ELR Citation: ELR 20571
No(s). 166-73 (Vt. Feb 5, 1974)

The Vermont Supreme Court upholds the constitutionality of the state's Land Gains Tax that imposes a levy determined by the gain and the holding period on the sale or exchange of land held less than six years. The plaintiff's claims that the law violates the Equal Protection Clause have failed to overcome the presumption of constitutionality that attaches to an act of the legislature. The statute admittedly makes an arbitrary differentiation between transferors who have held the land less than six years and those who have held it longer, but this classification is reasonably related to the achievement of the legitimate state purpose of deterring land speculation.

Counsel for Plaintiff
Richard E. Davis
Box 666
Barre, Vt. 05641

Counsel for Defendant
Kimberly Cheney Attorney General
Louis Peck
Benson Scotch
Pavilion Building
Montpelier, Vt. 05602

Norris Hoyt Special Counsel
Office of the Governor
Montpelier, Vt. 05602