Gibbons v. District of Columbia
Citations
- 116 U.S. 404
- 6 S. Ct. 427
- 29 L. Ed. 680
- 1886 U.S. LEXIS 1777
Syllabus
<p>If a church building is taken down, and a new church, with a sufficient space around it for air and light, is built on other land within the same enclosure, in order to enable a revenue to be derived from the sale or lease of the land on which the old church stood, and it is unnecessary for the enjoyment of the now church that this land should remain vacant, this land is not exempt from taxation for the support of the government of the District of Columbia under §8 of the acts of March 3, 1875, ch. 163; July 13,1876, ch. 180; and March 3, 1877, ch. 117.</p> <p>It is within the constitutional power of Congress, acting as the local legislature of the District of Columbia, to tax different classes of property within the District at different rates.</p>
How courts have described this case
Verbatim parenthetical descriptions written by other courts when citing this decision. Ranked by citation-network relevance.
- stating “we are not disposed to deny that grounds left open around a church, not merely to admit light and air, but also to add to its beauty and attractiveness, may, if not used or intended to be used for any other purpose, be exempt from taxation.... ”
- Congress is not bound by constitutional limitations on its federal taxing power when legislating for the District
- Congress is not bound by constitutional limitations on its federal taxing power when legislating for the District
Source: CourtListener parenthetical corpus (CC0).
Judges: Gray
Read full opinion on CourtListenerSourced from CourtListener / Free Law Project (CC0).
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