Boston Society of Redemptorist Fathers v. City of Boston
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
Contract to recover the amount of a tax assessed on May 1, 1876, by the defendant city, upon a lot of land owned by the plaintiff corporation on the west side of Bumstead Lane in Boston, and paid by the plaintiff under protest.
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Contract to recover the amount of a tax assessed on May 1, 1876, by the defendant city, upon a lot of land owned by the plaintiff corporation on the west side of Bumstead Lane in Boston, and paid by the plaintiff under protest. The case was submitted to the Superior Court, and, after judgment for the plaintiff, to this court on appeal, upon the following agreed facts : The plaintiff was organized in 1871, under the Gen. Sts. c. 32, and was authorized by the St. of 1875, c. 92, to hold real and personal estate, for the purpose of its organization, to the amount of $100,000, in' addition to the…
1Opinion of the CourtAmes, J.
It is according to the policy of our law that all the property of the inhabitants of the Commonwealth should contribute in fair and just proportion to the public burdens. The government assumes the protection of all property within its limits, whether owned by natural persons or corporate bodies, and it has a right to claim that such property is held subject to the reciprocal obligation of meeting, in its due proportion, the expenses incident to such protection. To this general rule there are exceptions, clearly and carefully defined in the Gen. Sts c. 11, § 5; but the burden of proof is upon…
2Cases cited6 opinions
- Proprietors of the Charles River Bridge v. Proprietors of the Warren BridgeSupreme Court of the United States · 1837
- Providence Bank v. BillingsSupreme Court of the United States · 1830
- Jefferson Branch Bank v. SkellySupreme Court of the United States · 1862
- Philadelphia and Wilmington Railroad Co. v. State of MarylandSupreme Court of the United States · 1851
- Trinity Church v. City of BostonMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1875
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3Cited by30 opinions
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- Boston Chamber of Commerce v. Assessors of BostonMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1944
- City of Boston v. Quincy Market Cold Storage & Warehouse Co.Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1942
- Boston Symphony Orchestra, Inc. v. Board of AssessorsMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1936
- Worcester County National Bank v. Commissioner of Corporations & TaxationMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1931
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