Municipal house tax assessments based on an annulled enhanced valuation cannot survive for later years, and excess tax is refundable.

Where later municipal house tax assessments merely carry forward an earlier valuation list, an appellate setting aside of the enhanced original assessment also undermines the later years based on that same foundation. The municipality cannot retain tax at the enhanced rate for subsequent years simply because separate appeals were not filed against each yearly demand, when those later assessments were only an adoption of the annulled assessment. On these facts, the excess house tax paid under the later assessments was refundable to the assessee.

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Issues: Whether the municipality could retain house tax for subsequent years on the basis of an enhanced assessment that had been set aside in appeal for the original year, and whether refund was payable without separate appeals against the later yearly assessments.

Analysis: The assessment for 1971-72 was adopted for the subsequent years under the municipal power to carry forward valuation and assessment from an earlier list. Once the appellate authority had set aside the enhanced assessment and restored the lower annual rental value, the later years could not be treated as continuing at the enhanced figure merely because separate appeals had not been filed for those years. The rule that each year's assessment is ordinarily final for that year did not assist the municipality on these facts, because the later assessments were only an adoption of the earlier assessment list and stood on the same foundation as the assessment that had already been annulled.

Conclusion: The levy at the enhanced rate for the later years was illegal, and the excess house tax was refundable to the assessee.

Ratio Decidendi: Where later municipal tax assessments are merely an adoption of an earlier assessment list, and the original enhanced assessment is set aside in appeal, the later assessments cannot survive at the enhanced rate and the excess tax paid under them is refundable.

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