assessment
Definitions from Case Law · United States Supreme Court
Definitions from Case Law
From 541 U.S. 114 - United States v. Galletti · 2004Most cited · 137 citing opinions
little more than the calculation or recording of a tax liability.
How the Supreme Court has restated “assessment”
Each Supreme Court definition of “assessment,” sized by how often later courts cited it. “Change” is measured by wording overlap with earlier definitions — a rough signal, not a semantic judgment.
How often courts cite the cases defining “assessment”
Court decisions citing the 3 opinions that defined “assessment” — 366 in all, by decade. Counts are citations to the defining cases as a whole, not verified uses of the term. The dip in the most recent years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the latest years.
All 3 definitions, chronological · 1928–2004
- ORIGINAL
An assessment is not an order made by an administrative board or commission, within the meaning of that section. The function of an assessing board is not that of issuing orders. Its function is informational. Its duty is to make findings of fact, and thereby furnish the basis on which other officials are to act in individual instances in levying and collecting the taxes. An assessment does not command the taxpayer to do, or to refrain from doing anything; does not grant or withhold any privilege, authority, or license; does not extend or abridge any power or facility; does not determine any right or obligation.
tax
A mere assessment is not a statute or an order of an administrative board or commission within the meaning of section 266 of the Judicial Code.
§ 266 Judicial Code