Winona & St. Peter Land Co. v. Minnesota

Citations

• 159 U.S. 526
• 16 S. Ct. 83
• 40 L. Ed. 247
• 1895 U.S. LEXIS 2318

Syllabus

<p>The provisions in the statutes of Minnesota exempting from taxation the lands granted by the State to the Winona & St. Peter Railroad Company to aid in the construction of its railroad, until the land should be sold and conveyed by the company, ceased to be operative when the full equitable title was transferred by the company, and the railroad company could not, thereafter, by neglecting to convey thelegal title, indefinitely postpone the exemption. State v. Winona & St. Peter Railroad Co., 21 Minnesota, 472, followed.</p> <p>Statutes exempting property from taxation are to be strictly construed.</p> <p>Chapter 5 of the Laws of Minnesota of 1881, providing generally for the assessment and taxation of any real or personal property which had been omitted from the tax roll of any preceding year or years, does not, when applied to the land granted by that State to .the Winona & St. Peter Railroad Company, deprive the owners of that land of their property without due process of law, in violation of the provisions of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States.</p> <p>A legislature can provide for collecting back taxes on real property without making a like provision respecting back taxes on personal property.</p>