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Page 14 <br /> <br /> VS. <br /> <br />County of Dakota, <br /> <br />OCTOBER 1991 <br /> <br /> Petitioner, <br />Respondent. <br /> <br /> The above-entitled matter came on for hearing be- <br />fore the Honorable Earl B. Gustafson, Judge of the Min- <br />nesota Tax Court, on October 11, 1991, at the Dakota <br />County Courthouse in Hastings, Minnesota. <br /> Richard G. 'Soderberg, the petitioner, appeared pro <br /> <br /> Kenneth Malvey, Assistant Dakota County Attorney, <br />appeared for the respondent. <br /> At issue in this case is the requirement in Minn. <br />Stat. § 273.111, subd. 8 to provide agricultural income <br />information in an application for Green Acres tax defer- <br />ment. <br /> The Court, having heard and considered the evi- <br />dence adduced at the hearing and upon all of the files <br />and records herein, now makes the following: <br /> <br /> FINDINGS OF FACT <br /> <br /> 1. Petitioner bas sufficient interest in the property to <br />maintain this petition; all statutory and jurisdictional re- <br />quirements have been complied with, and the Court has <br />jurisdiction over the subject matter of the action and the <br />parties hereto. <br /> 2. The subject property comprises 70 acres of vacant <br />land located in Dakota County, Minnesota, described as <br />follows: <br /> A portion of the East 1/2 of the SW-1/4 of Section <br /> 18, Township 114, Range 18; Property I.D. No. <br /> 39-01800-013-50. <br /> 3. The subject 70 acre parcel, which contains ap- <br />proximately 44 tillable acres, has been accorded the <br />Green Acres classification since the early 1980s. <br /> 4. In May, 1991, the Dakota County Assessor's Of- <br />rice, as part of a county-wide Green Acres verification <br />process, requested verification of acreage being farmed <br />and gross agricultural income earned. <br /> 5. Petitioner refused to submit any of the requested <br />information in writing concerning the subject property. <br />AS a result, the assessor removed the Green Acres classi- <br />fication for the 1990 assessment year, for taxes payable <br />in 1991. <br /> 6. Petitioner appeals the assessor's action and re- <br />quests reinstatement of the Green Acres classification, <br />arguing that the income disclosure requirement violates <br />the unreasonable search and seizure provisions of the <br />United States Constitution. <br /> 7. The Court finds that the assessor need not extend <br />the Green Acres tax benefits to petitioner without "proof <br />by affidavit or otherwise that the property qualifies" for <br />such classification under Minn. Stat. § 273.11, subds. 3 <br />&6. <br /> 8. The attached Memorandum is hereby made a part <br />of these Findings of Fact. <br /> <br /> <br />