717. (516.) When assessor to value personal property. All personal estate liable to taxation, the value of which shall not have been specified under oath as aforesaid, shall be estimated by the county assessor of taxes at its true cash value, according to his best judgment and information, and his failure by neglect or refusal to make such estimate shall be a cause of suspension by the Governor. Ch. 4322, Acts 1895, Sec. 20; Ch. 5596, Acts 1907. Sec. 18. Acts 1895, 718. (518.) Mode of assessing lands not within limits of Ch. 4322, cities or towns.-The lands in each county in this State, subject to taxation and not included in the limits of incorporated towns and cities and laid off in lots and blocks, shall be assessed by townships, and for purposes of taxation all nonbearing fruit trees shall not be considered as adding any value to said land; and in making the assessment the county assessor of taxes shall begin with the lowest numbered section in each township and shall assess each lot, tract or parcel of land therein, in accordance with the description as returned for taxation by the owner or agent; Provided, The county assessor of taxes may correct any errors in the description so returned, and if the owner or agent fails to make such returns, the county assessor of taxes shall assess all lands not returned, according to the government survey, and shall assess in one assessment all the lands in a section belonging to the same owner, or assessed as "Unknown," and when a return of any piece or parcel of property is returned by more than one person the county assessor of taxes shall write the names of all claimants opposite said description of land, and the county assessor of taxes shall continue in his assessment roll the description and assessment of the remaining sections in townships in the order of their numbers, and in the same manner he shall then assess all the other townships in his county in like manner. He shall also list all land not subject to taxation belonging to the State, the common school fund, the seminary fund, the internal improvement fund, and the United States, but he shall place no value on any such land or make any extension of taxes, and shall receive no compensation for listing such lands: Provided, That when private surveys of land or descriptions by metes and bounds have taken the place of government surveys, and the land is known, designated and described only by such private surveys or metes and bounds, the description in the assessment shall be made in accordance with such surveys or descriptions as recorded in the office of the clerk of the circuit court, or by reference to deed of record, giving the 719 Ch. 4322, Sec. 21; Ch. 5596, Acts 1907, Sec. 19. TAXATION Title 6. book and page as appears in the office of the clerk of the circuit court, and when Spanish grants or donations exist in any county in this State, which have not been surveyed and platted, or which plats are not recorded in the office of the clerk of the circuit court, the county assessor of taxes for such county shall assess the several tracts of land owned in such grants not platted as above, describing the same by reference to deed of record, giving the book and page of record as appears in the office of the clerk of the circuit court, and if the deed conveying such tracts is not recorded upon its production to the county assessor of taxes, he may describe the lands as being that tract, lot, piece or parcel described in a deed executed by the grantor (naming him)-to the grantee (naming him), bearing date (giving date shown by deed), and such description shall be valid and sufficient for all purposes of the assessment. The description of land upon the assessment roll is sufficiently certain if, by looking at the entire roll, it is seen that the land sold is the land taxed. Sams v King, 18 Fla. 558. Where a portion of taxes levied is legal and a portion is illegal, and the illegal portion can be separated on the assessment list without impairing those that are legal, it is error to declare the entire assessment unlawfully made. Pensacola v L. & N. R. R. Co., 21 Fla. 492; Tampa v Mugge, 40 Fla. 326, 24 So. 489. A description of lands on an assessment roll so faulty as not to enable the purchaser to identify the land thereby is an invalid assessment. Grissom v Furman, 22 Fla. 581. Where a sale is for an entire tax and a part of it is legal and a part illegal the illegal portion vitiates the entire sale. Graham v F. L. & M. Co., 33 Fla. 356, 14 So. 796. If tax officers intentionally omit taxable property from the assessment rolls for an improper purpose the entire assessment will be illegal and void. If the omission arises in consequence of a bona fide belief that the omitted property is exempt from taxation the assessment will be valid. Tampa v Kaunitz, 39 Fla. 683, 23 So. 416. An assessment is void where the legally constituted assessing officer did not value or assess the same. Ib. A valid assessment is sufficiently shown by the proper assessing officer though it appear with his consent and approval another person was employed in writing up the assessment roll and put valuations of property thereon, if it was done either under the supervision of the assessor, or he personally adopted the same. Tampa v Mugge, 40 Fla. 326, 24 So. 489. Knowledge on the part of the owner of property that an assessment for taxes is void does not vitalize such void assessment. Hughey v Winborne, 44 Fla. 601, 33 So. 249. Description of land on an assessment roll so faulty as not to warn the owner of the charge upon his land will invalidate the assessment. Miller y Lindstrom, 45 Fla. 473, 33 So. 521. 