Thompson v. Tinkcom

• Decision Date: 01 January 1870
• Citation: Thompson v. Tinkcom, 15 Minn. 226 (Minn. 1870)
• Parties: JAMES M. THOMPSON, County Treasurer, etc., v. JAMES R. TINKCOM.
• Court: Minnesota Supreme Court

Page 226

15 Minn. 226

JAMES M. THOMPSON, County Treasurer, etc.,

v. JAMES R. TINKCOM.

Supreme Court of Minnesota.

Appeal by plaintiff from a judgment of the district court, Blue Earth county, in proceedings to enforce personal taxes.

Judson Jones, for appellant.

F. H. Waite, for respondent.

McMILLAN, J.

This is a proceeding under section 93, c. 11, Gen. St., by the county treasurer of Blue Earth county, to collect certain taxes assessed upon the personal property of the defendant for the year 1868.

The facts necessary to present the question involved in this case are as follows: The city assessor of the city of Mankato, on the eighteenth day of June, 1868, served upon the defendant a tax notice, according to law, requiring him to list his personal property liable to taxation. The defendant made out and verified upon his oath the following list of items, namely:

  One pleasure carriage, value,    -       -        $15 00
                  One watch,   -       -         -     -         -   15 00
                  Household goods, etc.,    -        -         -     20 00
                

And, having verified the truth and correctness of the statement in the manner required by the statute, returned and delivered the same to the assessor.

The assessor, after the delivery of the list to him by the defendant, entered opposite to "the value of all credits, book accounts, and money loaned, after deducting therefrom all bona fide debts," $12,000, noting on the list the fact of the addition by him, and returned said list so changed to the county auditor; and also entered all said sums and items of personal property upon the assessment of said city of Mankato, for the year 1868, without the knowledge of defendant until long after the same was done. The defendant, on the second of September, 1868, appeared before the board of commissioners organized to equalize and correct the assessment for the year 1868, and made complaint to them of the change of said list, and of said erroneous assessment, and asked to have said erroneous assessment corrected and abated, and the said board neglected to hear such application, or to take any action therein.

Whether or not the defendant was in truth the owner of any credits, book accounts, or money loaned which were taxable at the time, the court which tried the cause did not find; the action having been dismissed by the court on the ground that the assessor had no authority to make the assessment in this manner.

The class of property assessed to the defendant and returned by the assessor is made expressly taxable by the statute. Gen. St. c. 11, §§ 6, 7. The presumption from the return, regular upon its face and in the hands of the proper officer, is prima facie that the tax is valid, and it is incumbent on the plaintiff to rebut this presumption; so far, therefore, as the validity of the tax depends upon the existence and ownership of the property upon which it is assessed, it must for the purposes of this case be assumed. St. Peter's Church v. Com'rs Scott County, 12 Minn. 395, (Gil. 280;) O'Kane v. Treat, 25 Ill. 557. The sole question is, therefore, as to the power of the assessor to assess it in the manner he did; that is, whether the statement purporting to be a true statement of all the personal property of the defendant, and duly verified and complying in form with the requirements of the statutes, is conclusive as to the assessor with reference to the property of the defendant, or whether, if, by mistake or otherwise, there has been an omission in such statement of any portion of the personal property of the defendant, the assessor may add such omitted property in his assessment, and embrace the same in his return to the county auditor. This is a question which admits of much argument on either side, and its solution is not entirely free from doubt; but, after carefully examining the question, the most satisfactory conclusion at which we can arrive is that the assessor has the power and is required to embrace in his return any and all property taxable under the law, whether omitted by mistake or otherwise from the statement made by the individual required to list the same, or whether any statement was made or not.

The determination of the question depends more particularly upon the construction to be given to section 27 of chapter 11, above referred to, which is as follows: "In every case where any person refuses or neglects to make out and deliver to the township assessor a statement of the personal property, moneys, and credits, investments in bonds, stocks, joint stock companies, or otherwise, as provided by this chapter, or refuses or neglects to take and subscribe an oath as to the truth of such statement, or any part thereof, which he is by this chapter required to verify by his oath, or in case of the sickness or absence of such person the assessor shall proceed to ascertain the number of each description of the several articles of personal property enumerated in the seventh section of this chapter, and the value thereof, the value of personal property subject to taxation, other than enumerated articles, and the value of the moneys and credits, investments in bonds, stocks, joint stock companies, or otherwise, of which a statement has not been made to said assessor as aforesaid, as the case may require; and to enable him so to do, he is hereby authorized to examine on oath any person whom he may suppose has a knowledge of the articles, or value of the personal property, moneys, credits, investments in bonds, stocks, joint-stock companies, or otherwise, which the person so refusing, or absent or sick, was required to list."

We think the better construction of this section is that by the use of the terms "refuses or neglects," in the first line of the section, it embraces all cases of refusal, neglect, or omission, fraudulent, willful, intentional, or otherwise, by any person to make a true statement of all the personal property exempt, as well as unexempt, which by the provisions of chapter 11 of the General Statutes, such person is required to list for taxation either as owner or holder thereof, or as guardian,...