First National Bank v. Evatt

43 Ohio Law. Abs. 591
CourtUnited States Board of Tax Appeals
DecidedJuly 23, 1945
DocketNo. 7451
StatusPublished

This text of 43 Ohio Law. Abs. 591 (First National Bank v. Evatt) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Board of Tax Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
First National Bank v. Evatt, 43 Ohio Law. Abs. 591 (bta 1945).

Opinion

ENTRY

This cause came on to be heard upon the appeal of First National Bank of Cincinnati from the final order of the tax commissioner denying appellant’s, application for a review and redetermination of an additional tax assessment made against it as a financial institution for the year 1942. This cause was heard and submitted upon the transcript of the [593]*593proceedings before the tax commissioner, the evidence and the brief of counsel for the appellant.

Appellant claims that the tax commissioner erred in including in the amount of taxable deposits which it had on listing day, November 5, 1941, the deposits of The Cincinnati, New Orleans and Texas Pacific Railway Company and The Procter & Gamble Defense Corporation herein after referred to as The Defense Corporation. The contention • of the appellant is that a large portion of the deposit of the railway company was used in and arose out of business transacted outside of Ohio. However, no evidence was introduced in support of this contention and, therefore, the action of the tax commissioner in this respect must be affirmed.

As to the deposits of the Defense Corporation, the appellant claims its said deposits are not withdrawable and that they were used in and arose out of business transacted in Tennessee. No claim is now made that the Defense Corporation is an instrumentality of the United States.

The evidence shows the following: The Defense Corporation is an Ohio corporation with its principal office in Cincinnati. It operated a shell loading plant in Milan, Tennessee, where it carried on all its manufacturing business and where it had a manager who was in charge of the plant. All of its officers and directors were located in Hamilton County, Ohio. The administrative and accounting office was in Cincinnati where the treasurer was responsible' for the custody and accounting of all the funds of the Defense Corporation. Said corporation had two deposits with the appellant denominated as a special account in the sum of $611,695.90 and a special account No. 2 in the sum of $53,094.93. These deposits resulted from advances made from time to time to the Cincinnati office by the United States Government. These advances were first deposited in the special account and when checks were drawn upon the appellant the money necessary therefor was transferred to special account No. 2 and the checks were paid from the latter account so that the balance in this account was always the amount of outstanding checks drawn on the appellant. The Defense Corporation also had a bank account in New York City. All the expenses of the Milan plant were thus paid from these accounts. All purchases and invoices therefor were approved by the government at the Milan plant; and when approved the checks therefor were prepared at Milan and sent to Cincinnati where they were signed and then returned to Milan for delivery to the persons from whom the purchases were made. All wages and salaries of employes at Milan were paid from the [594]*594deposits in appellant’s bank. All salaries and wages of its officers and employes at the Cincinnati office were paid by' The Procter & Gamble Company, which was reimbursed by the Defense Corporation by checks drawn on the New York bank.

Under the provisions of §5412 GC, the amount of the taxable deposits of the appellant as a financial institution, as well as the value of its taxable shares, is required to be assessed in its name as such financial institution. Sec. 5408 GC, likewise relating to the taxation of financial institutions, provides, with certain exceptions not here material, that the deposits required to be returned by financial institutions “include all deposits as defined by §5324 GC, to the extent that such deposits are made taxable by §5328-1 GC”. Sec. 5328-1 GC, is a declaratory statute with respect to the taxation of intangible property, and provides that all moneys, credits, investments, deposits, and all other intangible property of persons residing in this state shall be subject to taxation, except as is otherwise provided in this section or in the title of the General Code of which this section is a part. Sec. 5324 GC, provides as follows:

“The term ‘deposits’ as so_ used, includes every deposit which the person owning, holding in trust, or having the beneficial interest therein is entitled to withdraw in money, whether on demand or not, and whether evidenced by commercial or checking account, certificate of deposit, savings account or certificates of running or other withdrawable stock, or otherwise, excepting (1) unearned premiums and surrender values under policies of insurance, and (2) such deposits in financial institutions outside' of this state as yield annual income by way of interest or dividends in excess of four'per centum of the principal sum so withdrawable.”

Appellant claims that the deposits here in question do not constitute “deposits” for purposes of taxation, as this term is defined in §5324 GC. As to this, the Board is of the opinion that the fact that checks were not drawn on these deposits by the Defense Corporation until the items purchased by it and the invoices therefor were approved by the government, does' not make them nonwithdrawable deposits. So far as the relation between the Defense Corporation and the appellant bank is concerned, the Defense Corporation Was entitled to withdraw such deposits in money. In other words, these deposits and the action of the Defense Corporation [595]*595in making the same, gave rise to the oridinary relation of debtor and creditor, as between the appellant bank and the Defense Corporation, such as is incident to bank deposits generally. And this view is not changed or otherwise affected by the fact that these deposits were made by the Defense Corporation for the specific purpose of paying therefrom the expenses incurred by it in operating its shell loading plant at Milan, Tennessee. Squire, Supt. of Banks, v Oxenriter, 130 Oh St 475; Squire, Supt. of Banks, v American Express Company, 131 Oh St 239, 249; Merchants & Mechanics Federal Savings & Loan Assn. v Evatt, Tax Commr., 138 Oh St 457, 465. Moreover, this view as to the debtor and creditor relation between the appellant bank and the Defense Corporation as to these deposits is in nowise affected by the fact that such deposits were of moneys advanced to the Defense Corporation for this purpose by the Federal Government. First-Central Trust Company v Evatt, Tax Commr., 145 Oh St 160, 168.

Assuming without further discussion that the deposits here in question had the character of “deposits” for purposes of taxation within the definitive provisions of §5324, GC, the question still remains as to whether such deposits were made taxable by the provisions of §5406 GC and of other related sections of the General Code therein referred to. In this connection, it is pertinent to note that by a provision enacted by way of Amendment of §5406 GC, effective under date of August 20, 1943, there were excepted from the class of deposits which financial institutions are required to return for taxation “deposits to the extent of advances or advance payments made under any contract entered into by the Federal Government or any instrumentality thereof for the production of materials or supplies or the furnishing of services pursuant to authority of any act to further the war effort”.

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Bluebook (online)
43 Ohio Law. Abs. 591, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/first-national-bank-v-evatt-bta-1945.