In Re King

In In re King, 281 N.C. 533, 189 S.E.2d 158 (1972), urban property owners in Nash County questioned the assessment of farm land within the County, contending that the farm property was undervalued for tax purposes. The State Board of Assessment, predecessor of the Property Tax Commission, found that the rural property was undervalued for tax purposes and ordered a revaluation. The superior court affirmed the decision of the Board of Assessment. Our Supreme Court affirmed the decision, pointing out that property is required to be valued "at its true value" for tax purposes. The Supreme Court explained that the purpose of the statutory requirement that all property be appraised at its true value in money is to assure, as far as practicable, a distribution of the burden of taxation in proportion to the true values of the respective taxpayers' property holdings, whether they be rural or urban. It is the duty of the County Board of Equalization and Review, when so requested, to hear any taxpayer owning taxable property in the county with respect to the valuation of his property or of the property of others and to eliminate unlawful discriminations in the valuations of all properties in the county. G.S. 105-327(g). If such taxpayer is aggrieved by the order of the County Board of Equalization and Review, he may appeal to the State Board of Assessment. G.S. 105-329. Id. at 539, 189 S.E.2d at 161. In discussing King and related cases, our Supreme Court held in Brock v. Property Tax Comm., 290 N.C. 731, 228 S.E.2d 254 (1976), that, "when examined with respect to the statutes in effect at the time these cases were decided and with respect to the facts of each case, it is clear that the Court permits a property owner to contest the valuation on the 'property of others' only where he is in some way aggrieved by that valuation." Brock, 290 N.C. at 740, 228 S.E.2d at 260.