Commonwealth v. Armstrong Daily, Inc.

46 Pa. D. & C.2d 536, 1968 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 17
CourtPennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Dauphin County
DecidedDecember 16, 1968
DocketCommonwealth Docket, 1965, no. 328
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 46 Pa. D. & C.2d 536 (Commonwealth v. Armstrong Daily, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Dauphin County primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Commonwealth v. Armstrong Daily, Inc., 46 Pa. D. & C.2d 536, 1968 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 17 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1968).

Opinion

Shelley, J.,

This matter is before us on exceptions to our opinion and order entered on March 11, 1968. The litigation came to us in the first instance on the appeal of The Armstrong Daily, Inc. (hereinafter referred to as Armstrong) under section 1104 of The Fiscal Code of April 9,1929, P. L. 343, as amended, 72 PS §1104, from the refusal of the Board of Finance and Revenue (hereinafter referred to as the board) to resettle Armstrong’s liability for franchise tax for the fiscal year beginning July 2, 1961 and ended June 30,1962, under the Franchise Tax Act of June 1, 1889, P. L. 420, sec. 21(b), as amended, 72 PS §1871.

The salient facts are set forth in a stipulation of facts which is included in the record of the case.

Armstrong publishes, prints, sells and distributes a daily paper called The Armstrong Daily News Review.

Armstrong’s executive offices, accounting and sales department, editorial and layout staff, circulation department and main printing facility are located at 250 West 30th Street, New York, New York. Armstrong’s sole place of business in Pennsylvania is a rented facility at 2010 Sansom Street, Philadelphia, Pa.

“The Armstrong Daily News Review” consists of a single sheet of paper which, when folded in half, constitutes four tabloid size pages. The entire editorial and factual content and the layout of the paper is determined at the executive offices in New York City. Pages 1 and 4 (the outside pages) are printed in the main printing plant in New York and shipped in such partially finished state to Armstrong’s local facilities in Philadelphia.

[538]*538The content of pages 2 and 3 (the inside pages) is set up tentatively on printing racks or forms in New York and forwarded with the printed outside pages to its premises in Philadelphia. A specific number of partially completed papers is forwarded together with the printing racks, and the local premises must account for every one. On the morning of publication, the printing type forms are finalized based upon information sent from New York to reflect last minute changes. The paper, when folded with the material printed in Philadelphia on the inside, is specially crimped so that it cannot be opened without detection, and opened papers must be paid for by the distributors.

The employes of Armstrong attached to its Pennsylvania place of business during the fiscal year in question consisted of a manager and secretary, pressmen, routemen and several telephone girls who give free race results.

The routemen are part time weekly employes whose job is to drop off bundles in their own cars at prescribed stores and newsstands and pick up returns and receipts and bring them back to the premises on Sansom Street. A routeman is on straight salary, without commission.

A typical day’s operation in the Pennsylvania premises in the tax year in question proceeds as follows: Shortly after 7 a.m., the outside pages of the paper (cover) and the plates for the inside pages are received from New York; from 7:30 a.m. to 8 a.m. pressmen set up the press; from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. additional data, late scratches, names of jockeys and other information is taken off the teletype service from. New York and the printing plates are changed; from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. the press run takes place; shortly after 10:00 a.m. routemen arrive, pick up their assigned bundles for their routes as the papers come off the press and leave to cover their routes; at each location the routeman [539]*539drops off the daily quota, picks up returns and receipts from the day before, marks them on a daily report and brings the returns, cash and report back to the office; aside from outlying routes, routemen are normally finished by 11 a.m. and the average time spent by any employe is two to three and one-half hours a day; sales to more distant accounts are shipped by appropriate carrier, normally express bus or train, in numbers prescribed by New York.

The routemen’s daily reports are consolidated on an office daily report and forwarded to New York. A copy of the office report is kept in the Philadelphia premises. The routemen’s returned papers are initialed, bundled and forwarded uncounted to New York along with the office report, where they are checked for accuracy as to number and to detect used copies if the special crimped edges are opened. Any shortages, overages and used copies are charged back later to the routemen.

The office report summarizes the individual route-man’s reports plus the total of the accounts shipped by carrier, any papers inadvertently damaged in printing, and any free copies. Moneys are deposited in a local bank on which only New York can draw.

The only tangible property held by Armstrong in Pennsylvania during the fiscal year in question consisted of a minor lead inventory at its Philadelphia premises. All other property used in Pennsylvania by Armstrong was rented. The value of the lead inventory for the fiscal year in question was $730.

For the fiscal year in question, the wages and salaries paid by Armstrong to its employes amounted to $84,536.07 which was composed of: [540]*540No personnel associated with the Philadelphia premises are paid a commission or bonus of any sort related to sales, or circulation, or new accounts. The sole activities of all Pennsylvania employes relate to printing, distributing and promoting The Armstrong Daily News Review.

[539]*539(a) Pressmen ................... $ 9,323.66
(b) Routemen................... 46,140.13
(c) Telephone operators .......... 18,102.25
(d) Manager.................... 7,830.00
(e) Clerical..................... 3,140.03

[540]*540The gross receipts of Armstrong from its Pennsylvania sales for the fiscal year in question amounted to $472,979 and were composed of:

Country sales..................... $235,954 1
Routemen’s sales .................. $237,025

The total receipts of Armstrong from its Pennsylvania operations result solely from the sale of the paper, The Armstrong Daily News Review.

The resettlement of Armstrong’s franchise tax for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1962, from which Armstrong appealed, was made in the following manner by the Board of Finánce and Revenue:

121,195

84,536 x 6,750,000 = $1,519.73

1,382,823

237,025

3,489,254

The thrust of Armstrong’s appeal is that the board declined to allow a processing exemption contained in the Franchise Tax Act, as amended by section 1 of the Act of August 23,1961, P.L. 1100,72 PS §1871 p.p.

It was the position of the Commonwealth that Armstrong, in order to be granted the processing exemp[541]*541tion, must demonstrate that it is either publishing a book, a newspaper, magazine or other periodical, or engaged in the business of printing within the Commonwealth and that Armstrong had failed to do so.

The Franchise Tax Act2 provides that “every foreign corporation . . . from which a report is required under the twentieth section” of the act3 “shall be subject to and pay into the treasury of the Commonwealth . . .

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46 Pa. D. & C.2d 536, 1968 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 17, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/commonwealth-v-armstrong-daily-inc-pactcompldauphi-1968.