Bellows Falls Power Co. v. Commonwealth

109 N.E. 891, 222 Mass. 51, 1915 Mass. LEXIS 922
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court·Decided September 16, 1915·Published·Cited by 30 cases

Opinion

Rugg, C. J.

This is a petition under St. 1909, c. .490, Part III, § 70, for the recovery of the amount of an excise alleged to have been excessive, which was levied upon a domestic business corporation under §§41 and 43 of Part III of the tax act, St. 1909, c. 490, as amended by St. 1914, c. 198, § 6.* The questions presented are whether certain stocks and bonds of Vermont corporations are “securities which if owned by a natural person resident in this Commonwealth,” by § 41 “would not be liable to taxation,” or by § 43 “would be liable to taxation,” and also whether such stock is "property situated in another State or country and subject to taxation therein” by § 41. The pertinent parts of the statute are printed in a footnote,

[53] The petitioner owned a large number of shares of stock in a Vermont corporation, the value of which the tax commissioner refused to deduct from the true market value of the corporate franchise of the petitioner, for the purpose of determining its excise tax. It is contended by the petitioner that the' tax commissioner was in error for two reasons, (1) because the stock of the Vermont corporation would not be subject to taxation in this Commonwealth if owned by a natural person, and (2) because such stock is property situated in another State and subject to taxation therein. These two contentions rest on statutes of the State of Vermont, which are printed in a footnote.*

[54] Plainly these contentions would have no merit in law were it not for the special provisions of the Vermont statute. It was early decided in this Commonwealth that shares of stock in a foreign corporation were taxable as property to the owner resident here, although the place of business and the entire property of the corporation were in another jurisdiction. Great Barrington v. County Commissioners, 16 Pick. 572. -This principle of taxation has been repeatedly upheld, the latest instance being Hawley v. Malden, 204 Mass. 138. That decision was affirmed in 232 U. S. 1, where, at pages 12 and 13, it was said by Mr. Justice Hughes in delivering the opinion: “Whether, in the case of corporations organized under State laws, a provision by the State of incorporation fixing the situs of shares for the purpose of taxation, by whomever owned, would exclude the taxation of the shares by other States in which their owners reside is a question which does not arise upon this record and need not be decided.” We are not aware that this question ever has been determined by this court or by the Supreme Court of the United States. It now is presented. It must be taken as the settled purpose of our tax law to assess to the owners resident in this Commonwealth a tax upon all shares of foreign corporations. It is provided in the tax act (St. 1909, c. 490) in Part I, § 2, that “All property real and personal situated within the Commonwealth, and all personal property of the inhabitants of the Commonwealth wherever situated, unless expressly exempted by law, shall be subject to taxation.” Part I, § 23, provides that “All personal estate, within or without the Commonwealth, shall be assessed to the owner in the city or town in which he is an inhabitant on the first day” of April, with exceptions not here material, save that by St. 1909, c. 516, § 1, “Merchandise, machinery and animals owned by inhabitants of this Commonwealth, but situated in another State shall be exempt [55] from taxation.” Part I, § 4, provides that "Personal estate for the purpose of taxation shall include . . . Third, Public stocks and securities, . . . bonds of railroads and street railways, stocks in turnpikes, bridges and moneyed corporations within or without this Commonwealth . . .” with exceptions not now of consequence. In substance, the only question is whether these provisions of the law, which plainly include in their scope stock such as is owned by this petitioner in the Vermont corporation, conflict as applied to such shares with any provision of the State or federal constitution.

Vermont has the power to tax all the shares of corporations organized under its laws, whether owned by its residents or by those of other States or countries. This expressly was decided in Corry v. Mayor & City Council of Baltimore, 196 U. S. 466, and in St. Albans v. National Car Co. 57 Vt. 68. The principle was applied in Tappan v. Merchants’ National Bank, 19 Wall. 490. It was recognized in Greves v. Shaw, 173 Mass. 205, 208, Kingsbury v. Chapin, 196 Mass. 533, 535, and Kennedy v. Hodges, 215 Mass. 112, 114.

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Bellows Falls Power Co. v. Commonwealth, 109 N.E. 891, 222 Mass. 51, 1915 Mass. LEXIS 922 (Mass. 1915).

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