First Trust Joint Stock Land Bank of Chicago v. City of Dallas

167 S.W.2d 783
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedDecember 11, 1942
DocketNo. 13351
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 167 S.W.2d 783 (First Trust Joint Stock Land Bank of Chicago v. City of Dallas) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
First Trust Joint Stock Land Bank of Chicago v. City of Dallas, 167 S.W.2d 783 (Tex. Ct. App. 1942).

Opinion

BOND, Chief Justice.

This is a suit brought by the City of Dallas against First Trust Joint Stock Land Bank of Chicago, a successor of the First Trust Joint Stock Land Bank of Dallas, to collect the tax assessed by the city for the year 1926, against the Dallas Bank, as agent of its nonresident stockholders, on shares of stock of the Dallas Bank owned by such nonresidents.

The all-important question involved on this appeal is, whether the shares of stock in a joint stock land bank, organized under Title 12, Secs. 810 to 824, U.S.C.A., and owned by nonresidents, may be assessed and collected from the resident bank as agent for such shareholders.

The undisputed testimony and stipulated statement of 'facts, material here, are as follows:

(1) That in 1928, the First Trust Joint Stock Land Bank of Dallas entered into a voluntary liquidation of its assets, as permitted by Sec. 822 of Title 12, U.S.C.A., which provides that “Any joint stock land bank organized and doing business under the provisions of this chapter may go into voluntary liquidation by making provision, to be approved by the Farm Credit Administration, for the payment of its liabilities; * ⅜ (2) that, under such liquidation, all assets of the said Dallas Joint Stock Land Bank were acquired by First Trust Joint Stock Land Bank of Chicago; (3) that 5,920 of the 6,000 shares of stock of the Dallas Bank were, on January 1, 1926, owned by nonresidents of the State of Texas; (4) that the Dallas Joint Stock Land Bank was, in January, 1926, located in the City of Dallas, County of Dallas, State of Texas, and had its principal office and place of business and domicile in said state, county and city; (5) that in due time, in 1926, the assessor and collector of taxes for the City of Dallas, not knowing the stockholders, made demand upon the officials of the Dallas Joint Stock Land Bank for a list of the names, residences and number of shares owned by each of its stockholders, which information they declined to furnish; (6) that on July 2, 1926, the city assessor and collector of taxes, rendered against the Dallas Joint Stock Land Bank, “agents for the stockholders,” in solido, all shares o'f stock owned by nonresidents of said bank, at a value of $381,-520.45, and assessed a tax thereon of $9,-423.67, calculated on the then current tax rate of said city; and (7) that said tax, penalty, and interest have never been paid.

Section- 932 of Title 12, U.S.C.A., relating to Joint Stock Land Banks, state taxation of shareholders and limitations thereon, provides: “Nothing herein shall prevent the shares in any joint stock land bank from being included in the valuation of the personal property of the owner or holder of such shares, in assessing taxes imposed by authority of the State within which the Bank is located; but such assessment and taxation shall be in manner and subject to the conditions and limitations contained in Section 548 of this Title, with reference to the shares of national banking associations.”

It will be observed that this section of the Act incorporates, by reference, the manner of assessment and taxation of shares of joint stock land banks, subjecting such assessments and taxation to the conditions and limitations contained in Section 548 of the Title, relating to the assessment and collection of taxes, on shares of any national banking association owned by nonresidents of any State.

Section 548 provides;

“The legislature of each State may deter mine and direct, subject to the provisions oi this section, the manner and place of taxing all the shares of national banking associations located within its limits. The several States may (1) tax said shares, or (2) include dividends derived ■ therefrom in the taxable income of an owner or holder thereof, or (3) tax such associations on their net income, or (4) according to or measured by their net income, provided the following conditions are complied with:
* * * * *
“2. The shares of any national banking association owned by. nonresidents of any State, shall be taxed by the taxing district or by the State where the association is located and not elsewhere; and such association shall make return of such shares [785]*785and pay the tax thereon as agent of such nonresident shareholders.”

Thus, it will be seen from the two quoted sections that the Congress did not intend the shares of stock of a joint stock land bank to escape taxation by the authorities of the domiciliary state. The Acts expressly provide that all of such stock shall be “taxed by the taxing district or by the State where the association is located and not elsewhere.” The mode adopted leaves the state authorities to proceed against the owner or holder of such shares of stock as other personal property of such owner or holder is assessed, and that such shares be included in the valuation of the personal property of such owner or holder.

It is settled law in Texas and in most, if not all, other jurisdictions, that the situs of all personal property subject to taxation is at the place of residence or domicile of the owner, and shares of stock of a banking corporation, being a species of personal property, is taxable in the state where the place of business or domicile of the corporation is located. The Acts of Congress, under consideration, do not limit or abridge the right of states to impose a tax on shares of stock of a national banking association, and, having determined the situs of the shares of stock held by nonresidents to be in the state, where the association is located, such shares of stock are assessable for taxation by the state, and to the same extent as taxes are imposed by authority of the state on other personal property within the state. Therefore, the situs of such shares having been determined, and the taxing agencies of the State of Texas having assessed an ad valor-em tax on all personal property within the state, the shares of stock owned and held by nonresidents, as well as residents, are taxable to the same extent as other personal property is taxed in Texas.

In Dallas Joint Stock Land Bank v. State ex rel. Cobb, Tex.Civ.App., 133 S.W.2d 827, 829, the state brought suit for bill of discovery to determine the name, addresses, etc., of the stockholders of the bank, and the bank contended that the shares of the bank were not taxable. This court, speaking through Judge Looney, overruled the contention, saying: “That the corporate stock sought to be taxed was subject to taxation, we think is undoubted; Article 7145 provides that: ‘All property, real, personal or mixed, except such as may be hereinafter expressly exempted, is subject to taxation, and the same shall be rendered and listed as herein prescribed.' The owner is required to list the same under oath. See Art. 7162, Subd. 38, that expressly requires the ‘Amount and value of shares of capital stock companies and associations not incorporated by the laws of this State’, to be rendered for taxation by the owners; and Sec. 11 of Art. 8 of the Constitution provides ‘ * * * And all lands and other property not rendered for taxation by the owner thereof shall be assessed at its fair value by the proper officer.’ The federal Act creating joint stock land banks, Title 12, p.

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167 S.W.2d 783, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/first-trust-joint-stock-land-bank-of-chicago-v-city-of-dallas-texapp-1942.