Delaware, Lackawanna & Western R. R. v. Luzerne County Commissioners

Citations

• 245 Pa. 515
• 91 A. 889
• 1914 Pa. LEXIS 909

Syllabus

<p>Taxation — Valuation—Market value — Assessment—Act of March 1905, P. L. lit — Board of assessment — Powers.</p> <p>1. The law requires that the valuation of real estate for the purpose of taxation shall be determined upon the basis of actual value, limited and determined by market value.</p> <p>2. The market value of separate tracts at public sale, after due notice, is the legal basis of determining the assessable value of real estate, and until the legislature changes this method, it is binding not only upon the taxing authorities but upon the courts as well.</p> <p>3. Under the Act of March 24, 1905, P. L. 47, it is the duty of the subordinate assessors to make assessments and valuations; the powers of the board of assessment are expressly limited to an examination and revision of the valuations returned by the subordinate assessors for the purpose of increasing or decreasing the same, as in their judgment may seem proper, and the board cannot go beyond this except to add taxable property that may have been omitted by the assessors.</p> <p>Equity — Jurisdiction—Taxation—Jurisdiction to restrain collection of illegal tax.</p> <p>4. Equity has jurisdiction in a proper case to restrain the collection of a tax, but it will only intervene where there is either want of power to tax, or a disregard of imperative constitutional requirements.</p> <p>5., Where a bill in equity was filed to restrain the collection of a tax, alleging that the assessment upon which the tax was levied was illegal and void, but where it appeared that the taxing authorities had power to make the assessment and levy the tax, and that the irregularities complained of could all be corrected on appeal as provided by law, without the intervention of a court of equity, the court made no - error in dismissing the bill.</p>