The daily morning journal and courier., 1907-06-29
ATTORNEY GENERAL
 GIVES COUNSEL Towns of the State Must Stick to One Tax
 List.
BAD HABIT CORRECTED.
State Treasurer Patten Was Bothered by Undue
 Confusion.

Some or the towns, It seems rom reports which came to the State treas urer's office, have had two sets of tax lists, one for receiving State money, and one for paying taxes to the State. Naturally, that caused some undue confusion, and gave rise to a condl- ton which the State treasurer thought should be brought to an end. Ac- cordingly, he sought the attorney generals opinion with the following result:
 State of Connecticut, Attorney-Gen- erals Office.
 Hartford, June 25, 1907. Hon. Freeman F. Patten, Treasurer:
 Your letter of this date is as fol- lows:
 Chapter IA of the General Statutes of this State relates to taxes paid by persons and corporations and section 2S59 of this chapter authorizes the Board of Equalization to equallze and adjust the list of each town, and de- clares that said lists, after they have been so capitalized and adjusted, shall 7 constitute the general list of the State upon which State and county taxes shall be imposed.
 Please inform me if the words shall constitute the general list of the Etate.' are limited by the succeeding words, upon which State and county taxes shall be imposed or are such lists So capitalized and adjusted and constituting the general list of the State to be accepted as the official lists for all transactions between the State and the towns? In other words can g. town have one list to get the States money with and another to pay taxes on to the State?
 Our statutes require that all real and personal estate, not exempt from taxation or the taxation of which is not specially provided for, shall be set in the tax list at it's true and actual valuation" and section 2S27, of the general statutes states that the rule of valuation by assessors and boards of relief shall "be the fair market value" and not it's value at forced or auction sale.
 It is a matter of common knowledge that this mandate of the statute was and is disobeyed and ignored by a majority of the towns of the State. All sorts of rules obtain. Confessedly, in some of the towns the property was (and still is) placed in the lists at one-half it's market value in other towns at two-thirds, in other towns at three-quarters, and it was the excep- ton where a town assessed property at its flair market value"
 It was this condition which led the general assembly to appoint board of equalization to equalize and adjust the assessment list of each town by adding to or deducting from the list an amount necessary to make the valuation of the taxable list of town comply with the mandate of the statute, and to provide GQudIlIbu and adjusted "shall constitute the gen. eral list of the State" The general as- senibly further provided that notice of the change made in the list of a town by the board of equalization shall be given to It's town clerk, who thereupon 3s commanded to make like change in 4he tax list of the town.
 Sections 2359 and 236O expressly pro- vlded that State and county taxes shall be levied and collected on these cor rected lists Section 20SS of the general statutes providing that in towns having a grand list of one million dollars, or less, three-fourths, and in other towns two-thrds, of the cost of "good roads constructed therein shall be paid by the State expressly directs that 'the basis of award shall be the grand list made and completed as revised by the board of equalization" Chapter 102 of the public acts of 1903 provides for certain aid for the support of public schools ir ''every town having valuation of less than five hundred thousand dollars" ] advise you that such valuation must b5 determined by the list as corrected by the state board of equalization, ol as such valuation appears in what the statute designateSssss ''the general list of the state" Any other construction would permit town to benefit by Its intentional violation of the require < ments of the statutes; by an underval. uation of it's taxable property made possibly, for the express purpose of get. < ting aid from the state to which it wat not entitled. A town no more than al Individual should be allowed to prof by it's own wrong.
 I advise you that the list of eact town as it appears in this general ls i of the state should be the list of suct towns in all matters which relate to State aid to such town.
 Respectfully,
 H. M. HOLCoMB,