719. (519.) Maps to be furnished the assessor; mode of assessing lands in cities and towns, etc.-The county commissioners of each county in this State shall purchase and have mounted on cloth and then bound in volume or volumes, two complete sets of photolithographed township maps in their respective counties of each township therein, one to be kept in the office of the clerk of the circuit court and the other in the county assessor of taxes' office in their several counties, and failure to do so shall be cause for suspension of such county commissioners by the Governor upon complaint of the county assessor of taxes, or other citizen. of the county, and all these maps and information which may come into the hands of the several county assessors of taxes which may be used in preparing the assessment roll shall remain in the county assessor of taxes' office at the courthouse and be delivered to his successor in office: Provided, That any maps now owned by the county assessor of taxes may be purchased at their discretion by the county commissioners at a reasonable price, and should any county assessor of taxes so fail to deliver said maps above provided, his bond shall be responsible to the value of said property, as required for the faithful discharge of his duty, and he shall not again be eligible to any office of trust or profit in the county. He shall make the assessments of real estate in cities and town plats and blocks in regular order throughout the original plan of the city or town, and all additions thereto, all the lots of a block to be listed in their regular order under the letter, number or other designation of the block as filed and recorded in the office of the clerk of the circuit court, blocks also to follow in their regular order (and all lots or subdivisions of a block, when belonging to one owner and being numbered consecutively and lying contiguously, may be assessed together and the taxes extended on one line), each of the smallest sub-divisions of such book to be entered and the taxes thereon to be extended separately: Provided, That county assessors of taxes, in making up the assessment rolls, are directed to give sufficient space for the tax collector to make necessary entries; and the clerks of the circuit court in recording the report of the tax sales are directed to give necessary space for the entries of redemption: Provided, That no person shall be required to pay taxes on entire land assessed in order to get receipts for taxes on land upon which such person desires to pay taxes. An assessment in blocks will not be set aside if the owner consented to such mode of assessment. Kissimmee v Drought, 26 Fla. 1, 7 So. 525. Where several tracts of land are assessed and sold for taxes, and the amount of taxes assessed upon each of said tracts is not set down opposite thereto in the assessment roll and in the collector's advertisement of sale, but the aggregate taxes assessed is given only, a tax deed predicated thereon is void. Levy v Ladd, 35 Fla. 391, 17 So. 635. Where two tracts of land are assessed, one being assessed to a named owner and the other is not assessed to any owner or occupant or as unknown, but the valuation of the two tracts are aggregated, such assessment is defective. McKeown v Collins, 38 Fla. 276, 21 So. 103. Description in the assessment roll as "lot one, Assessor's Pierson," will not support a tax deed, it being shown that there was no such plat. Miller v Lindstrom, 45 Fla. 473, 33 So. 521. 720 Ch. 4322, Acts 1895, TAXATION Title 6. 720. Assessment of land, timber and turpentine rights.— Sec. 22; Ch. The tax assessor shall ascertain by personal inspection, 5380, Acts 1905; Ch. 5596, Acts where not already sufficiently acquainted therewith, the 1907, Sec. 20 value of the lands including the timber thereon when the by Ch. 5725, improvements or timber belong to the owner of the land, as superseded Acts 1907, and assess the same as lands at their full cash value in the name of the owner, occupant or as unknown and set down in the assessment roll following and opposite the description of the lands the name of the owner, occupant or unknown, and when the land has not been returned for assessment on or before the first day of April of each year, by the owner or legal representative of the owner, if the owner or agent be unknown, the assessor shall enter the word "unknown" in the column of the