Josten-Wilbert Vault Co. v. Board of Equalization
Josten-Wilbert Vault Co. v. Board of Equalization
Opinion of the Court
The plaintiff has appealed from a judgment of the district court refusing to change the 1964 tax valuation of plaintiff’s real estate.
The real estate consists of aproximately 10 acres of ground with a tile building of 13,040 square feet, located on the westerly edge of Kearney, on a graveled road several blocks from IT. S. Highway No. 30. The build
It is the plaintiff’s basic contention that a sale price, under the facts here, establishes “actual value” for tax purposes. We cannot agree.
Ordinarily the valuation by the assessor is presumed to be correct. There is also a presumption that a board of equalization has faithfully performed its official duties, and in making an assessment, acted upon sufficient competent evidence to justify its action. Collier v. County of Logan, 169 Neb. 1, 97 N. W. 2d 879; Matzke v. Board of Equalization, 167 Neb. 875, 95 N. W. 2d 61.
We have held that the presumption of correctness disappears if there is competent evidence to the contrary, and thereafter the reasonableness of the valuation is one of fact to be determined by the evidence. Richards v. Board of Equalization, 178 Neb. 537, 134 N. W. 2d 56. Evidence that a sale was made at a price different than the value for tax purposes is not sufficient competent evidence to overcome the presumption without proof of the character and circumstances of sale. There is no magic formula or mathematical yardstick by which actual value can be precisely determined. No single factor or element of value standing alone is conclusive. While a sale price, in some circumstances, may be a very important factor in determining actual value or fair market value, it is only evidence to- be considered along with other evidence. “Sale price” is not synonymous with actual value or fair market value.
The evidence is undisputed that the assessor considered all elements of value set out in section 77-112, R. R. S. 1943. A detailed and itemized appraisal is in evidence. The evidence was undisputed that both the assessor and the board of equalization knew that plaintiff’s property had been sold for $27,000, and that they
It has consistently been held that the burden of proof is upon a taxpayer to establish his contention that the value of his property has been unlawfully fixed by the county board of equalization in an amount greater than its actual value. Newman v. County of Dawson, 167 Neb. 666, 94 N. W. 2d 47. Evidence that a sale of real estate was made at a price less than the value for tax purposes is not ordinarily sufficient to establish that the value of the property has been unlawfully fixed by the county board of equalization. To the extent that a sale is motivated in part by considerations other than the value of the property sold, the sale price carries even less weight as evidence of actual value. Under the evidence in this case, the plaintiff has failed to sustain the burden of establishing that the actual value of its property was less than that fixed by the board of equalization.
Affirmed.
Dissenting Opinion
dissenting.
I respectfully dissent from the opinion of the majority of the court in this case which holds that the evidence concerning the sale of the property was not sufficient to overcome the presumption that the valuation fixed by the board of equalization was correct.
The property involved in this case was originally offered for sale in 1962 at $32,000. It was offered through a multiple listing with all of the local real estate men. Prospects were contacted and the property was advertised in an Omaha, Nebraska, newspaper. Mr. A. C. Wittera, a real estate broker, testified that he tried to sell it for about 2 years but was unsuccessful. In 1963, the property was offered to the plaintiff at $32,500, later at $30,000, and eventually sold at $27,000.
Evidence of sale price alone may not be sufficient to overcome the presumption that the board of equalization has valued the property correctly. But where, as in this case, the evidence discloses the circumstances surrounding the sale and shows that it was an arm’s length transaction between a seller who was not under compulsion to sell and a buyer who was not compelled to buy, it should receive strong consideration.
The property concerned here is located at the edge of town and off the highway. Its principal use seems to be for storage. The witnesses for the defendant attempted to compare it with a building constructed upon land which is located upon a highway and valued proportionately at more than 10 times that of land upon which the plaintiff’s' building is constructed. It would appear that too much emphasis has been placed upon reproduction cost and sufficient consideration not given to relative location and desirability.
• I am authorized -to state that Judge Brower and Judge Smith concur in this dissent.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Josten-Wilbert Vault Company, Appellant, v. Board of Equalization, Buffalo County, Nebraska, Et Al., Appellees
- Cited By
- 11 cases
- Status
- Published