Mikkelsen v. Utah State Tax Commission

Plaintiffs, for themselves and in behalf of all others similarly situated, brought a declaratory judgment action to have Chapter 154, Laws of Utah 1967,1 declared unconstitutional. The district court rendered an adverse judgment and plaintiffs appeal.

It was the contention of plaintiffs that Chapter 154, which related to the remittance or abatement of the property taxes of indigent persons, was violative of both the state and federal constitutions. They claimed that the act created an arbitrary and unreasonable classification by excluding both indigents who receive their principal source of…