250                               LAWS OF MARYLAND                         [CH. 73

13.14. (a) (Classification) Real and personal property shall be sep-
arately classified, and personal property separately sub-classified for
assessment purposes. The following shall be separately sub-classi-
fied for the purposes of personal property assessments:

(1)  Stock in business.

(2)  Distilled spirits.

(S) All other personal property directed in this Article to be as-
sessed.

(b)   (Method of Assessment) Except as hereinafter provided:

(1)  All real property directed in this Article to be assessed, shall
be assessed at the full cash value thereof on the date of finality.
The term full cash value as used in this sub-section shall mean
current value less an allowance for inflation, if in fact infla-
tion exists.

(2)  All personal property directed in this Article to be assessed,
shall be assessed at the full cash value thereof on the date of
finality. The term full cash value as used in this sub-section
shall mean current value without any allowance for inflation.

(S) All operating property of railroads, public utilities, and con-
tract carriers, and all shares of stock of domestic corporations,
AND NATIONAL BANKS, the shares of which are subject
to taxation by this Article, and all capital stock of foreign
finance corporations directed in this Article to be assessed,
shall be assessed in accordance with the provisions of Sections
15, 19 and 20, respectively, of this Article, subject, however,
to the provisions of Section 8 hereof. To the extent that the
personal property of the classes of taxpayers mentioned in
this sub-section is subject to taxation by this Article, said
personal property shall be assessed in accordance with the
provisions of sub-section (2) hereof.

(c)  Any assessment existing as of June 1, 1929, or thereafter
made, shall continue in force from year to year until changed
pursuant to the provisions of this Article.

SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That, effective as of January 1,
1957, Sections 44 15 and 22 23 of Article 81 of the Annotated Code of
Maryland

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(1957 EDITION), title "Reve-
nue and Taxes", sub-title "Method of Assessment", be and the same
are hereby repealed and re-enacted, with amendments, to read as
follows:

14 15. (a) The stock in business of every person, firm or corpora-
tion engaged in any manufacturing or commercial business in this
State shall be valued and assessed to the owner thereof on the date of
finality as its fair average value for the twelve months preceding the
date of finality [,]. The term fair average value as used in this Section
shall mean cost or market value, whichever is lower, without any
allowance for inflation, [but] In the computation of the fair aver-
age value of the stock in business of registered motor vehicle dealers,
the value of used motor vehicles, titled in Maryland and taken in
trade by such dealers as partial payments on the purchase of other
motor vehicles, shall be excluded.