Otterbein Press v. Evatt

38 Ohio Law. Abs. 265
CourtUnited States Board of Tax Appeals
DecidedMay 5, 1943
DocketNo. 5423
StatusPublished

This text of 38 Ohio Law. Abs. 265 (Otterbein Press v. Evatt) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Board of Tax Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Otterbein Press v. Evatt, 38 Ohio Law. Abs. 265 (bta 1943).

Opinion

ENTRY

This cause and matter came before the Board of Tax Appeals bn an appeal filed herein by the appellant, above named, under date of March 20, 1942, from an order of the tax commissioner under date of February 24, 1942, denying an application theretofore filed by the appellant for a review and redetermination of certain tax assessments theretofore made by the tax commissioner for the years 1939, 1940 and 1941 on tangible personal property used by said company in its business. Said cause was heard by the Board on said appeal, upon the files and other original papers of the tax commissioner relating to said assessments, upon a transcript of the proceedings of the tax commissioner upon the application for review and redetermination filed by the appellant, on a stipulation of facts filed herein, and upon the arguments and briefs of counsel.

On consideration of the case thus submitted, the Board of 'Tax- Appeals finds that The Otterbein Press, the appellant herein, was incorporated on or about February 11, 1935, as a corporation not for profit and as such is the successor of “The Printing Establishment of the United Brethren in Christ”, as the official church publishing organ or agent of the United Brethren' Church; and •that as such successor the appellant took over and succeeded to all of the real and personal property theretofore owned by the Printing Establisment of the United Brethren in Christ and used by it in-the printing and publishing, activities of said 'church.

The appellant corporation did not file intangible and personal property tax returns for any of the .years. 1939, 1940 .or 1941. By reason of this fact the tax commissioner'on September 10, 1941, following the decision of the Supreme Court .of this state in the case of Zindorf et al. v The Otterbein Press, 138 Oh St 287, holding that the real property owned by appellant and used in its printing and publishing business was not used exclusively for charitable purposes and was, therefore, subject to taxation, made and certified ..tax assessments against the appellant, for the years 1939, 1940 and •1941, respectively, on the intangible property of the appellant and •upon its pérsonal property used in such .printing and publishing business. In and by these assessment orders-,.which were made by the tax commissioner under the authority of: §§5376 and 5395 GC, taxes were assessed and extended against the credits, as intangible property, of the appellant corporation for each of said tax years; and, likewise, assessments were thereby made against its personal property consisting of machinery and equipment, inventories and [267]*267furniture and fixtures used in business in and for said respective tax years; and as to each, of such years the true value of such personal property used in business was found to be such that at the taxable valuation percentage rates provided by law with respect to taxpayers engaged in business of this kind, the taxable or list valuation of the personal property of the appellant as assessed by the tax commissioner was. as to each of said tax years, as follows: For the year 1939, $133,460.00; for the year 1940, $152,370.00; for the' year 1941, $165,640; and upon the taxable valuations of such personal property, so determined, the tax commissionér extended taxes for each of such tax years at' the local tax rates in Dayton City Taxing District for said several and respective years.

Apparently, no question was made by the appellant as to the tax assessments made'by the tax commissioner on its intangible property for the years 1939, 1940 and 1941.', However, the appellant did complain of the assessment of its personal property for said’ years, and on October 1, 1941, the appellant, under the provisions" of §5394 GC, filed with the tax commissionér an application “for review and redetermination of. the preliminary assessments of tangible personal property for the years 1939, 1940 and 194Í, ón the ground that the sums are excessive and were issued- contrary to law”. On February 24, 1942, the tax commissioner denied appellant’s application for a .review and redeterminatioii of the. tax assessments complained of in said application; and on March 20, 1942, the appellant filed with the Board of Tax Appeals-the appeal above referred to, which appeal is on the grounds set out in the notice of appeal as follows:

“(a) The Tax Commissioner’s'attempt in this instance to assess personal property taxes against the appellant for the years 1939 and 1940 is made without statutory power or authority and is; therefore, null' and void.

“(b) The action of the Tax Commissioner in denying appellant’s application for review and redetermination of the assessments for the years 1939 and 1940 is erroneous and illegal, in that in so doing the Tax Commissioner has applied retroactively the provisions of §5570-1 GC, contrary to the provisions of the Constitutions of the State of Ohio and of the United. States.”

It is thus seen that the appellant in. -filing this appeal with the Board of Tax Appeals abandoned all questions with respect to the validity of the tax commissioner’s assessment against appellant’s personal property for the year 1941, and likewise abandoned the question that the appellant may have .theretofore presented to the tax commissioner with respect to the taxable or list valuation of appellant’s personal property for the.years 1939 and' 1940 And thé only question now presented to the Board of Tax Appeals on this appeal is as to the authority of the tax commissioner to make any [268]*268assessment on appellant’s personal property for the tax years 1939 and 1940.

As before noted, the tax assessments here in question were made by the tax commissioner under the authority of §5395 GC, the pertinent provisions of which are to be read in connection with the more general provisions of §5376 GC, so far as the same are applicable in the consideration of this case. Section 5376 GC provides:

“Except as to property listed in returns which the county auditor is required to assess as its deputy, the commission (tax commissioner) shall assess all taxable property as defined in this chapter and shall list and assess all such property which is not returned for taxation and for that purpose shall have and exercise all powers whatsoever in it vested by any provision of law for any purpose relating to any other law which the commission (tax commissioner) is required to administer. The action of the assessor in assessing taxable property under this chapter shall be taken with respect to the taxable property required to be listed in a return, whether so listed or not, and whether such return has been made or not.”

Section 5395 GC, which, perhaps, is more specifically applicable with respect to the tax assessments here in question, provides, so far as the same is pertinent to this case, as follows:

“Excepting as to any taxable property concerning the assessment of which an appeal has been filed under §5611 GC, the tax commissioner may finally assess the taxable property required to be returned by any taxpayer, financial institution or dealer in intangibles with respect to which a preliminary or amended assessment, as the case may be, has been made by or certified to a county auditor or certified to the auditor of state, as the case may be, for any prior year or years within the time limited therefor in §5377 GC; and, at any time, may finally assess the taxable property of a taxpayer, financial institution or dealer in intangibles who has failed to make a return to a county auditor or to the department of taxation in any such year or years.

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Bluebook (online)
38 Ohio Law. Abs. 265, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/otterbein-press-v-evatt-bta-1943.