Canton Malleable Iron Co. v. Porterfield

283 N.E.2d 434, 30 Ohio St. 2d 163, 59 Ohio Op. 2d 178, 1972 Ohio LEXIS 449
CourtOhio Supreme Court
DecidedMay 24, 1972
DocketNo. 71-671
StatusPublished
Cited by45 cases

This text of 283 N.E.2d 434 (Canton Malleable Iron Co. v. Porterfield) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Ohio Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Canton Malleable Iron Co. v. Porterfield, 283 N.E.2d 434, 30 Ohio St. 2d 163, 59 Ohio Op. 2d 178, 1972 Ohio LEXIS 449 (Ohio 1972).

Opinions

Herbert, J.

This case involves a claimed exception from Ohio’s tax on sales of tangible personal property at retail. R. C. 5739.02, which provides for the levy of the tax, states, in part:

“For the purpose of providing revenue * * * an excise tax is hereby levied on each retail sale made in this state. ’ ’

R. C. 5739.01, a definitional section, provides, in part:

[165]*165“(E) ‘Retail sale’ * * * include[s] all sales except those in which the purpose of the consumer is:

( 6 -ft*

“ (2) * * # to use or consume the thing transferred directly in the production of tangible personal property for sale by manufacturing, processing * * *.

C i # #

“ (S) ‘ Manufacturing ’ or ‘ processing ’ means the transformation or conversion of material or things into a different state or form from that in which they originally existed and, for the purpose of the exceptions contained in division (E)(2) of this section, includes adjuncts used during and in, and necessary to carry on and continue, production to complete a product at the same location after such transforming or converting has commenced.”

The question presented to this court is whether the system heretofore described, and, therefore, parts necessary for its repair, are excepted from the sales tax of R. C. 5739.02 by reason of R. C. 5739.01(E)(2) and (S).

The Ohio retail sales tax act was first enacted in 1934 (H. B. No. 134, 115 Ohio Laws, pt. 2, 306) as a temporary emergency measure. In its original form, it defined the subjects of taxation as:

“* * * all sales excepting those in which the purpose of the consumer is * * * (b) * * * to use or consume the thing transferred in manufacturing * #

That language excluded certain transactions in which the purpose of the buyer was to use the purchased item in the production of other tangible personal property for sale.1

In 1935, the General Assembly amended that section of the statute. (H. B. No. 572, 116 Ohio Laws, pt. 2, 69, 70) to read:

“* * # all sales excepting those in which the purpose of the consumer is * * * (b) * * # to use or consume the thing transferred directly in the production of tangible [166]*166personal property for sale by manufacturing * * * processing * * (Emphasis added.)

The amendment qualified the use exclusion with the word “directly.” The effect was to change the exclusion from one involving property used or consumed in certain industries, to one involving property used or consumed in a certain manner in certain industries. The result was a broadening of the tax base.2 In that form, the tax was made permanent in 1936 (H. B. No. 694, 116 Ohio Laws, pt. 2, 323) as Section 5546, General Code, and specifically as Sections 5546-1 and 5546-2.

Over the years, this court has often stated that statutes relating to the exemption or exception from sales or use taxes are to be strictly construed, and that one claiming such exemption or exception must affirmatively show his right thereto. Celina Mutual Ins. Co. v. Bowers (1965), 5 Ohio St. 2d 12, 213 N. E. 2d 175. See, also, Ohio Ferro-Alloys Corp. v. Donahue (1966), 7 Ohio St. 2d 29, 218 N. E. 2d 452; L. A. Wells Construction Co. v. Bowers (1955), 164 Ohio St. 357, 130 N. E. 2d 803; Standard Oil Co. v. Peck (1955), 163 Ohio St. 63, 125 N. E. 2d 342; B. F. Goodrich Co. v. Peck (1954), 161 Ohio St. 202, 118 N. E. 2d 525; National Tube Co. v. Glander (1952), 157 Ohio St. 407, 105 N. E. 2d 648; Pioneer Linen Supply Co. v. Evatt (1946), 146 Ohio St. 248, 65 N. E. 2d 711; State, ex rel. Foster, v. Evatt (1944), 144 Ohio St. 65, 56 N. E. 2d 265; State, ex rel. Keller, v. Forney (1923), 108 Ohio St. 463, 141 N. E. 16. As we said in B. F. Goodrich Co. v. Peck, supra, at 207, 208:

“* * * the reason for applying such a rule * * * [is] the * * * ‘presumption * * * that every sale or use of tangible personal property in this state is taxable.’ ” (G. C. 5546-2 and 5546-26, now R. C. 5739.02 and 5741.02.) Clearly, strict construction was to be made against exception from taxation.

In that light, prior opinions of this court have dis[167]*167cussed the development of the exception for “direct use” in the production of tangible personal property for sale by manufacturing, etc., and problems associated with its interpretation and application. In each of those instances, this court was asked to determine what the General Assembly meant by the word “directly”; whether, in a particular case, there was a direct use of the item whose sale or use was claimed excepted from the sales or use tax. Because the answers to that question often turned, of necessity, on factual grounds, a certain degree of misunderstanding arose wherein our decisions were frequently looked upon as completely “ad hoc determinations based on the facts presented in each particular case.” Orr Felt & Blanket Co. v. Schneider (1965), 3 Ohio St. 2d 14, 22, 209 N. E. 2d 150. As stated in Powhatan Mining Co. v. Peck (1953), 160 Ohio St. 389, 393, 116 N. E. 2d 426:

“What may appear to one person to be a direct use in a particular case may appear to another equally intelligent and reasonable person not to be a direct use. This probably explains many of the differences of opinion which have been exhibited by the decisions of this court in determining whether, in a particular case, a direct use was or was not involved. * * *”

However, we cannot allow answers to questions as to whether a direct use is involved to be dependent only upon the facts and circumstances of each case, without reference to prior decisions rendered in other related cases. To do so would contribute to the confusion caused by the use of ambiguous statutory wording such as “directly.” As we also said in Powhatan, at page 394:

“* * * Our aim should be to remove that ambiguity. This can only be done by endeavoring to make each decision rendered consistent with previous decisions rendered. The results may be what will seem to reasonable and intelligent persons to represent the drawing of artificial and arbitrary boundaries or lines. However, such boundaries or lines should be helpful as a guide to those charged with the administration of the tax laws and to members of the [168]*168bar, who must advise their clients as to the meaning of those laws.”

From 1935 to 1962, while the “direct use” exception remained in effect, our decisions recognized and attempted to effectuate that aim.

In Saunders Mills v. Evatt (1942), 139 Ohio St. 227, 39 N. E. 2d 526, we held that motor trucks purchased in Ohio for employment solely in transporting agricultural produce were not used “directly in the production of tangible personal property for sale by manufacturing, processing * * * within * * * Section 5546-1, General Code.”

In Fyr-Fyter Co. v. Glander (1948), 150 Ohio St. 118, 122, 124, 80 N. E. 2d 776, we said that when the General Assembly inserted the word “directly” into the exception it meant to narrow it, and that “directly” was the crucial word in the exception.

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Bluebook (online)
283 N.E.2d 434, 30 Ohio St. 2d 163, 59 Ohio Op. 2d 178, 1972 Ohio LEXIS 449, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/canton-malleable-iron-co-v-porterfield-ohio-1972.