The daily morning journal and courier., 1907-06-15
ONLY GENERAL ASSEMBLY
 GAN ABATE TAXATION City of Hartford Cannot Give New Manufacturing
 Concern Immunity. AN OFFICIAL OPINION Tax Commissioner Corbin Seeks Advice From At
 torney General.
AN OFFICIAL OPINION

LypeWIlIlLS COlllpdiiys WAlNh 10 tO 4O- cate there, which was recently declar- ed by a large majority, cannot be car ried into effect, according to the opin- ion of Attorney General Holcomb.
 State Tax Commissioner W. H. Corr bin, having been asked by numerous citizens of Hartford, whether the city had any power to offer exemption from taxes to manufacturing company, in his turn put the question to Attorney General Holcomb, asking for formal opinion. Judge Holcomb has given the following positive and conclusive state ment to the tax commissioner and 1t plainly puts a quietus on any project of the sort that has been suggested for Hartford. The attorney general says:
 Hartford, June 8, 1907. Hon. William H. Corbin,
 Tax Commissioner.
 Dear Sir You request me to answer the following question: Can a town or other municipality in this state, by its vote, exempt from taxation the property of a manufacturing corpora tion?"
 Answer. In this state town or oth- CT municipality has no legal authority to pass such a vote, and is taxing off ficials would have no legal right to be governed by such a vote, if passed. Their duties regarding taxation are imposed by the general assembly and not by the vote of the municipality.
 All authorities agree that the funda- mental law of taxation is that it shall bear equally upon all,
 Cooley on Taxation 200.
 State ex rel Coe V Fyler 48 Conn. 145.
 The taxing power is an act of sov- ereignty, and the legislature must de- termine what property shall be subject to taxation. The municipal corpora tions of the state have no inherent powers of legislation All of their pow CTS are delegated and must be strict ly pursued within the limits of such delegated rights their acts are valid and outside of those rights their acts are void.
 Willard V. Killingworth Borough 8 Conn 254;
 Higley Bunce 10 Conn 442;
 Webster Town of Harwinton S2 Conn. 1sa;
 State ex rel Coe Tyler Ss Va sO5 (t5 l.. R. A. S66);
 Weeks Milwaukee 10 Wis. 242,265;
 Cooley on Taxation 200
 Brewer Brick Co., Brewer 62 Me. 62.
 This state has never delegated to the municipal corporations therein the power to determine what property shall be exempt from taxation, and it Is therefore unnecessary to consider what rights municipalities would have un- der such delegated powers.
 Our general assembly has desgnat- ed what property shall be subject to taxation Sections 23l5-2321 of the gen eral statutes provide what property shall be exempt, and Section 1922 pro- vides that All property, not exempted, | shall be liable to taxation as follows etc., and therein it is provided that ''bulldings used for manufacturing pur- poses" shall be set in the list at their present true and actual valuation. Sec l LlOn Z3ZS DTONlueS tHdl-
 The whole property in this state of evory corporation organized under the 1 law of this state, whose stock Is not l liable to taxation, and which Is not re- 1 quired to pay a direct tax to this state I in lieu of other taxes, and whose prop 1 erty Is not expressly exempt from tax | ation and the whole property in this state of every corporation organized un- | der the law of any other state or coun- | try shall be set in it's list and liable | to taxation in the same manner as the property of individuals
 (The educational, benevolent and ec- clesiastical corporations are. those re- ferred to whose property is expressly exempt from taxation
 Having thus designated the property which shall be the subject of taxation the general assembly has made care full provisions to ensure the placing of such property in the tax lists of the various municipalities of the state The assessors (section 2,296) are requir- ed to notify all persons liable to pay taxes, to bring in the lists of their tax able property and (Section 2,302) to 1 make oath that it Is a true statement | of all his property liable to taxation l If the taxpayer neglects or refuses tc ! give in his list, the assessors (Sectior | 2,SO9) Shall fill out list for him, put ting therein all property which they have reason to believe Is owned by him liable to taxation, at the actual valua- ! tion thereof from the best information they can obtain" and (Section 2,S0D they are required to add to the list any property which they have reason to be- lieve is owned by the taxpayer which is omitted from his list, and (Section 2,S47) the board of relief may add to any list any taxable property omitted by the assessors, and which should be added thereto, and may make a list for | any person owning taxable property | omitted by the assessors.
 The only power the municipality has regarding taxation Is to appoint the | officials to make out the tax lists; tc l vote to fix the rate of taxation, and to appoint a person to collect the tax They cannot abate taxes. Section 2,3SS provides that
 l The selectmen of towns, the mayor and aldermen of cities. the warden and | burgeses of boroughs, and tine commit tee of other communities, may abate | the taxes assessed by their respective communities upon such persons as are poor and unable tS pay the same.
 It therefore is clear that the asses l sors must comply with the statutes rather than the vote of the municipali- | ty An intentional omission by them of taxable property from the tax list l might lead to unpleasant results. The