IN RE ASSESSMENT OF REAL PROPERTY WITHIN CARTER CO

IN RE ASSESSMENT OF REAL PROPERTY WITHIN CARTER CO
1961 OK 153
363 P.2d 254
Case Number: 39343
Decided: 06/13/1961
Supreme Court of Oklahoma

IN RE THE MATTER OF THE ASSESSMENT OF REAL PROPERTY WITHIN CARTER COUNTY, OKLAHOMA.

Appeal from an order of the State Equalization Board.

Syllabus by the Court

¶0 1. Where the State Board of Equalization determines, in proper proceedings before it, that rural property, as a class, or generally, is valuated lower, in ratio to its fair cash value, than urban property, the fact that the Board's order requires such valuation to be increased at a greater rate than the rate of increase ordered for urban property, does not, in and of itself, demonstrate that the order violates the Oklahoma Constitution's Article X, Section 5, requiring taxes to be 'uniform upon the same class of subjects.'
2. The fact that the order, above referred to, had the effect of requiring an increase of valuations in the majority, but not all, of this State's counties, did not convert it from a tax equalization measure to a scheme to increase taxes in the counties affected, absent a showing that valuations in the other counties did not conform to the standard followed in the order.
3. In view of the demonstration that taxpayers are not relegated to their county equalization boards for relief against erroneous orders of the State Board of Equalization, the claim, in the present case, that the latter Board's order was entered too late to afford them such relief, presented no cause for reversal.

Where the State Board of Equalization determined, in proper proceedings before it, that rural property, as a class, or generally, is valuated lower, in ratio to its fair cash value, than urban property, the fact that the Board's order requires such valuation to be increased at a greater rate than the rate of increase ordered for urban property, does not, in and of itself, demonstrate that the order violates the Oklahoma Constitution's Article X, sec. 5, requiring taxes to be 'uniform upon the same class of subjects.'

Proceedings before the State Board of Equalization, in which, upon consideration of a complaint therein filed by the Board of County Commissioners of Carter County, Oklahoma, among others, said State Board refused to modify, or vacate, its previous order directing increases in property valuations in the counties involved; and said County Board appeals. Affirmed.

James D. Payne, County Atty., Carter County, by Burke G. Mordy, Asst. County Atty., Carter County, Ardmore, for plaintiff in error.

Mac Q. Williamson, Atty. Gen., Fred Hansen, First Asst. Atty. Gen., L.G. Hyden, Asst. Atty. Gen., Albert D. Lynn, Gen. Counsel, Oklahoma Tax Commission, Ed Armstrong, Asst. Counsel, Oklahoma Tax Commission, Oklahoma City, for defendant in error.

Otjen & Carter, by Frank Carter, Enid, for Oklahoma Farm Bureau, amicus curiae.

PER CURIAM.

¶1 In this appeal, plaintiff in error, or appellant, seeks reversal of the same State Board of Equalization's order, appealed from in Board of County Com'rs of Kay County, Okl. v. State Board of Equalization, Okl.,

¶2 Also, the period for filing a petition for rehearing herein is reduced from 15, to 10, days, as was ordered in the cited case.

¶3 WILLIAMS, C.J., BLACKBIRD, V.C.J., and WELCH, DAVISON, HALLEY, JOHNSON and BERRY, JJ., concur.

¶4 IRWIN, J., concurs specially.

¶5 JACKSON, J., dissents.

IRWIN, Justice (concurring specially).

I concur specially for the reasons set forth in Board of County Commissioners of Canadian County, Oklahoma v. State Board of Equalization, Okl.,