Mayor of Newark v. State Board of Taxation

The questions upon which unanimity is lacking are — what does a trolley company own in the streets of this state, and how should it be taxed therefor? My colleagues think that it owns “an interest in the soil of the highways over which it passes,” and that this is real estate for which it should be taxed at its true value. I think that it owns whatever personal property it has lawfully annexed to the soil of the highway for which it should be taxed at its true value in its permanent environment. This is the point of difference between us.

We agree that it is the settled law of this state that…