Town of St. John v. State Board of Tax Commissioners

• Decision Date: 02 March 1998
• Docket Number: 49T10-9309-TA-00070
• Parties: TOWN OF ST. JOHN, ET AL., JAMES K. GILDAY, DIMPLE CLARINE SHELTON, and WILLIAM E. WISE, Petitioners, v. STATE BOARD OF TAX COMMISSIONERS, Respondent.
• Court: Tax Court of Indiana

TOWN OF ST. JOHN, ET AL., JAMES K. GILDAY, DIMPLE CLARINE SHELTON, and WILLIAM E. WISE, Petitioners, v. STATE BOARD OF TAX COMMISSIONERS, Respondent.

No. 49T10-9309-TA-00070

Tax Court of Indiana

March 2, 1998

Richard A. Waples, Attorney at Law

Thomas M. Atherton DUTTON & OVERMAN

James K. Gilday WOOD TOUHY GLEASON MERCER & HERRIN

Peter H. Donahoe HILL FULWINDER McDOWELL FUNK & MATTHEWS

Kenneth J. Falk Indiana Civil Liberties Union

Jeffrey A. Modisett Attorney General of Indiana

Jon Laramore Marilyn Meighen Deputy Attorney General

ORDER AND JUDGMENT ENTRY

Thomas G. Fisher, Judge Indiana Tax Court

In its opinion handed down on, this Court held, inter alia, that

the Court will schedule a hearing regarding how long the State Board will be given to bring the state’s system of real property taxation into compliance with the Indiana Constitution. In the interim: (1) real property tax assessments shall be made in accordance with the current system, (2) any challenges to real property tax assessments shall be governed by the existing law, and (3) real property tax assessments are not subject to challenge on the ground that the True Tax Value system violates the Indiana Constitution.

Town of St. John, et al., v. State Bd. of Tax Comm’rs, No. 49T10-9309-TA-00070, slip op. at 55 (Ind. Tax Ct. Dec. 22, 1997), petition for review filed, Jan. 21, 1998. The Court has heard the argument of counsel and reviewed the memoranda submitted by each party.

Since the Court held that Ind. Code Ann. § 6-1.1-31-6(c) (Burns 1998)^[1] is unconstitutional and that the State Board must consider real world values, the Court has been considering a date after which it will no longer permit the State Board to define value artificially by applying its regulations. Taxpayers must be allowed, at some point, to have their tax assessments reviewed and tested against such real world values as the taxpayer may offer as competent evidence in a petition for review. This Court can only review the evidence presented to the State Board and determine whether the decision of the State Board is supported by sufficient evidence, contrary to law, an abuse of discretion or arbitrary and capricious. Ind. Code Ann. § 33-3-5-14 (Burns 1992); State Bd. of Tax Comm’rs v. Gatling Gun Club, Inc., 420 N.E.2d 1324 (Ind.Ct.App. 1981). Therefore, such evidence must have been presented to the State Board before this Court may consider such real world evidence in an original tax appeal.^[2]

The current statutory plan provides for the general reassessment of all property to be completed March 1, 2001. This general reassessment will begin July 1, 1999. Regulations governing this reassessment will be in place on July 1 1999.^[3] Therefore, it seems to make some sense to permit the present system to exist until assessments beginning March 1, 2001. On the other hand, it seems to be an unreasonable burden to require the taxpayers of Indiana to live under an unconstitutional system for another three years. Taxpayers’ rights are being violated, and any remedy that this Court provides should not run against the injured party.^[4] See generally, 1 Dan B. Dobbs, Law of Remedies §§ 1.5-1.6 (2d ed. 1993).

The State Board, by counsel, acknowledged that it intends to implement changes in the property tax assessment system that incorporate additional market value concepts as permitted by P.L. 6-1997, § 102 (codified at section 6-1.1-31-3 (Burns 1998)). (Resp. Status Report at 1; Resp. Implementation Mem. at 3). Conversely, the petitioners suggest that the Court should require the State Board to report to the Court in thirty days and define what it understands the term property wealth to mean and to explain how equality and uniformity of property are to be measured. The petitioners also argue that the State Board should provide the Court with a timetable “to specify what steps the [State] Board is going to take to bring the state into compliance with the Court’s order and when those steps are to be completed. The State Board should provide the Court with periodic reports detailing how the steps are being implemented.” (Pet’r. Implementation Mem. at 5).

The Court’s function is to review the final determinations of the State Board in order to ensure their compliance with Indiana law. This Court is not interested in dictating the State Board’s tax policy. SeeTown of St. John, slip op. at 23 n.28. It is not this Court’s function to supervise and approve, absent an appeal, either rules promulgated by the State Board or statutes enacted by the General Assembly. The question before the Court, then, is whether it would be better to grant some taxpayers the benefit of a system that comes closer to the requirements of a constitutional system (by allowing the inclusion of real world evidence on appeal), or to force all taxpayers, in the name of fairness and uniformity, to labor under an unconstitutional system. The State Board urges the Court to guarantee “uniformity” by forcing taxpayers to hold their rights in abeyance for the next three years. Citing two federal equal protection cases,^[5] the State Board argues that “applying two different standards to appeals decided on two different dates exacerbates whatever non-uniformity exists in the current system and may also raise issues of equal protection.” The petitioners urge the Court to promote uniformity by allowing taxpayers to assert their constitutional rights as soon as possible. The petitioners recommend more change, rather than less—sooner, rather than later.^[6]

The only way to achieve uniformity and equality for all taxpayers is to assess all taxpayers under a constitutional system. This cannot be done immediately. However, by allowing the introduction of real world evidence in the interim, at least those taxpayers who challenge their assessments will receive a constitutional result. Any resolution that allows those who petition for review to introduce particular evidence, while denying the use of such evidence to those who do not petition for review does, as the State Board points out, contain an element of non-uniformity. But whenever a court announces a decision that changes or clarifies the law, those who appeal afterwards stand to benefit, while others are foreclosed. A judicial decision that changes the law does not result in an equal protection violation.

The State Board also expressed the concern that “announcing that a new standard would apply as of a certain date would create perverse litigation incentives. Litigants presumably would seek to delay their appeals until the new standard applied.” (Resp. Implementation Mem. at 2). This concern arises from the mistaken assumption that taxpayers will be barred from challenging their assessments on the basis of real world evidence unless they wait until that evidence may be introduced in a petition for review. This assumption finds no support in the relevant law. As this Court has repeatedly held, each tax year stands on its own. SeeKent Co. v. State Bd. of Tax Comm’rs, 685 N.E.2d 1156, 1159 (Ind. Tax Ct. 1997), petition for review filed, Nov. 11, 1997; Ind. Code Ann. § 6-1.1-15-1 (Burns 1998). What this means is that taxpayers can challenge their assessments anew each tax year. Therefore, taxpayers could challenge their assessment for one year and then challenge the assessment anew when the rules change. A change in the rules as to what evidence taxpayers...