Hansman V. Bernalillo County Assessor

Petitioners protest the property tax valuation assessments against their respective properties for the 1979 tax year. The valuations were more than 10% in excess of the 1978 figures. Petitioners contend that the statutes in effect at the beginning of the tax year -- the time when all property is to be valued for tax purposes, § 7-38-7 N.M.S.A. 1978 -- limited valuations to increases of not more than 10% over the previous year, and that the Valuation Protest Board improperly refused to reduce the assessed valuations. We examine the statutory evolution of the property tax provisions and the constitutional elements inherent in taxation laws to determine the merits of appellants' contentions.