3464                                                VETOES

the county or State is entailed because it is on blocks
rather than on a foundation. It is not just
classification to make the person who occupies a small
trailer worth $600 pay the same tax as one who owns or
occupies much more sumptuous quarters in a trailer
costing $2,500. It is not uniform or equal taxation to
make a family who, on account of economic necessity,
lives in a shanty boat pay a tax which a more
prosperous citizen who occupies a mansion is not
compelled to pay. In such times as these when labor is
seriously needed in war plants and housing facilities
are not adequate, should people who are willing to live
in a trailer be specifically taxed for that reason?"
Id. at 523-524.

In conclusion, on the authority of English, we find
Senate Bill 850 to be unconstitutional. 2/

Very truly yours,
Stephen H. Sachs
Attorney General

1/ In Weaver v. Prince George's County, supra, the Court of
Appeals departed from the earlier view in English that
a tax on the principal or most valuable use of property
is in effect a tax on the property itself. Thus,
English has been overruled only regarding the dividing
line between a property and an excise tax. Once it is
determined that the tax involved is a property tax,
English is still controlling.

2/ We believe that it is possible to fashion an excise tax
upon mobile homes which would not be subject to the
uniformity clause of Article 15. For example, the tax
sanctioned by the Court of Appeals in Weaver v. Prince
George's County, supra, was not based on the value of
the taxpayer's assets but was imposed on the privilege
of using and occupying a rented multi-family
residential dwelling. See also Berry v. Costello, 62
Ill. 2d 342, 341 N.E. 2d 709 (1976); Rapa v. Haines,
64 Ohio Abs. 543, 113 N.E. 2d 121 (1952).

Senate Bill No. 875

AN ACT concerning

Creation of a State Debt - Maryland Eastern Shore
Oncology Treatment Unit