City of Escondido v. Escondido Lumber, Hay & Grain Co.

Taxation—Municipal Corporation op Sixth Class—Time por A% SESSMent.—A municipal corporation of the sixth class, created under the municipal corporation act of 1883, had, under section 871 thereof, as it stood prior to 1905, the power to fix the time for the - assessment, levy and collection of city taxes, and could provide that the assessment thereof should be fixed according to the status of property at 12 o’clock M. of May 1st, instead of 12 o’clock M. of the first Monday in March.

Id.—Date op Lien not Inconsistent with Power Given.—The fact that section 871 of the act of 1883 provides that the lien of city taxes shall relate to the first Monday in March is not inconsistent with the power given to fix the time for the assessment, levy and collection of taxes.

Id.—Bulb as to Lien op Tax.—The general rule is that taxes are not a-lien, unless expressly made so by statute, and the time to which the lien will attach, if at all, must be determined by the statute.

Id.—Justification in Fixing Time for Assessment—Presumption.— • In the absence of anything appearing to the contrary, it must be presumed that circumstances existed which justified the municipal board in fixing the time for assessment, in pursuance of the power given, as of May 1st, and that they properly performed their official duty in this regard.

Id.—Construction of Constitution.—There is nothing in the eonsti- • tution inconsistent with the municipal corporation act of 1883. Section 8 of article XIII thereof has no application to the assessment of property in municipal corporations for local purposes. But section 12 of article XI makes it the duty of the legislature, by general laws, to vest in the corporate authorities of municipalities the power to assess and collect taxes for municipal purposes.