assessment roll provided for the name of the owners, or his or her legal representative. The assessment book as provided by the Comptroller shall contain an alphabetical index in which the assessor shall be required to indicate the name and the postoffice address, if it can be ascertained, of each person whose name appears upon the assessment roll, and shall indicate opposite such name as indexed, the page upon which any tax or taxes may be found to be assessed. In case any lands shall be timbered, and the timber or the right to turpentine the timber shall belong to a person other than the owner of the land, and the owner of the land shall disclose to the assessor the owner or owners of such timber or turpentine rights, the assessor shall assess the value of the land independent and distinct from the value of the timber and the turpentine rights or privileges, and shall assess the value of such timber and such turpentine rights or privileges separate and distinct from the said land and from each other, assessing the value of the land and of the timber and of the turpentine rights or privileges to the owners respectively thereof. If the assessor cannot ascertain the name of the owner of such rights he may assess them as unknown. And in order that this provision shall be effective it is further provided that the owner or owners of the land, and also the lessees, owner or owners of the turpentine or timber rights, shall annually furnish the assessor with a decription of the lands on which such turpentine or timber rights exist, and the value of the same, and of the timber or turpentine rights, and the lease of said turpentine or timber rights shall be assessed as personal property. When the timber or turpentine rights are sold for nonpayment of taxes due thereon, the title of the owner of the timber or turpentine rights shall pass to the purchaser at the tax sale, subject to redemption by the owner within six months by paying the amount of the taxes and costs, with interest, at the rate of twenty-five cents per annum. Tax payers who place valuations on their property for taxation and which are accepted by the assessing officers, are estopped from questioning such values. Tampa v Mugge, 40 Fla. 326, 24 So. 489. The law contemplates that a wide discretion be accorded to tax assessors in the valuation of property for the purposes of taxation, and the courts will not in general control the discretion of the tax assessor in making valuations. German-American Lbr. Co. v Barbee, 59 Fla. 493, 52 So. 292. The fact that where timber lands are generally assessed at $2.00 an acre when there are no timber leases thereon, and when there are such timber leases the lands are generally assessed at $1.50 an acre and the timber leases thereon are separately assessed at $1.00 an acre, does not render a particular assessment of the land invalid. Ib. An assessment of lands in the name of a person who is not the owner or legal representative of the owner or as unknown or to the same owner as for the previous year when not returned for taxation by the owner, is not authorized by law. McLeod v Williams, 73 Fla. 338, 74 So. 408. Where timber rights in land are assessed without any description or identification of the lands in which the rights exist and without anything to indicate that the assessment is of timber rights, the assessment is not legally sufficient. King v Hilburn, 74 Fla. 126, 76 So. 678. Acts 1895, Sec. 23; Ch. 5596, Acts 721. (523.) Counties may be divided in taxation dis- Ch. 4322, tricts; appointment, oath, bond and duty of assistant assessors, etc. The county commissioners of the several counties, 1907, Sec. 21. when it is deemed necessary for assessment purposes, may, before the first day of January of each year, divide their respective counties into taxation districts, and the county assessor of taxes may employ for each district an assistant assessor of taxes, resident of the district, who shall take the oath of office required by law for the faithful discharge of the duties of the office of county assessor of taxes and shall give good and sufficient bond for the faithful performance of his duty, as assistant assessor of taxes, which bond shall be approved by the county commissioners of said county, and whose duty it shall be to assess the property, real and personal, in his district, as provided by law, making out a complete list of all the lands subject to taxation and giving the value thereof, and giving the names of the owners or persons making the tax returns. The assistant assessor of taxes shall begin the assessment on the first day of January and shall complete the same as early as possible, and he shall return his list of assessments, as made out to the county assessor of taxes, immediately upon the completion thereof, and not later than the first day of May, and the two shall then revise such list at stated times, before the first day of June, as the county assessor of taxes may designate, and make such changes as may be agreed upon between them as to de |