Casaletto v. Yorco Agency, Inc.

33 Pa. D. & C.3d 211, 1984 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 258
CourtPennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, York County
DecidedApril 23, 1984
Docketno. 83-S-3355
StatusPublished

This text of 33 Pa. D. & C.3d 211 (Casaletto v. Yorco Agency, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, York County primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Casaletto v. Yorco Agency, Inc., 33 Pa. D. & C.3d 211, 1984 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 258 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1984).

Opinion

CASSIMATIS, J.,

This matter is before the court on both plaintiff’s and defendant’s motions for summary judgment to an action brought by plaintiff seeking a declaratory judgment. The issue before us is whether the state has preempted the insurance field, thereby precluding the taxation of defendant by the City of York. After careful consideration of all the materials before us, we find that the state has not preempted the field to the exclusion of plaintiff and, therefore, we shall grant plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment and deny defendant’s motion.

Defendant is an insurance agency duly authorized to do business in Pennsylvania and has maintained a place of business in the City of York during [212]*212the time in question. Defendant acts as an agent for various insurance companies and in that capacity sells all forms of insurance coverage to the public.

On December 30, 1967, pursuant to authority granted to the City of York by the Local Tax Enabling Act, 53 P.S. §6901 et seq., the City of York legally enacted Part 3, Title 5, Article 343 of the Codified Ordinances of the City of York entitled Business Privilege Tax.

The Business Privilege Tax Ordinance of the City of York imposes on every person engaging in any business, trade, occupation or profession in which there is offered any service or services to the general public or a limited number thereof, an annual tax at the rate of three mills on the gross receipts derived from all services rendered to clients, patients and customers.

In 1980, an appropriate form was sent to defendant for the purpose of filing a Business Privilege Tax return for the commissions earned by it during 1979. Defendant failed to file the return and has similarly failed to file returns for the years 1980, 1981 and 1982. This matter was referred to the Office of the City Solicitor which commenced this action seeking a declaratory judgment in its favor and an order directing defendant to comply with the filing and payment provisions of Article 343.

Defendant has refused to pay this tax claiming that it is exempt from the tax since the state has preempted the field of insurance through its extensive regulation, licensing and taxation of the industry. Defendant claims that this preemption, as evidenced by the Gross Premiums Tax imposed on insurance companies by the state under 72 P.S. §7901 et al., prohibits duplicative taxation by local authorities. Presently before us are the motions for summary judgment filed by both parties.

[213]*213Generally, a motion for summary judgment may be granted only if the pleadings, depositions, answers and interrogatories, together with affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Pa.R.C.P. 1035, 42 Pa.C.S. §6, Standard Pennsylvania Practice 2d, §32:6. Since there are no issues of fact to be resolved, this court concludes that plaintiff is entitled to judgment as a matter of law, and defendant’s argument is without merit.

In determining whether a local ordinance such as the Business Privilege Tax impermissibly impinges on a field already under state regulation, the relevant legislation must be examined to ascertain whether the legislature intended to maintain the industry within their exclusive control. Miller v. Barley Convalescent Home North, 27 D.&C. 3d 67 (1983), City of Pittsburgh v. Allegheny Valley Bank of Pittsburgh, 488 Pa. 544, 412 A.2d 1366 (1980).

Defendant cites the Allegheny Valley Bank case as controlling and argues that in the presence of such widespread regulation of the insurance industry by the state, the legislature clearly intended that all local measures pertaining to this field be preempted. While this may have been the case as to the state’s regulation of the banking industry, our present inquiry into the intent of the legislature cannot stop there.

Section 3 of the Local Tax Enabling Act permits local authorities to tax “any and all subjects of taxation . . . which the Commonwealth has power to tax but which it does not tax ...” 53 P.S. §6903. The initial question before us is whether the state does, in fact, tax the same subject matter as does the local authority, thereby preempting the field. Man, Levy, and Nogi v. School District of City of [214]*214Scranton, 31 Pa. Commw. 75, 375 A.2d 832 (1977), The facts in Man are identical to the ones before this court. In both cases, local authorities imposed a Business Privilege Tax which was a tax on the privilege of doing business within the city. This tax, while measured by the amount of gross receipts from business transacted in the city, was actually a tax upon the commissions earned by the insurance agents themselves. Although the premiums payed by the public to the insurance companies pass through the hands of these agents, they are not taken into consideration when computing the amount of tax owed by them.

The Gross Premiums Tax imposed by the state is also a privilege tax. Philadelphia Life Insurance Co. v. Commonwealth, 454 Pa. 157, 309 A.2d 811 (1973). It is the insurance companies privilege of doing business within the state that is the subject of this tax. This tax, unlike the Business Privilege Tax, is measured by the amount of premiums paid to the insurance companies by the public. It is important to note that defendant, as an insurance agent, is not subject to the Gross Premiums Tax and, therefore, cannot claim that it is being twice taxed. See, 72 P.S. §7901 et al. As the court in Man stated, “since the local and state taxes here questioned each tax a different privilege, it is clear that no duplication [of taxes] exists”. Supra, at 79. It is obvious to this court that the state does not tax the same subject matter as does the local authority and, therefore, it is permissible under the Local Tax Enabling Act.

Since the state’s tax provision does not indicate on its face whether it was intended to preempt local law, we must next examine the purpose and effect of both the state and local schemes to uncover any possible conflict or duplication that may exist. United Tavern Owners of Philadelphia v. Philadelphia [215]*215School District, 441 Pa. 274, 272 A.2d 868 (1971). In that case, the court stated that a local ordinance should not be struck down “unless the Commonwealth has explicitly claimed the authority, or unless there is such actual, material conflict between the state and local powers that only by striking down the local power can the power of the wider constituency be protected.” Id. at 280.

In the Allegheny Valley Bank case, which defendant claims is controlling, the court found that the local ordinance placed a direct tax burden upon the state banks and that such a tax undercut the state’s capacity to regulate the soundness and progress of its banking institutions. The local ordinance taxed the identical subject matter of the state tax, revenues and, therefore, the local tax was both duplication and in direct conflict with the state’s financial and regulatory interests. We find, however, that in the case before us, there is no conflict between the state and local ordinances.

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Related

Philadelphia Tax Review Board v. Smith, Kline & French Laboratories
262 A.2d 135 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1970)
City of Pittsburgh v. Allegheny Valley Bank
412 A.2d 1366 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1980)
United Tavern Owners v. Philadelphia School District
272 A.2d 868 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1971)
Philadelphia Life Insurance v. Commonwealth
309 A.2d 811 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1973)
Man, Levy & Nogi, Inc. v. School District
375 A.2d 832 (Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, 1977)

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Bluebook (online)
33 Pa. D. & C.3d 211, 1984 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 258, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/casaletto-v-yorco-agency-inc-pactcomplyork-1984.