The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1892-01-21
IMPORTANT TAX SUIT.
Paint Township Objects to 15 Per
Cent. Addition.

A suit of more than ordinary import.
ance and interest was filed in the Com
mon Pleas Conrt on the 10th inst. The
style of the case is John Hulitt VS.. L. o.
Hetherington, Treasurer OF Highland
county, and it's purpose is to determine
the legality or illegality of the proceed.
ings Of the Decennial Board of Equaliza.
ton. The suit is in the nature of an
injunction and is to be made test case
for the real estate owners OF Paint town.
ship.
The law which governs the Board of
Equalization in its proceedings provides
that "they shall equalize such valuation
so that each tract or lot shall be entered
on the tax list at its true value. and for
this purpose they shall observe the fol.
lowing rules: 1st. They shall raise the
valuation of such tracts and lots OF real
property as in their opinion have been
returned below their true value, to such
price or sum as they may believe to be
the true value thereof; agreeably to the
rules prescribed by this title for the val.
uation thereof; I'd. They shall reduce
the valuation of such tracts and lots as
in their opinion have been returned
above their true value as compared with
the average valuation of the real proper.
ty of said county, having due regard to
their relative situation, quality of soil,
improvement, natural and artificial ad.
vantages possessed by each tract or lot"
The petition sets for that the land
appraiser If Paint township appraised
and returned the land OF that township
at its true value in money. 1t then
shows that the Board of Equalization,
when it undertook to equalize the values
Of all the lands in the county, equalized
as between townships, making what
is familiarly known as horizontal re.
ductions and additions" to the values as
returned by the different land appraisers.
The deductions made were as follows:
Liberty township, Is per cent.
Brushcreek township, 10 per cent.
Concord township, 10 per cent.
Jackson township, 5 per cent.
Marshall township, per cent.
Washington township, per cent.
The additions were as follows:
Fairfield township, per cent.
Paint township, Is per cent.
Union township, per cent.
Madison township, per cent.
Salem township, 5 per cent.
Penn township, per cent.
The petition further alleges that these
additions were made without the con-
sent or knowledge of the plaintiff and
that the Board thereupon adjourned
without day, thus giving him no oppor.
tunity to have correction made, and
that the Auditor has placed the values
so fixed by the Board upon the tax
duplicate and has levied the tax upon
these values less the general reduction
made by the State Board of Equalization.
The claim of the plaintiff is that the
Is per cent. added by the county Board
is illegal; that said Board did not pro.
ceed in the manner provided by statute
for the equalization that the law re-
quires the values to be equalized as be-
tween tracts and lots and that no authori.
ty is given to make additions and deduc-
tions by townships.
The suit is very important one, as it
is understood that the general custom
among the various County Boards of the
State is to proceed as our Board did. It
is also important so far as our own county
is concerned, because if the suit is sus.
tanned and injunction granted the plain
tiff, every landowner in Paint, and in
each of the other townships in which the
additions were made, will be entitled to
the same relief. The result will be re-
duction of the aggregate value of the
property of the county below the aggre
gate value thereof as returned by the
land assessors, which is also forbidden
by law.
The plaintiff will be represented by
Judge Higgins, and the Treasurer will
employ counsel of ability, so that the
question will be well presented, and hot.
ly contested. The case will no doubt 60
to the Supreme Court. In the meantime
the landowners in Paint township are
paying their taxes, less the 1870 and are
taking their chances OF getting rid of the
balance, or of having it increased by the
lawful penalty for non payment.
II. c. T. A. Meeting.
The H. G. T. A. will hold its monthly