The U.S. Supreme Court usually doesn't get involved in tax matters if it can avoid them. Today, however, the justices said they will take up an interesting case on local taxation:
Armour v. Indianapolis, No. 11-161. Does the Equal Protection Clause preclude a local taxing authority from refusing to refund payments made for sewer improvements by those who have paid their assessments in full, while forgiving the obligations of identically situated taxpayers who chose to pay over a multi-year installment plan?
The Indiana Supreme Court ruled in favor of the City of Indianapolis in May. Will the nation's highest court agree, and what will it say about the constitutional status of local taxes for sewers? Worth watching.
Comments (4)
Being forced to spend ratepayer money on what you said it would be used for. How quaint.
We don't go for them fancy-pants legal arguments out here. Just pay your tribute to Boss Randy and things get done. And ratepayers better keep quiet and "remember who your friends are."
And in a related event, Portland gets some more national press in the Wall Street Journal today. Seems that some cities are using money designated for one purpose for other projects, and Portland's Water/Sewer misappropriations to The Rose Festival foundation is cited as one example. Who would have guessed? At least Modoc County was trying to keep the County Hospital operating when they diverted their funds. Go by Mounted Posse Colorguard!!
equal protection? Oh, you mean like the Occupy people getting to use a park for free for a month or so and the Tea Party paying up front for an evening?
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Neil Young - Waging Heavy Peace
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J.D. Salinger - Franny and Zooey
Charles Dickens - A Christmas Carol
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Deborah Eisenberg - Transactions in a Foreign Currency
Kurt Vonnegut Jr. - Slaughterhouse Five
Kathryn Lance - Pandora's Genes
Cheryl Strayed - Wild
Fyodor Dostoyevsky - The Brothers Karamazov
Jack London - The House of Pride, and Other Tales of Hawaii
Jack Walker - The Extraordinary Rendition of Vincent Dellamaria
Colum McCann - Let the Great World Spin
Niccolò Machiavelli - The Prince
Harper Lee - To Kill a Mockingbird
Emma McLaughlin & Nicola Kraus - The Nanny Diaries
Brian Selznick - The Invention of Hugo Cabret
Sharon Creech - Walk Two Moons
Keith Richards - Life
F. Sionil Jose - Dusk
Natalie Babbitt - Tuck Everlasting
Justin Halpern - S#*t My Dad Says
Mark Herrmann - The Curmudgeon's Guide to Practicing Law
Barry Glassner - The Gospel of Food
Phil Stanford - The Peyton-Allan Files
Jesse Katz - The Opposite Field
Evelyn Waugh - Brideshead Revisited
J.K. Rowling - Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
David Sedaris - Holidays on Ice
Donald Miller - A Million Miles in a Thousand Years
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C.S. Lewis - The Magician's Nephew
F. Scott Fitzgerald - The Great Gatsby
William Shakespeare - A Midsummer Night's Dream
Ivan Doig - Bucking the Sun
Penda Diakité - I Lost My Tooth in Africa
Grace Lin - The Year of the Rat
Oscar Hijuelos - Mr. Ives' Christmas
Madeline L'Engle - A Wrinkle in Time
Steven Hart - The Last Three Miles
David Sedaris - Me Talk Pretty One Day
Karen Armstrong - The Spiral Staircase
Charles Larson - The Portland Murders
Adrian Wojnarowski - The Miracle of St. Anthony
William H. Colby - Long Goodbye
Steven D. Stark - Meet the Beatles
Phil Stanford - Portland Confidential
Rick Moody - Garden State
Jonathan Schwartz - All in Good Time
David Sedaris - Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim
Anthony Holden - Big Deal
Robert J. Spitzer - The Spirit of Leadership
James McManus - Positively Fifth Street
Jeff Noon - Vurt
Road Work
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Comments (4)
Being forced to spend ratepayer money on what you said it would be used for. How quaint.
We don't go for them fancy-pants legal arguments out here. Just pay your tribute to Boss Randy and things get done. And ratepayers better keep quiet and "remember who your friends are."
Posted by Snards | November 14, 2011 11:59 AM
Who says tax law is boring!
Posted by Pom Mom of LO | November 14, 2011 1:32 PM
And in a related event, Portland gets some more national press in the Wall Street Journal today. Seems that some cities are using money designated for one purpose for other projects, and Portland's Water/Sewer misappropriations to The Rose Festival foundation is cited as one example. Who would have guessed? At least Modoc County was trying to keep the County Hospital operating when they diverted their funds. Go by Mounted Posse Colorguard!!
Posted by Cass | November 14, 2011 2:17 PM
equal protection? Oh, you mean like the Occupy people getting to use a park for free for a month or so and the Tea Party paying up front for an evening?
Posted by concordbridge | November 14, 2011 8:16 PM