Clapp v. Cass County

VOGEL, Justice, joined by PEDERSON, Justice (dissenting).

The question to be decided in this case is simply whether the North Dakota Tax Commissioner must follow the statutory definition of “market value” in arriving at the assessed valuation of “flower” bonds, or whether he is at liberty to substitute a different valuation, par value, simply because the bonds can be used at a higher valuation for the specific purpose of paying Federal estate taxes.

I

North Dakota’s basic scheme for estate taxation was established in 1927 by Chapter 267, 1927 Session Laws. It provided, in Section 6:

“All…