People ex rel. Nelson v. Kenneth Court Building Corp.

94 N.E.2d 144, 406 Ill. 357, 1950 Ill. LEXIS 380
CourtIllinois Supreme Court
DecidedMay 18, 1950
DocketNo. 31483
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 94 N.E.2d 144 (People ex rel. Nelson v. Kenneth Court Building Corp.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Illinois Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
People ex rel. Nelson v. Kenneth Court Building Corp., 94 N.E.2d 144, 406 Ill. 357, 1950 Ill. LEXIS 380 (Ill. 1950).

Opinion

Mr. Justice Wilson

delivered the opinion of the court:

The defendant, Kenneth Court Building Corporation, having previously paid its taxes in full, under protest, filed an amended objection in the county court of Cook County to an application of the county collector for judgments against and orders for the sale of real estate for the nonpayment of taxes for the year 1947, levied by the city of Chicago. From the judgment sustaining the taxpayer’s objection, the county treasurer and ex officio county collector prosecutes this appeal.

The sole objection in controversy was made to an alleged overestimate of 1946 tax warrant liabilities in the amount of $2,537,934.46. The taxpayer charged that, in determining the net amount of 1946 taxes available for appropriation in 1947, the city council deducted a greater amount of tax warrants outstanding, and interest thereon, against the 1946 taxes, than were, in fact, outstanding; that, although the city council failed to set forth the amount of the tax warrants deducted in arriving at the net taxes receivable for the 1946 tax levies, as had been done in previous appropriation ordinances for many years, nevertheless, the amount deducted for outstanding 1946 tax warrants may be determined by computation; that loss and cost fixed by the city council at the time the levies for the years 1941 to 1945, inclusive, were made was not altered or varied by the city council in making its 1947 appropriation, so that the loss and cost charged against the levies was the loss and cost fixed in the respective ordinances for those years; that there were no outstanding tax warrants against these levies, as appears from the comptroller’s report of December 31, 1946, and that, upon deducting the loss and cost from the collectible amounts, the resultant sum receivable for those years was $3,715,785.78. Defendant charged that the amount of net taxes receivable from levies of prior years in the amended appropriation ordinance for the year 1947, including the $37I578578> was $8,507,438.51, and that, after deducting the former amount, $4,791,652.73 was left as the amount estimated to be received in taxes for the year 1946; that the 1946 levy extended was $40,999,968.06; that the loss and cost levy in the 1946 ordinance, neither changed nor varied in the 1947 ordinance, was $4,100,000, leaving a net figure of $36,899,-968.06 to be received from the 1946 levy during the year 1947; that, by adding thereto the $3715,785.78 receivable from the levies for the years 1941 to 1945, inclusive, the total amount receivable was $40,615,753.84; that, of this amount, the ordinance states $8,507,438.51 is available for appropriation, leaving$32,108,315.33 unaccounted for; that the only other possible deduction under the applicable statute is that of tax warrants, and that the outstanding tax warrants, and interest thereon, as of December 31, 1946, against the 1946 levies, as shown by the comptroller’s report, amounted to $29,570,380.87, resulting in an overcharge for tax warrant liabilities of $2,537,934.46, and, in consequence, an increase in the tax levy in the amount last stated.

For clarity, a reconstructed summary of taxes receivable for 1946 and prior years follows:

1941 to 1945 inclusive

Taxes Collectible Loss and Cost Net

1941 — $5,022,088.55.........$3,700.000.00.........$ 1,322,088.55

1942— 3,573,612.93......... 3,700,000.00......... None

1943 — 4,144,075-71......... 3,700,000.00......... 444,075.71

1944— 4,855,373.50......... 3,700,000.00......... 1,155,373-50

1945 — 4,494,248.02......... 3,700,000.00......... 794,248.02

Total......■..............................$ 3,715,785-78

1946 Tax Extended............................$40,999,968.06

Loss and Cost................................. 4,100,000.00

Net Total................................$ 36,899,968.06

Plus 1941 to 1945, net total........................ 3,7I5,785-78

Net taxes receivable from levies of prior years before deducting warrants and interest thereon.........$40,615,753.84

Appropriation ordinance figure of net taxes receivable from levies of prior years...................... 8,507,438.51

Unaccounted for except for warrants and interest thereon....................................$ 32,108,315.33

Comptroller’s report of warrants and interest...... 29,570,380.87

Excess $ 2,537,934.46

Where an appropriation and levy are based upon an overestimate of outstanding tax anticipation warrants and interest thereon, because of an underestimate of taxes receivable, objections to the levy are properly sustained. (People ex rel. Schlaeger v. Frankenstein & Co. 396 Ill. 524; People ex rel. Schlaeger v. Bunge Brothers Coal Co. 392 Ill. 153.) In both of the cases cited, “Summary D,” attached to the respective appropriation ordinances and by reference made a part thereof, showed the amount of loss and cost the city council deducted in arriving at the net estimate of taxes receivable from the levies of prior years and, further, that the council had taken a different figure for loss and cost for those prior years from the one set forth in the original ordinances of those years. “Summary D” also showed the amount of tax anticipation warrants deducted. In each case, the amount of outstanding tax warrants deducted was shown and the comptroller’s annual report, compiled and published after the close of the year, showed the amount actually outstanding on December 31 of the respective year.

The 1947 appropriation ordinance did not state the amount deducted for loss and cost by the city council in arriving at the net estimate of taxes receivable from the levies of prior years. Nor did the appropriation ordinance and the records show that the city council, in 1947, in arriving at the net estimate of taxes receivable from levies of prior years, made any change in the loss and cost fixed in the original ordinances of those years. In the Bunge case, the net taxes receivable from levies of prior years was understated in the amount of $1,200,067.47 because of the overstatement of tax warrant liabilities. Similarly, in the Frankenstein case, the 1942 appropriation ordinance showed net taxes receivable from the levies of prior years understated in the amount of $2,651,180.14 because of the overstatement of tax warrant liabilities. Here, the 1947 appropriation ordinance discloses a figure of net taxes receivable from levies of prior years of $8,507,438.51. The ordinance does not, however, state the amount of tax warrants deducted nor the amount of loss and cost deducted from prior years, as was done in the appropriation ordinances considered in the Bunge and Frankenstein cases. Nevertheless, it affirmatively appears that the amount of $8,507,438.51 was understated to the extent of $2,537,-934.46 by deducting more tax warrants than were actually outstanding. The collector does not challenge the manner of the taxpayer’s computation in the present case or its reconstruction of the summary similar to the one formerly used by the city of Chicago in its appropriation ordinances. His point is simply this, that the amount used in the summary as loss and cost is not the proper figure to use.

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94 N.E.2d 144, 406 Ill. 357, 1950 Ill. LEXIS 380, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-ex-rel-nelson-v-kenneth-court-building-corp-ill-1950.