Primm v. City of Belleville

Citations

• 59 Ill. 142

Syllabus

<p>1. Taxation for corporate purposes'—application of the rtile of uniformity—constitutionality of the charter of the city of Belleville. The rule of equality and uniformity of taxation prescribed by the constitution must be applied, not only to the rate of taxation, aud to the district to be taxed, but also to all the property subject to taxation.</p> <p>3. The charter of the city of Belleville provides that the city council may lay off the city into districts for the construction of sewers, and levy and collect a special tax on the real estate within any district to be drained. The city council, by ordinance, undertook to exempt improvements on the real estate from such special tax: Held, the ordinance, in exempting improvements upon the real estate, was a violation of the charter. Fixed and permanent buildings upon land form a part of it, and should be estimated in assessing its value for purposes of taxation.</p> <p>3. It was likewise beyond the constitutional power of the legislature to make the discrimination in favor of personal property. If the sewerage was proper, and the taxes assessed to effectuate it were for a corporate purpose, then they must be uniform as to persons and property. The burden must be imposed upon all the property within the limits to be taxed.</p> <p>4. So, too, that portion of the charter which authorizes the tax to be levied in a particular district in the city is in violation of the constitution. The legislature can not clothe the corporate authorities of the municipality with power to assess and collect taxes from only a part of the municipality, for a corporate purpose. The corporate purpose must extend to the entire city, and in the apportionment of the tax to effectuate the purpose, the principle of equality and uniformity must be observed.</p>