|
THE CHAIRMAN: I am sorry. State
your question again.
DELEGATE MOSER: The question is,
is it not true, I think the answer is ob-
viously yes, but it may not be; is it not
true that you wish to require uniformity
in all three of these sections and that
would preclude there being county-to-county
variations with respect to these sections?
DELEGATE CASE: In section 8.02, we
find that assessments with respect to any
tax shall be made pursuant to uniform
rules and pursuant to such classifications
of property, taxpayers, and events as may
be determined by law.
Now, in that case, I do not think your
hypothesis is correct. This does not merely
refer to taxes imposed by the State, but,
indeed, it is probably more critically ap-
plicable to taxes imposed locally, so that
the word "law" there means any law, both
public general law as we know it today, or
public local law, because it would be a
monster, indeed, to permit unequal assess-
ments by local law. So to this extent, we
are not directing ourselves solely to public
general law.
Now, when you get to —
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate, if I may
interrupt you there, I do not think you
caught the force of Delegate Moser's ques-
tion. As I understand it, his question was:
was the intent of section 8.02 that there not
be variation in uniform rules of assess-
ment from county to county? In other
words, if the legislature acts, it must act
in such a way as to make the law appli-
cable throughout the State?
DELEGATE CASE: That is generally
true. There is a strong caveat to that.
THE CHAIRMAN: You better state it,
then, because that is his question.
DELEGATE CASE: Well, it would be
possible, as I see it, for the State to grant
the right to impose a license tax or sales
tax in two different counties by general
law.
Now, let's take the real estate tax. What
this says is that assessments must be made
in accordance with law. Now, the law
which is imposing the tax is not the act of
the General Assembly. It is the local po-
litical subdivision's law that is imposing
the tax, and to that extent, the assessment
would be made by local law, and the uni-
formity that is required is a uniformity in
local law.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Moser.
|
DELEGATE MOSER: I assume that
8.02 and 8.02-1 and 8.02-2 related to laws
passed by the General Assembly. Am I
wrong in that assumption; that is to say,
would these sections also apply to laws
which might he passed by local subdi-
visions?
DELEGATE CASE: It requires uni-
formity no matter who passes the laws, and
this is the way it has to be to make any
sense.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Case, I
think your position on this might be clearer
if you would elaborate a little more on the
meaning of the word "assessments," be-
cause I am afraid that many delegates are
thinking of this in terms of an ad valorem
assessment for property tax.
DELEGATE CASE: Thank you.
The word "assessment" as used in this
particular section is used in its broadest
sense. The word "assessment" means in
that sense the final act which fixes the tax
base: income taxes are assessed, sales taxes
are assessed, real estate taxes are assessed,
state taxes are assessed, and inheritance
taxes are assessed.
The assessment procedure, therefore, in-
volves the full scale of activities which
must precede the fixing of the base. What
we are driving at here is that no matter
where this is done, it has to be done uni-
formly and fairly. Absent a provision of
this kind, you would have a monster on
your hands.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Moser.
DELEGATE MOSER: If, however, the
General Assembly were to pass a law re-
specting assessments, that law could not
vary from county to county? I take it this
is uniform?
DELEGATE CASE: That is correct I
would agree with that.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Moser.
DELEGATE MOSER: That would apply
throughout section 8.02?
DELEGATE CASE: As it would apply
to the General Assembly, yes.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Moser.
DELEGATE MOSER: As you use the
word "political subdivision," it would mean
all sections of local government, does it
not?
DELEGATE CASE: That is correct,
Delegate Moser.
|
