Evening star., 1952-10-16
Tax Court Hears
Protests Today
0hAssessments
BrookduIe Committee
Hints at Challenge
To Upset Law

To Upset Law
Suspension or drastic reduction
of new assessments imposed on
residential property in suburban
Montgomery County was to DO
urged in a hearing at Rockville
today.
The recommendation was sched-
uled to be presented to the county
Tax Appeal Court in a hearing at
/ 80 pm. in the courthouse. 1t Is
contained in protest prepared by
a committee of the Brookdale
Citizens Committee. to be pre-
Sented by Thomas j. Flavin Of
1900 Dover road.
The Brookdale protest is the
strongest attack on county assess
ment procedures since the reaSSess-
ment began early this year. Hun
dreds of complaints have poured
into the hands of county officials
from homeowners who have been
notified of their higher property
evaluations.
Court Attack Forecast.
The report states that failure Of
the Tax Appeal Court to reduce
the new assessments in line with
the other districts" of the county
will open the door to court at
tack on the assessment law as un-
constitutional.
g. Unless these reassessments
are modified downwards to a fair
comparable basis with the other
districts, the statute may well be
held unconstitutional as an invalid
delegation Of legislative power"
it declares.
The Brookdale group protests
that assessments in its community
lwere increased between 81 and
100 per cent.
"Such a steep Jump from one
tax year to the next is unde-
lsirable and is poor public policy.
lit fosters unrest and dissatisfac-
ltion against government among
icitizens and property owners" the
report says.
| The court is reminded that 1t
lis not required to accept the rec
concentrations of the supervisor
Iof the assessments. Wilton T.
Allen. as binding. The law pro-
Ivides that the Tax Appeals Court
may demand fuller information
and order new valuations if not
satisfied with the date submitted
lby the supervisor.
Imitation Point Raised.
The report argues that the
drastic reassessments are not re-
quired by Maryland law" and dis
lputes the use of "today's abnormal
and inflated prices" in arriving
at the assessment figures. 1t as
serts that the new assessment fig.
ures discriminate against Subur-
ban county residents in compari.
son with rural area residents.
The report also deplores the
Sword of Damocles" hanging over
taxpayers heads which prevents
them from openly challenging the
assessments for fear of a still
higher boost. The report describes
the circumstances as "a setting
in which citizen is afraid to have
his say about assessment levies
because of the atomic bomb of full
cash value in the hands of the as
sessing authorities.
Assessments Face Freeze.
The inequality between rural
districts and the suburban area
will be intensified by new assess
ment law which freezes all as
sessments. beginning next year
} until the tax year 1867, a four
> year period. the report states.
In arguing against evaluation Of
) property at 100 per cent Of cur
rent market value the report says:
8 There seems to be an mex
Il plicable fiction INDUCED in by
,e some assessors. that land values
t. are never abnormal, that no mat
n ter what the shortage of lots
d or how high the inflated prices
t. go, these scarcity prices represent
the longtime worth. the normal
Is value of the land. We dispute this
If theory"
II In this connection, the report
i points out that the county assessor
d announced he deducted 40 per
" cent from the fair market value OF
: all properties as an imitation fac
le tor.
% Justification Challenged.
"Mr. Allen is still using the 40
n per cent imitation figure he started
W using on residential property
le sometime in 1850. In the light of
Ie what everybody admits to be an
e abnormal rise in cost prices due to
i the defense program since Korea.
we urged this court to apply the
+, 40 per cent factor. plus the rise in
building costs since Mr.. Allen
started using the 40 per cent
: factor"
n Limiting the imitation factor to
a the 40 per cent figure Is cited as
5 an example Of discrimination be-
i tween the rural districts and the
A suburban area. The figure was
applied to valuations established
on rural property more than two
years ago, but imitation has con-
tinued to increase building costs,
the report argues.