Anniston Sportswear Corporation v. State

151 So. 2d 778, 275 Ala. 46, 1963 Ala. LEXIS 551
CourtSupreme Court of Alabama
DecidedApril 4, 1963
Docket3 Div. 5
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 151 So. 2d 778 (Anniston Sportswear Corporation v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Alabama primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Anniston Sportswear Corporation v. State, 151 So. 2d 778, 275 Ala. 46, 1963 Ala. LEXIS 551 (Ala. 1963).

Opinion

GOODWYN, Justice.

The appellant (taxpayer), a foreign corporation qualified to do business in Alabama, appealed to the circuit court of Montgomery County, in equity, pursuant to Code 1940, Tit. 51, § 140, from a final franchise tax assessment levied against it by the State Department of Revenue, under the provisions of Code 1940, Tit. 51, § 348, as amended by Act No. 74, appvd. April 13, 1955, effective May 1, 1955,-Acts 1955, Vol. I, p. 191. (Section 348 was further amended [48]*48by Act No. 912, appvd. Sept. 8, 1961, effective for tax years beginning on and after January 1, 1964, Acts 1961, Vol. II, p. 1462.

This amendment is of no significance in this case.) The circuit court rendered a decree approving the assessment as made by the Department of Revenue. This appeal followed.

A part of the testimony was heard orally by the trial court and a part was taken by deposition.

The annual franchise tax on foreign corporations is fixed at “two and one-half dollars ($2.50) on each one thousand dollars ($1,000.00) of the actual amount of capital employed in this state." [Emphasis supplied.] Code 1940, Tit. 51, § 348, as amended, supra; Constitution 1901, § 232.

The assessment increased “the actual amount of capital employed in this state” by appellant, as shown by its franchise tax return for 1960, in the following respects:

(1) By increasing the valuation of appellant’s leasehold improvements, machinery and equipment, and furniture and fixtures, by $41,553.

(2) By adding to such capital the following : A $75,000 note receivable due from a non-resident of Alabama, payable to appellant and held by it at its office in Michigan City, Indiana; $12,222.17 on deposit in the Merchants National Bank of Michigan City, Indiana; and $3,871.79 in miscellaneous receivables held by appellant at its office in Michigan City.

Appellant was incorporated under the laws of Indiana in September, 1958. Its principal office is located in Michigan City, Indiana. Two of its three directors maintain their business offices and personal residences in Michigan City. The third director maintains his office and residence in Chicago, Illinois. Its president, vice president, treasurer, secretary, assistant secretary and assistant treasurer, being all of its officers, reside in Michigan City, as do also all of its stockholders. The directors’ and stockholders’ meetings are held in Michigan City. As we understand the evidence, the only production plant operated by appellant is located in Anniston, Alabama, where it manufactures men’s slacks. It does work for four accounts, all located outside of Alabama.

Apparently, all of appellant’s activities, other than the strictly manufacturing operations in Anniston, are conducted from its office in Michigan City. All administrative and control functions are performed at Michigan City, including the formulation of administrative policies, the determination of productive capacity, the setting of prices, the acceptance of orders, the purchasing of all raw materials, the preparation of production orders and cutting tickets, and the determination of salaries. Also, payment of the payroll for all supervisory personnel working in Anniston, as well as appellant’s officers, is made from the Michigan City office. All such payments are made by check drawn against appellant’s account maintained at the Merchant’s National Bank in Michigan City. Appellant maintained two bank accounts, one in Michigan City and one in Anniston. On the law day for determining the amount of franchise tax due, the amount on deposit in the Anniston Bank was $17,823.00 and in the Michigan City bank $12,222.17. There is no dispute that the amount on deposit in the Anniston bank was capital employed in Alabama. The funds deposited in the Michigan City bank originated in Michigan City from payments there made to appellant by JaymarRuby, Inc., one of appellant’s principal customers. Such payments were made by checks signed by one of Jaymar-Ruby, Inc.’s officers in Michigan City and deposited directly into appellant’s Michigan City bank account.

The $75,000 note, above referred to, represented a loan made by appellant to Jay-mar-Ruby, Inc., dated September 10, 1959, payable on demand at Michigan City and bearing interest at 41/¿% per annum. This note was executed at Michigan City by the president of Jaymar-Ruby, Inc. The loan [49]*49was made by check drawn by appellant’s president on appellant’s Michigan City bank account. The note was paid on December 12, 1959. The evidence establishes that the money represented by said note was not necessary to meet the day to day operations of appellant.

Appellant’s fiscal year was from October 1 to September 30. Its franchise tax return was based on balance sheet figures as of September 30, 1959.

The leasehold improvements, in good part, dated back to 1953. They consist principally of a sprinkler system installed by appellant’s predecessor corporation, electrical work, air-conditioning and air-cooling systems, and shelving. These items are affixed to the building structure and cannot be moved upon termination of the lease. They are carried by appellant as assets “solely for tax purposes, where we are writing it off over a period of years,” and were included by appellant in its franchise tax return at $14,854. The Department of Revenue adjusted this upward to $17,618.

Appellant’s machinery and equipment were included in its return at $50,251, which the Department of Revenue raised to $86,-667.

Appellant’s furniture and fixtures were listed in its return at $4,813, which was raised by the Department of Revenue to $7,186. The furniture and fixtures consist of desks and general office equipment acquired between 1949 and 1955 by appellant’s predecessor corporation, and taken over by appellant upon its incorporation in 1958.

(1)

The evidence as to the value, for franchise tax purposes, of appellant’s leasehold improvements, machinery and equipment, and furniture and fixtures, is in conflict. The trial court, after considering such conflicting evidence, part of which was heard ore tenus, agreed to the valuations as contended for by the Department of Revenue. We see no basis for interfering with that decision.

Some suggestion is made, but apparently not seriously insisted on, that since the leasehold improvements will remain as a part of the building structure upon termination of appellant’s lease, such improvements have no market value, insofar as appellant is concerned, and, therefore, should not be considered as capital employed by it in Alabama. The fact that appellant sees fit to carry such improvements on its books as assets and depreciates them for tax purposes, would seem to dispel any notion that such improvements are not part of appellant’s capital being employed in Alabama. As already noted, appellant included the leasehold improvements in its franchise tax return as a part of its capital employed in Alabama, but at a figure lower than that assessed by the Department of Revenue.

(2)

Appellant’s argument is addressed to its assignment of error challenging the inclusion of the $75,000 note in the franchise tax base. The assignments challenging the inclusion of the Michigan City bank account and the miscellaneous receivables in the franchise tax base must be considered as waived.

We are at the conclusion it was error to include the amount of the note in the tax base.

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151 So. 2d 778, 275 Ala. 46, 1963 Ala. LEXIS 551, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/anniston-sportswear-corporation-v-state-ala-1963.