Neilson v. City of California City

Opinion

DAWSON, J.

A nonresident landowner challenged a flat-rate parcel tax imposed by a city after the city’s registered voters approved the tax by a two-thirds majority. The superior court sustained the city’s general demurrer to the landowner’s complaint, which alleged the parcel tax violated limitations on the taxation of real property contained in the California Constitution and violated the constitutional guarantee of equal protection.

The issues raised on appeal are (1) whether taxes based on the mere ownership of real property are constitutionally required to be ad valorem taxes; (2)…