State ex rel. Burgess v. Kansas City, St. J. & C. B. R. Co.

• Decision Date: 17 October 1898
• Court: Missouri Supreme Court
• Parties: STATE ex rel. BURGESS, Collector, v. KANSAS CITY, ST. J. & C. B. R. CO.

47 S.W. 500

145 Mo. 596

STATE ex rel. BURGESS, Collector, v. KANSAS CITY, ST. J. & C. B. R. CO.

Supreme Court of Missouri, Division No. 2.

October 17, 1898.

COUNTIES — TAXATION — ROAD TAXES.

Road taxes are county taxes, within Const. art. 10, § 11, which provides that for county purposes the annual rate on property in counties having $6,000,000 or less shall not exceed 50 cents on the $100 valuation; and this, though Rev. St. 1889, c. 140, art. 3, provides that townships may be organized for road purposes, and levy road taxes not exceeding 40 cents on the $100.

Appeal from circuit court, Platte county; William S. Herndon, Judge.

Action by the state, on the relation of J. J. Burgess, collector, against the Kansas City, St. Joseph & Council Bluffs Railroad Company. There was a judgment for defendant, and plaintiff appeals. Affirmed.

John W. Coots, for appellant. Spencer & Mosman, for respondent.

GANTT, P. J.

The only question raised by this appeal is the constitutionality of certain road taxes levied in Lee and Waldron townships, in Platte county. Upon the trial it appeared that said townships had each organized under article 3, c. 140, Rev. St. Mo. 1889, and the litigated taxes were levied for the year 1894, under the provisions of said article. It was further shown that the aggregate assessed valuation of Platte county for said year was less than $6,000,000; that the county court had levied a tax for county purposes of 50 cents on the $100 valuation, upon all the taxable property in said county, including the railroad property of defendant; that Lee and Waldron townships had each levied a road tax of 10 cents on each $100 valuation of the taxable property in said townships, which said tax was in addition to the tax for county purposes levied by the county court as aforesaid; that the aggregate thus levied by the county court and the townships was 60 cents on the $100 valuation in said two townships. It further appeared that the defendant railroad company had paid 50 cents on each $100 valuation of its property in said townships, but declined and refused to pay the additional 10 cents so levied by said townships, because it was in excess of the rate limited by section 11 of article 10 of the constitution of Missouri, and consequently void. The circuit court sustained this contention of the defendant, and the plaintiff appeals.

Little scope is left for discussion. Plaintiff seeks to avoid the position of defendant by insisting that the road taxes in question were not levies for "county purposes." He insists it is for a strictly municipal purpose, and therefore...