Moors v. Street Comm'rs of Boston
| Decision Date | 05 March 1883 |
| Citation | 134 Mass. 431 |
| Parties | Joseph B. Moors v. Street Commissioners of Boston |
| Court | United States State Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts Supreme Court |
Suffolk.
Certiorari to issue.
R. M Morse, Jr. & H. L. Harding, for the petitioner.
T. M Babson, for the respondents.
OPINION
The petitioner, who brings this writ of certiorari for the purpose of revising the judgment of the street commissioners of Boston acting as county commissioners, in refusing to abate a tax laid by the assessors of Boston upon his property, had seasonably filed a schedule purporting to be a true list of all his property liable to taxation, and had made oath to the same. Whether any inquiries were then made of him does not clearly appear, but it is agreed that, if such were made, they were fully answered. Subsequently the assessors, hearing of two lots of personal property for which they considered him to be taxable, (not referred to in any inquiries made by them, if such were made,) added a description of the same to the schedule filed by him and assessed him thereon, no inquiries having been made by them in relation thereto. We have first to consider, therefore, whether the sworn return was conclusive upon the assessors under these circumstances, and thus whether they were limited to an assessment of the property returned by the petitioner.
The Rev. Sts. c. 7, § 22, were as follows: "The assessors shall receive, as the true valuation of the property of each individual, the list, if any, brought in by him according to the provisions of this chapter, unless he shall, on being thereto required by the assessors, refuse to make oath that the same is true." Under this statute, it was held that the word "valuation" was equivalent to "enumeration" or "statement," and not to "estimate of value;" that the value of his estate as estimated by the tax-payer was not conclusive upon the assessors, but that the enumeration, description and specification of his estate was to be so taken, unless the owner, on being required to make oath, refused to do so. He could not, therefore, be lawfully taxed for more property than he had inserted in his list, unless he refused to swear that he had no more. Newburyport v. County Commissioners, 12 Met. 211. Winnisimmet Co. v. Chelsea, 6 Cush. 477. Lincoln v. Worcester, 8 Cush. 55.
The Gen. Sts. c. 11, § 25, so far altered the law as to provide, referring to the assessors: "They shall receive as true the list brought in by each individual according to the provisions of this chapter, unless, on being thereto required by the assessors, he refuses to answer on oath all necessary inquiries as to the nature and amount of his property." The word "valuation" was thus omitted, and while under the former statute it was held that the return of the tax-payer should be adopted as conclusive if, upon being required so to do, he made oath to its correctness, under the later statute the assessors were not bound to take his...
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