EDGAR W. MAXWELL, AS TAX ASSESSOR FOR PALM BEACH COUNTY, FLORIDA, APPELLANT
v.
PINE GAS CORPORATION ET AL., APPELLEES
AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.
A tax assessor appeals an interlocutory order requiring production of worksheets and tax returns of similarly situated gas companies in a dispute over property tax assessments. The court affirms, holding that public records are generally open to inspection and that federal tax information received from the IRS may be disclosed in judicial proceedings where a state official is a party in their official capacity.
The court affirmed the order requiring production of the assessor's worksheets and tax returns of similarly situated companies because public records are open for inspection by citizens and there is no statutory privilege for tangible personal property tax returns. The court also upheld the denial of access to IRS information because such information is privileged under federal law, though it may be disclosed in judicial proceedings in the discretion of the court when a state official is a party in an official capacity.
“All state, county and municipal records are open for personal inspection of any citizen. F.S.A. § 119.01. Such records are not the personal property of a public officer.”
Establishes the foundational principle that public records, including tax assessor documents, are generally open to inspection by citizens.
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligencePine Gas Corporation, owner of liquid petroleum gas storage and distribution facilities in Palm Beach County, failed to file tangible property tax ret…
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.
Explore caselaw by topic → Browse Suit In Equity cases and more on FLexlaw
Defendant, Edgar W. Maxwell, as Tax Assessor of Palm Beach County, appeals an interlocutory order granting, in part, and denying, in part, the motion of plaintiff,. Pine Gas Corporation, for production and inspection of certain documents of the tax assessor. Plaintiff cross-appeals that part of the order denying its request for production of certain documents.
*603The plaintiff, the owner of liquid petroleum gas storage tanks and distribution lines serving residences in Palm Beach County, did not file tangible property tax returns for 1962, 1963 and 1964. It filed a return for 1965 showing a value of $74,-"981.11, upon which the assessor fixed a value of $200,000. The assessor also back-taxed the property of the plaintiff for three years, fixing an assessed value- of $192,000 for 1962, $120,000 for the years 1963 and 1964.
The plaintiff objected to the assessments ■and appeared before the board of county •commissioners sitting as an equalization board. . Allegedly, plaintiff was advised that the board had no authority |o lower the as-sessments in the absence of proof that other 'liquefied petroleum gas distributors were not assessed on a similar basis. Plaintiff brought suit in equity seeking injunctive, •declaratory and other relief.
The court granted the request of the ■plaintiff to require the tax assessor to produce his worksheets and the tax returns of "the plaintiff and four other gas distributing •companies similarly situated. Defendant-•assessor appeals. The court denied plaintiff’s request to require the tax assessor to disclose the information which he had received regarding the plaintiff from the comptroller of the state or from the Internal Revenue Service. Plaintiff cross-appeals this as error.
All state, county and municipal ■records are open for personal inspection of -any citizen. F.S.A. § 119.01. Such records .are not the personal property of a public •officer. Bell v. Kendrick, 1889, 25 Fla. 778, 6 So. 868. The Legislature has seen fit to make records of intangible personal ■property tax returns confidential. F.S.A. :§ 199.101. There is no similar statutory privilege for tangible personal property tax returns.
Information received by the comptroller from the Internal Revenue Service is privileged and can only be used m the manner and for the purposes authorized by federal statutes. 26 U.S.C.A. § 6103(b). In the discretion of the court such information may be disclosed in a judicial proceeding in which a state or local political subdivision or official thereof is a party in his official capacity. 26 U.S.C.A. § 7213(a) (2). Accordingly, the cross-appeal is without merit.
The order appealed from is affirmed.
WALDEN, C. J., and CROSS, J., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
-
State v. Cartwright, 38 Fla. Supp. 6 (Broward Cty. Cir. Ct. 1972)…sought were produced through the expenditure of public monies by a public employee for use by other public employees in conducting the public’s business. The records belong to the citizens and not to their employees. Maxwell v. Pine Gas Corporation, 195 So. 2d 602, 603 (4 DCA 1967)*. While some public officials may prefer citizens to have access to records and documents only when they are official, sterile and final, only dishonest governments have anything to fear from an informed citizenry. The divine right…
Authorities Cited
- Chas. W. Bell and Jerry B. Lockett v. Kendrick, 25 Fla. 778 (Fla. 1889)