Assessment

n. [L. Lat. assessamentum.]

1. The act of assessing; the act of determining the amount of damages by a jury. “To be subject to no assessment.” Howell.
2. A valuation of property or profits of business, for the purpose of taxation, or the specific sum charged or levied.

☞ An assessment is a valuation made by authorized persons according to their discretion, as opposed to a sum certain or determined by law. It is a valuation of the property of those who are to pay the tax, for the purpose of fixing the proportion which each man shall pay; on which valuation the law imposes a specific sum upon a given amount. Blackstone. Burrill.