The City of Wichita v. Anderson

• Decision Date: 11 July 1925
• Docket Number: 26,065
• Citation: 237 P. 1024,119 Kan. 241
• Parties: THE CITY OF WICHITA, Appellant, v. ED ANDERSON, County Treasurer of Sedgwick County, et al., Appellees
• Court: Kansas Supreme Court

237 P. 1024

119 Kan. 241

THE CITY OF WICHITA, Appellant, v. ED ANDERSON, County Treasurer of Sedgwick County, et al., Appellees

No. 26,065

Supreme Court of Kansas

July 11, 1925

Decided July, 1925.

Appeal from Sedgwick district court, division No. 1; THOMAS E ELCOCK, judge.

Judgment reversed and cause remanded.

SYLLABUS

SYLLABUS BY THE COURT.

TAXATION--Exemption--When Operative. Property purchased on October 13, 1922, by a city for public purposes is exempt from the payment of taxes for that year.

Robert C. Foulston and George Siefkin, both of Wichita, for the appellant.

I. N. Williams, county counselor, for the appellees.

OPINION

MARSHALL, J.:

The plaintiff commenced this action to enjoin the defendant as county treasurer of Sedgwick county and the other defendants as officers of that county, from levying a tax upon real property belonging to the city and from selling that property for the payment of those taxes. Judgment was rendered in favor of the defendants, and the plaintiff appeals.

On October 13, 1922, the plaintiff purchased real property known as Oak Park and immediately went into possession thereof and devoted the property to public park purposes. The deed was not recorded until October 31, 1923. The defendants are attempting to collect the taxes levied thereon for the year 1922.

Valuation, in listing property for taxation, is made during the months of March, April and May. Taxes for state purposes are apportioned in July of each year (R. S. 79-1409); taxes for county purposes are levied in August (R. S. 79-1802); and all city, township and school taxes must be certified to the county clerk prior to August 25 (R. S. 79-1801). Taxes become a lien on real property on the first day of November of each year (R. S. 79-1804).

Article 11, section 1, of the constitution, as amended in 1924, reads:

"The legislature shall provide for a uniform and equal rate of assessment and taxation, except that mineral products, money, mortgages, notes and other evidence of debt may be classified and taxed uniformly as to class as the legislature shall provide. All property used exclusively for state, county, municipal, literary, educational, scientific, religious, benevolent and charitable purposes, and personal property to the amount of at least two hundred dollars for each family, shall be exempted from taxation."

Part of section 79-201 of the Revised Statutes reads:

"That the...