property from taxation are to be strictly construed; that their operation should not be extended by construction; and that the power and right of the state to tax are presumed and the exemption must be clearly granted. This does not mean that there should not be a liberal construction of the language used in order to carry out the expressed intention of the fundamental lawmakers and the Legislature but, rather, that the property which is claimed to be exempt must come clearly within the provisions granting such exemption.

2. For reasons stated in the opinion the property in question is held to be exempt from taxation.

Richard B. Thomas, State's Attorney, Minot, for Board of County Commissioners of Ward County; Joseph R. Maichel, Special

Asst. Atty. Gen., Bismarck, for Edwin Sjaastad, State Tax Commissioner of North Dakota, for defendants and appellants.

Waldron & Kenner, Minot, for plaintiff and respondent.

PAULSON, Judge.

This is an appeal from a judgment of the District Court of Ward County, North Dakota, whereby, on appeal, the court reversed a decision of the Board of County Commissioners of Ward County denying an application for abatement and settlement of real estate taxes assessed for the years 1966 and 1967 against residential property owned by the Lutheran Campus Council in Minot, North Dakota, and trial de novo is demanded.

The Lutheran Campus Council, a North Dakota religious coporation, owns Lot Two (2), Block Four (4), Valli Hai Addition to the City of Minot, Ward County, North Dakota. This property was purchased in December, 1965, pursuant to a sales agreement, from Kenneth O. Nelson, and fee title acquired by warranty deed in April, 1968. The residence situated on the property has been used and occupied by the Reverend Richard L. Jurgensen since December of 1965.

The Reverend Mr. Jurgensen is an ordained minister of the American Lutheran Church and, since 1961, has ministered to the Lutheran students and faculty members of Minot State College on a full-time basis, on behalf of the Lutheran Campus Council. The premises in question have been and are being used by the Reverend Mr. Jurgensen for periodic religious group meetings, counseling of students and faculty members; as a study, an office, and a conference facility; and as a residence for himself and his family.

The real estate taxes for the years 1966 and 1967 have been levied and assessed against the property owned by the Lutheran Campus Council used and occupied by the Reverend Mr. Jurgensen for the purposes mentioned. The Council, on April 28, 1968, filed an application in duplicate for abatement and settlement of the real estate taxes with the board of county commissioners of Ward County. The reasons set forth in the application were that the property is owned by the Lutheran Campus Council, a North Dakota religious corporation, and that the property is used as a parsonage and for religious purposes and is exempt from general taxes, pursuant to the provisions of subsection 7 of § 57--02--08 of the North Dakota Century Code. The application was referred to the governing board of the City of Minot, North Dakota, which recommended to the board of county commissioners of Ward County, on August 5, 1968, that the application for abatement and settlement of the taxes be denied. The Ward County commissioners, on October 8, 1968, denied the application because the property did not qualify under the exemption provisions of § 57--02--08, N.D.C.C. Thereafter, on October 23, 1968, the Council appealed to the district court from the decision of the board of county commissioners of Ward County denying the Council's application for abatement and settlement of the taxes.

The Honorable Roy A. Ilvedson, Judge of Ward County District Court, found that the property owned by the Lutheran Campus Council and as used by the Reverend Mr. Jurgensen as his residence was exempt from real estate taxes pursuant to subsections 7 and 9 of § 57--02--08, N.D.C.C., and thereafter a judgment was duly entered. The board of county commissioners of Ward County has appealed to this court from that judgment.

The facts in the present case are virtually undisputed and are in essence those related above.

The appellants state the issue as follows: whether the property owned by the Lutheran Campus Council, a religious corporation, and used and occupied by a minister engaged in counseling and guidance work with students and faculty members of an institution of higher learning is exempt from taxation pursuant to either subsection 7 or 9 of § 57--02--08, N.D.C.C.

The board of county commissioners of Ward County urge that an exemption only exists by virtue of either a constitutional or a statutory provision. Section 176 of the North Dakota Constitution provides, in part, that:

'* * * property used exclusively for * * * religious * * * or other public purposes shall be exempt from taxation. * * *'

The pertinent provisions of § 57--02--08, N.D.C.C., are:

'All property described in this section to the extent herein limited shall be exempt from taxation, that is to say:

'7. All houses used exclusively for public worship, and lots or parts of lots upon which such buildings are erected, and any dwellings belonging to religious organizations intended and ordinarily used for the residence of the bishop, priest, rector, or other minister in charge of the services of the church, together with the lots upon which the same are situated:

'9. All real property, not exceeding two acres in extent, owned by any religious corporation of organization, upon which there is a building used for the religious services of such organization, or upon which there is a dwelling with usual outbuildings, intended and ordinarily used for the residence of the bishop, priest, rector, or other minister in charge of such services, shall be deemed to be property used exclusively for religious services, and exempt from taxation, whether such real property consists of one tract or more. All taxes assessed or levied on any such property, while the same was so used for religious purposes, are void and of no effect, and must be canceled. * * *'

We find, in analyzing these provisions, that § 176 of the North Dakota Constitution is a mandate to exempt from taxation property used exclusively for religious purposes. This constitutional provision is a right which shall not be restricted. Subsections 7 and 9 of § 57--02--08, N.D.C.C., are legislative enactments implementing this constitutional command, and they set forth the specific property which qualifies for exemption from taxation. Neither the board of county commissioners of Ward County nor the Lutheran Campus Council has presented any constitutional questions in this case. The issue involves only the construction and application of subsections 7 and 9 of § 57--02--08, N.D.C.C.

As we approach the construction of our statute and its application to the facts of this case, we bear in mind the rules that the burden is on the claimant of a tax exemption to establish the exempt status of his property and that the laws under which such an...