Inter Island Telephone Co. v. San Juan County

Inter Island Telephone Company, Inc., is a regulated local exchange telephone company. It owns property and operates only within San Juan County. Over 90 percent of its operating property is personal; taxation of real property is not at issue.

Inter Island brought suit for a refund of personal property taxes. In a well-reasoned decision the trial court held that the County’s method of assessing Inter Island’s personal property was systematically discriminatory in violation of the uniformity requirement of Const, art. 7, § 1 (amend. 81). Partial summary judgment ordered a reassessment for…