Court Opinion

ID: 9581445
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-21 22:15:01.378581+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T13:36:57.479501
License: Public Domain

On Motion for Rehearing
Per curiam.
The Statute (Ga. L. 1955, pp. 122, 123; Code Ann. *589§ 92-233 (b)) is unconstitutional as written because Art. VII, Sec. I, Par. IV (Code Ann. § 2-5404) of the Georgia Constitution authorizes the homestead tax exemption only to an "owner,” and not to one who merely "holds under an occupancy agreement as a stockholder of a non-profit cooperative ownership housing corporation.” The stockholder members in the present case are declared under their occupancy agreements to be tenants. This illustrates in this case that such persons are not owners. However, the decisive factor in the case is that the statute in question purports to grant a tax exemption to one who is not an owner. Consequently, it is the attempt by this statute to enlarge the constitutional exemption — and not the agreement — which is determinative of the single issue decided in this appeal. We adhere to our judgment affirming the trial court.