Wesley M.E. Church v. City of Columbia
Supreme Court of South Carolina
Before Bowman, J., Columbia, December, 1915. Action by the Wesley M. E. Church against the City of Columbia, to recover amount of assessment paid under protest.
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Before Bowman, J., Columbia, December, 1915. Action by the Wesley M. E. Church against the City of Columbia, to recover amount of assessment paid under protest. From judgment for defendant, plaintiff appeals. cites: Const., art. X, sec. 4; Civil Code, sec. 294, subd. 2; 63 S. C. 7; Const., art. X, sec. 3, art I, sec. 17; 34 Ill. 203 and 276; 4 Conn. 419; 53 Wis. 183; 29 Wis. 400; 45 Ala. 310; 93 Pa. 129; 2 Cooley Taxation (3d ed.) 1153. Street assessment a tax: 42 S. C. 293; 7 Md. 535; 9 Kan. App. 251; 104 Mass. 470; 117 Ill. 11. Municipality cannot tax church property: Civil Code, sec. 3011;…
1Opinion of the Court
The opinion of the Court was delivered by
Mr. Justice Gage.
The appeal presents a single issue of law. It is not denied that if the pavement in issue had been put down before the lot of a citizen, that the citizen would be bound to pay for it. It is only denied that a like obligation rests on the plaintiff here, because the plaintiff is a church, and its property is by the fundamental law exempt from “taxation.”
The charge in the instant case was not a tax within the meaning of the Constitution of 1895. That issue is thoroughly discussed, and decided adverse to the appellant, in Railroad v.…
2Cases cited1 opinion
- Illinois Central Railroad v. DecaturSupreme Court of the United States · 1893
3Cited by6 opinions
- City of Greenville v. QuerySupreme Court of South Carolina · 1930
- United States v. 9.94 A. OF LAND, IN CITY OF CHARLESTONDistrict Court, E.D. South Carolina · 1943
- German Evangelical Lutheran Church v. City of CharlestonSupreme Court of South Carolina · 2003
- Sutton v. Town of Fort MillSupreme Court of South Carolina · 1933
- German Evangelical Lutheran Church v. City of CharlestonSupreme Court of South Carolina · 2003
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