Dillard v. New Mexico State Tax Commission

201 P.2d 345, 53 N.M. 12
CourtNew Mexico Supreme Court
DecidedDecember 18, 1948
DocketNo. 5131.
StatusPublished
Cited by22 cases

This text of 201 P.2d 345 (Dillard v. New Mexico State Tax Commission) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New Mexico Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Dillard v. New Mexico State Tax Commission, 201 P.2d 345, 53 N.M. 12 (N.M. 1948).

Opinions

BRICE, Chief Justice.

An omnibus petition was filed by the dis- .- trict attorney of the Ninth Judicial District, in the district court of Curry County as authorized by Secs. 76-306 and 76-307, N.M. Sts. 1941, in behalf of sixteen owners of taxable property, each seeking correction •of assessments or allowance of a soldier’s' or sailor’s exemption against ad valorem - taxes, as provided by Ch. 130, N.M.L. 1923 and amendments of that act made prior to 1947. The State Tax Commission answered, for the state. The trial resulted in the allowance of seven claims, some of which it was held applied only to the petitioner’s interest in community property; and the de-' nial of nine claims, for one or more of the* reasons stated in the court’s conclusions of law. Judgments were entered accordingly. The state appealed from the judgments allowing three claims, and one from a conclusion of law in which a claim was denied •on another ground; and the petitioners appealed from judgments in nine claims which-were denied, and in four cases o-f partial denials of claims. The case is before us for •decision on questions of law involving the construction of certain provisions ■ of the state Constitution and the so-called -Soldiers and Sailors Exemption Act just-mentioned.

Sec. 5 of Art. 8 of the New Mexico Con? stitution is as follows.:

“The legislature may exempt from taxation * * * the property of every honorably discharged soldier, sailor, marine and army nurse, and the widow of every such soldier, sailor, or marine, who served in the armed forces of the United States at any time during the period in which the United States was regularly and officially engaged in any wár, in the sum of two thousand dollars. Provided, that in every case where exemption is claimed on the ground of the claimants having served with the military or naval forces of the United States as aforesaid, the burden of proving actual and bona fide ownership' of such property, upon which exemption is claimed, shall be upon the claimant.”

In pursuance of the authority granted the legislature of New Mexico by authority of the quoted section of the state Constitution, it enacted the following statutes (N.M.Sts. 1941 Comp.):

Sec. 76-111. “ ‘Soldier’ shall mean every honorably discharged soldier, sailor, marine and army nurse resident of New Mexico and who served in the armed forces of the United States for thirty (30) days or more at any time in which the United States was officially engaged in any war, including resident unmarried widows of such soldiers, sailors and marines.”
Sec. 76-112. “Excepting a dishonorable discharge, or one for misconduct, any discharge, including furloughs to the reserve or order relieving a member of a reserve corps from active duty, shall constitute an honorable discharge for the purposes of .this.”
Sec. 76-113. “Real -and personal property of every soldier shall be exempt from taxation in the sum of two- thousand dollars ($2,000). Said exemption shall apply to all taxes levied in the year 1933 and all which may thereafter be levied, but the said exemption shall not apply to any property held in trust by any soldier, except to the extent of the legal beneficial interest of such soldier therein. In addition to said exemption said soldiers are hereby exempted from the payment of road taxes heretofore or hereafter levied. Provided, however, that such exemption from taxation shall not be permitted to- be claimed by nor allowed to any soldier who has not, prior to January 1, 1934, acquired residence in the state of New Mexico.”
Sec. 76-114. “The county assessors shall annually prepare a list of soldiers resident in their respective counties entitled to said 'exemption and shall allow said exemption to'the soldiers whose names appear in said list! Said list shall be prima facie evidence that the persons whose names appear therein are entitled to the exemption allowed by this act (§§ 76-111—76-117), subject'to the provision in section 6 (§ 76-116) regarding proof' of ownership of- the property upon which such exemption is claimed. Any soldier entitled to said exemption whose name is omitted from said list may require his name to be inserted therein upon presenting proof to the assessor that he is entitled to the exemption granted herein, and upon refusal of the assessor to insert his name in said list, such person may petition the district court, without cost and, upon proper proof the court shall require the assessor to insert his name in the said list, but such application to the assessor or a petition to the court must be made or filed prior to the delivery to the county treasurer of the tax roll for the year for which exemption is sought.”
Sec. 76-117. “Any person claiming or knowingly receiving said exemption with respect to property of which he is not the real owner, or any person claiming or knowingly receiving said exemption when not entitled thereto by any trick, fraud, evasion or subterfuge, or any person who is not entitled to the said exemption and who shall secure or attempt to- secure the benefits of same by conveying his property to a person entitled to exemption under this act (§§ 76-111 — 76-117) with intent to secure said exemption to such person not entitled thereto,, and any person violating any provision of this act, (§§ 76-111 — 76-117) shall be punished by a fine of not less than $500.00 nor more than $5,000.00 ór imprisonment in the penitentiary not less than one (1) year nor more than three (3) yeárs or by both such fine and imprisonment at the discretion of the court, and any or all property conveyed with intent to violate any of the provisions of this act (§§ 76-111 — 76-117) shall escheat to the state upon proper proceedings therefor.”

The principal question is whether the soldiers and sailors exemption statutes apply to all of the community property of the soldier or sailor and his wife, or only to his interest therein.

We stated in State ex rel. Attorney General v. State Tax Comm., 40 N.M. 299, 58 P.2d 1204, 1206:

“Section 1 of article 8 of the Constitution of New Mexico is as follows: ‘Taxes levied upon tangible property shall be in proportion to the value thereof, and taxes shall be equal and uniform upon subjects of taxation of the same class.’
“By the terms of section 3 of article 8, certain specific property is exempt from taxation, and by section 5 thereof the Legislature is authorized to exempt from taxation certain other specific property; and no other property is or can be exempted. The Constitution, in effect, classes tangible prop-. erty into that exempt from taxation, that which may be exempted, and that which must be taxed.”

And in Sims v. Vosburg, 43 N.M. 255, 91 P.2d 434, 435:

“All tangible property in New Mexico is subject to taxation in proportion to value, and should be taxed, unless specifically exempted by the constitution or by its authority. Secs. 1, 3 and 5 of Article VIII, N.M. Constitution; Albuquerque Alumnae Ass’n [of Kappa, Kappa Gamma Fraternity] v. Tierney, 37 N.M. 156, 20 P.2d 267; State v. State Tax Comm., 40 N.M. 299, 58 P.2d 1204.”

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Bluebook (online)
201 P.2d 345, 53 N.M. 12, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/dillard-v-new-mexico-state-tax-commission-nm-1948.