City of Tampa v. Kaunitz

Citations

• 39 Fla. 683

Syllabus

<p>1. An assessment for taxation must be made-by the officer, either dejure or defacto, authorized by law topnake it, or it will be invalid.</p> <p>2. An assessor of taxes may avail;,himself of tiie services of other persons in performing duties of a clerical or ministerial nature, requiring no exercise of official discretion and involving no .substantial rights of the persons against whom assessments are made, and if sucli work is done under the supervision of the assessor, or he ratifies or adopts it, the assessment will be valid; but if the assessor permits other persons to perform all duties relating to the assessment for an entire tax year, while he abstains from any duty connected therewith, such assessment will be a nullity.</p> <p>3. One employed by. a city to assist its assessor of taxes in the performance of his duties, who does not claim to be and is not recognized as an officer of the city, but merely an employee to assist the assessor, is not an officer de facto of said city whose acts as such, in making an assessment of taxes in which the rightful assessor does not participate, will be binding.</p> <p>4. Without valid legislative authority, no city or town has power to exempt taxable property within its limits from municipal taxation, nor can it bind itself by contract either to forbear, to impose taxes on particular property, or to impose them only under giveii limitations, or on certain given conditions.</p> <p>5. If tax officers intentionally omit taxable property from the assessment rolls for an improper purpose, thereby unequally and inequitably adjusting the burdens of taxation, the entire assessment will be illegal and void. If, however, the omission arises in consequence of a bona fide belief on their part that the omitted property is exempt from taxation, or results from inadvertence or negligence, without any intent to impose additional or unequal burdens on other taxpayers, the assessment will be valid.</p> <p>6. No relief can be given in th