Mayor of Baltimore v. Perrin

Parke, J., filed a dissenting opinion as follows. The writer of this dissent fully concurs in what has been said in the opinion filed for the court by Chief Judge Bond, except in reference to the appeal in the case of James Redmond and wife. In the view here entertained the conclusion of the court that the writ of mandamus should issue in that case seems unsound. Redmond and his wife bought an automobile of a dealer to whom it had been sold by H, who had the title and was its owner before October 1st, 1939.

The automobile had been separately valued and assessed to H, as had his other tangible personal property, which consisted of household furniture. The city rendered H separate bills for the two ¹¹⁶ forms of tangible personal property. H paid all the taxes due and owing upon the valuation and assessment of his automobile for taxation at the rate levied uniformly upon all his tangible personal property, but he did not pay the residue of his taxes, which remained due and owing on account of the valuation and assessment of his other personal property for the years 1939 and 1940. It is because of this default of H that the Motor Vehicle Commissioner refused to issue a new certificate of title to Redmond and wife.

The statutory authority and direction to the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles to refuse to issue or transfer any plate, marker or certificate of registration of title for any motor vehicle, unless he is satisfied that all taxes due and owing thereon have been paid, originated with chapter 412 of the Acts of 1924, and applied exclusively to the City of Baltimore. It was held in Baltimore v. Fine, 1925, 148 Md. 324, 325 , 129 A. 356 , that the ad valorem tax levied upon the valuation and assessment of an automobile was not made by the statute a separate and distinct tax, but that this charge and that based upon the valuation and assessment of the person’s other tangible personal property constituted but a single yearly tax demand, which the taxpayer could not compel the collector of taxes to receive in part with reference to any particular item of tangible personal property included in the valuation and assessment. Nor did the subsequent amendments of this statute, so that its mandate was extended to the counties of the state, and some of the municipalities within the counties of the state, change the rule with reference to the City of Baltimore. It is quite true that by the provisions of the later statutes the respective county commissioners of the several counties of the state are commanded to provide separate valuations, assessments, and tax bills for every motor vehicle subject to taxation in every county, and that the tax levied and thus ascertained is “permitted except in Baltimore City to be paid separate and apart from the payment of all other taxes.” Section 183 of article 56 of ¹¹⁷ Annotated Code (1935 Supplement).

The legislative exception of Baltimore City is an express denial of any right of the taxpayer of Baltimore City to pay any amount less than the whole of the amount of the tax for a year levied upon his tangible personal property. In this manner, the General Assembly of Maryland declared its intention that there should be preserved to Baltimore City the benefit of compelling the whole ad valorem tax on tangible personal property, for every year due and owing, to be paid as a condition precedent to the issuance or transfer of the certificate of registration or title, plate or marker for any motor vehicle owned in Baltimore City. If the taxpayer paid anything less than the total of the yearly tax on the ad valorem value of all his tangible personal property, the collector acted in violation of the statute, and the taxpayer, at most, would be entitled to nothing more than a credit in the entire amount due. The custom of rendering separate bills for the amount of taxes based upon the valuation and assessment of motor vehicles, and for the amount of taxes based upon the valuation and