In the case of Moses Lake Homes, Inc., et al. v. Grant County in 1960, the U.S Supreme Court addressed a dispute over property tax assessments. The plaintiffs, Moses Lake Homes and others, were developers who had purchased land for residential construction in Grant County, Washington State. They argued that the county's method of assessing their properties was unfair because it did not take into account improvements they made to the land such as roads and utilities which increased its value significantly. The court ruled against Moses Lake Homes stating that under Washington law at that time; counties could assess property based on its market value without considering any potential future developments or improvements by owners. Furthermore, it stated that if an owner improves his/her property after January 1 (the assessment date), those improvements cannot be taxed until next year’s assessment. This ruling upheld the principle of uniformity in taxation where all similar properties should be assessed similarly regardless of individual circumstances or actions taken by specific owners post-assessment period.

In the dissenting opinion for Moses Lake Homes, Inc., et al. v. Grant County, it was argued that the majority's decision to uphold a tax assessment on property owned by Moses Lake Homes violated principles of fairness and equity. The dissenters contended that because the company had not yet realized any profit from its investment at the time of taxation, it was unjust to impose such a heavy financial burden upon them. They further asserted that this ruling could potentially discourage future business investments in undeveloped land due to fear of premature and excessive taxation before profits are made or even guaranteed. This would be detrimental not only for businesses but also for local economies relying on these investments for growth and development.