In Re Appeal of McLean Trucking Co.

189 S.E.2d 194, 281 N.C. 375, 1972 N.C. LEXIS 1081
Supreme Court of North Carolina·Decided June 16, 1972·No. 66·Published·Cited by 12 cases

Opinions

LAKE, Justice.

In Case No. 65, decided 10 May 1972, In Re McLean Trucking Co., 281 N.C. 242, 188 S.E. 2d 452, we have held that the tax situs of the interstate vehicles here in question is Winston Township. We affirm that decision.

All references herein to Chapter 105 of the General Statutes, both as to section numbers and as to content, relate to statutes in effect in 1970, not to the 1971 revision of the Machinery Act.

G.S. 105-294 provides:

“All property, real and personal, shall as far as practicable be appraised or valued at its true value in money. The intent and purpose of this section is to have all property and subjects of taxation appraised at their true and actual value in money, in such manner as such property and subjects of taxation are usually sold, but not by forced sale thereof; and the words ‘market value,’ ‘true value,’ or ‘cash value,’ whenever used in this chapter, shall be held to mean for (sic) the amount of cash or receivables in the property and subjects can be transmuted into when sold in such manner as such property and subjects are usually sold.”

[383]*383G.S. 105-327 (g) provides, with reference to the powers and duties of the County Board of Equalization and Review:

“(1) It shall be the duty of the board of equalization and review to equalize the valuation of all property in the county, to the end that such property shall be listed on the tax records at the valuation required by law; and said board shall correct the tax records for each township so that they will conform to the provisions of this subchapter.
* * *
“(3) The board * * * shall correct all errors in the names of persons, in the description of property, and in the assessment and valuation of any taxable property appearing on said lists; shall increase or reduce the assessed value of any property which in their opinion shall have been returned below or above the valuation required by law; and shall cause to be done whatever else shall be necessary to make said lists comply with the provisions of this subchapter. * * * ”

G.S. 105-275, with reference to the duties and powers of the State Board of Assessment, provides:

“Duties of the Board. — The State Board of Assessment shall exercise general and specific supervision over the valuation and taxation of property taxation (sic) throughout the State, including counties and municipalities. It is constituted * * * a State Board of Equalization and Review of valuation and taxation of property in this State. It shall be the duty of the Board:
“(3) To hear and adjudicate appeals from the boards of county commissioners and county boards of equalization and review as to property liable for taxation that has not been assessed or of property that has been fraudulently or improperly assessed through error or otherwise, to investigate the same, and if error, inequality, or fraud is found to exist, to take such proceedings and to make such orders as to correct the same.”

G.S. 143-318 provides, with reference to administrative proceedings before State agencies, such as the State Board of Assessment:

[384]*384“(1) Incompetent, irrelevant, immaterial, unduly repetitious, and hearsay evidence shall be excluded. The rules of evidence as applied in the superior and district court divisions of the General Court of Justice shall be followed.
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“(3) Notice may be taken of judicially cognizable facts. * * * The agency’s experience, technical competence, and specialized knowledge may be utilized in the evaluation of the evidence.”

G.S. 143-315, with reference to judicial review of decisions of administrative agencies, such as the State Board of Assessment, provides:

“The court may affirm the decision of the agency or remand the case for further proceedings; or it may reverse or modify the decision if the substantive rights of the petitioners may have been prejudiced because the administrative findings, inferences, conclusions, or decisions are:
“(1) In violation of constitutional provisions; or
“(2) In excess of the statutory authority or jurisdiction of the agency; or
“ (3) Made upon unlawful procedure; or
“ (4) Affected by other error of law; or
“(5) Unsupported by competent, material, and substantial evidence in view of the entire record as submitted; or
“ (6) Arbitrary or capricious.
“If the court reverses or modifies the decision of the agency, the judge shall set out in writing, which writing shall become a part of the record, the reasons for such reversal or modification.”

The first step to be taken in this matter is to determine “the true value in money” of the tractors and trailers listed by McLean — 635 tractors, and 1,409 unassigned and 51 assigned trailers — as of 1 January 1970. G.S. 105-294. This is separate and apart from any question of an apportionment of such value.

The county tax appraisers valued the tractors in accordance with the Blue Book published by National Market Reports, [385]*385Inc. The Blue Book states one value for each tractor type and series, this being the publisher’s opinion as to the average retail value of the tractors in each such series. Taking the list filed by McLean, the county appraiser assigned to each tractor shown thereon the appropriate average value. The county followed this procedure in valuing all tractors listed for taxation in 1970, irrespective of whether the owner listed one tractor or many.

McLean offered the testimony of Mr. Phil Deans, Used Truck Manager of White Trucks, a division of White Motor Corporation. Mr. Deans classified the 635 tractors according to manufacturer, age and model number. He assigned a per unit value to each such group, giving to eight groups, containing a total of 408 tractors, a valuation within a range, the variation within each such range being either $250 or $500. The remaining four groups, containing 227 tractors, he assigned specific values per unit. Thus, he too assigned to the tractors average values.

McLean also introduced evidence of the book value of these tractors, using the same classification used by Mr. Deans. The book values of the respective groups varied substantially from the values assigned by Mr. Deans. For example: Mr. Deans valued 90 GMC 1963 tractors at $2,350 per unit, whereas the book value was $1,578 per unit, but Mr. Deans valued 179 White 1966 tractors at $4,500 to $5,000 per unit, whereas the book value was $6,462 per unit. Mr. Deans valued 125 White 1969 tractors at $11,000 per unit, whereas the book value was $13,499 per unit.

Mr. Deans testified that it has been his experience that the values stated in the Blue Book published by the National Market Reports, Inc., are substantially higher than the actual market values of such vehicles, and that in order to obtain a price approximating the value stated in the Blue Book, it is necessary to spend 20% to 25% thereof in reconditioning the truck. McLean describes the condition of all its vehicles as “good.”

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In Re Appeal of McLean Trucking Co., 189 S.E.2d 194, 281 N.C. 375, 1972 N.C. LEXIS 1081 (N.C. 1972).

189 S.E.2d 194 (In Re Appeal of McLean Trucking Co.) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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