In re Oklahoma Press Pub. Co.'s Taxes

1948 OK 69, 192 P.2d 1011, 200 Okla. 291, 1948 Okla. LEXIS 467
CourtSupreme Court of Oklahoma
DecidedMarch 23, 1948
DocketNo. 32997
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 1948 OK 69 (In re Oklahoma Press Pub. Co.'s Taxes) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Oklahoma primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In re Oklahoma Press Pub. Co.'s Taxes, 1948 OK 69, 192 P.2d 1011, 200 Okla. 291, 1948 Okla. LEXIS 467 (Okla. 1948).

Opinion

RILEY, J.

This is an appeal by the county assessor of Muskogee county from the judgment of the district court growing out of the assessment of property of Oklahoma Press Publishing Company, a corporation, for the year 1946.

On March 12, 1946, the Publishing Company delivered to the county assessor what it considered its corporate assessment return for the year 1946. It was made on one of the forms prescribed by the Oklahoma Tax Commission, known as Form No. 901-R. Therein its personal property was described and set forth in four separate items of the total value of $13,914.95. The statement, or return, so delivered gave none of the information called for by the second paragraph of 68 O.S. 1941 §15.14 with respect to the authorized capital stock of the corporation, its outstanding bonded or other indebtedness, etc. It did not include a copy of all lists or schedules of property filed in every other county of this state.

For the information called for in said second paragraph of section 15.14, supra, the Oklahoma Tax Commission had prepared and furnished another form, designated as Form 900-R.

On March 22, 1946, the county assessor, by mail, returned the list to the Publishing Company, together with a letter informing the company that he was rejecting the same for the reason that it was not accompanied by O.T.C. Form 900-R, and further stating:

“I am hereby requesting that you file your return on the enclosed O.T.C. Form 900-R, as well as 901-R, as prescribed by the Oklahoma Tax Commission in compliance with Title 68, Sec. 15.14, and Section 15.15, of the Oklahoma Statutes 1941, on or before 10 days from the date of your receipt of this notice.”

On March 26, 1946, the Company wrote the assessor as follows:

“Your letter of March 22nd, returning our rendition of personal property, which we made and mailed to you under registered mail prior to March 15th, has been received.
“We note that you request that we file an additional return within ten days, from receipt of your letter, and we regret that this we are unable to do.
“Mr. Bixby is out of the city, in fact, he is out of the country, and we do not expect him back until after the 1st of May. There is no one else in the organization who is authorized to make the return you request.
“Mr. Bixby made it a point to file the return before he left the city, fully expecting it to take care of the tax situation until his return.”

No amended or additional return having been made, the county assessor, [293]*293on or about April 10, 1946, made his own assessment and increased the .valuation of the personal property to $42,-895, and added a penalty thereto of an additional valuation of $4,290. Thereafter, on or about April 17, 1946, the Publishing Company filed its protest with the county board of equalization protesting both the raise in valuation of the personal property and the assessment of the penalty, and prayed for the cancellation of said penalty.

Hearing was had before the board of equalization on May 2, 1946, resulting in an order as shown by the minutes of the board, as follows:

“Motion by J. T. Purcell, seconded by Coy Harrison, which motion carried unanimously, that the assessed valuation of personal property tax on the Oklahoma Press Publishing Company be fixed by the equalization Board at $38,608.00 valuation for the year 1946-47. To which the County Assessor, Carl Pate, enters his exceptions and gives notice of appeal”.

The board of equalization apparently made a further order canceling the penalty theretofore imposed by the county assessor, but that is not specifically shown by the minutes of the board nor elsewhere in the record except from the testimony of the deputy county assessor.

The county assessor appealed to the district court and asked that the penalty be restored. Hearing was there had November 13, 1946, resulting in a finding of the issues in favor of the Publishing Company and a judgment or order denying the application of the county assessor to have the penalty restored and dismissing the appeal; and the county assessor appeals.

There is no question as to the valuation of $38,608 placed upon the personal property by the county board of equalization. The Publishing Company did not appeal from that order and the valuation of $38,608 must stand. The question is whether the Publishing Company was subject to any penalty.

The trial court held:

“After hearing the evidence and the argument of counsel it is the view of the court that the taxpayer in this case filed a sufficient return to comply with the law and avoid the penalty against the taxpayer for refusal to make such return. ... It being the view of the court that sufficient return being made to avoid the assessment of penalty, by the county assessor, that the prayer of the appellant to reinstate the penalty should be denied, and to which the appellant excepts.”

The judgment was:

“It is therefore ordered and adjudged by the court that for reasons herein-before stated, the prayer of the appellant to reinstate the penalty denied and cancelled by the county equalization board should and is hereby denied, and the appeal of the county assessor is dismissed.”

There are two sections in Title 68 O.S. 1941 under which a penalty in the way of an increase of the assessed valuation of property is imposed. 68 O.S. 1941 §15.12, prior to the amendment thereof by 68 O.S.A. §15.12, O.S. 1947 Supp., S.L. 1945, p. 253, §1, provided that if any taxpayer failed to list his personal property as therein provided, on or before March 1st, a penalty of $1 was to be added to his tax and entered upon the tax rolls, and if the personal property was not listed on or before May 1st, an additional penalty of 10%-of the value of such property was to be added, and if the county assessor failed to add such penalty of $1 and 10% to the assessed valuation of the property, he was liable on his official bond, for such penalty.

But, by said section as amended in 1945, supra, the time for listing so as to avoid the $1 penalty was extended to March 15th and the additional penalty of 10% of the valuation of the property was made mandatory if such property is listed after March 15th but on or before April 15th, and if listed after April 15, the additional penalty is 20%.

[294]*294In the instant case, the Publishing Company did list its personal property before March 15, 1946. Although the return, or listing, did not give all the information called for by the statute on the forms prescribed by the Oklahoma Tax Commission, we think it sufficient to avoid the penalty. Therefore, no penalty could be lawfully imposed under 68 O.S. 1941 §15.12, as amended in 1945.

But, under 68 O.S. 1941 §15.14, all corporations organized, existing, or doing business in this state, other than railroad and public service corporations and other than national banks, state banks, trust companies, and building and loan associations, shall, on or before March 1st of each year, return sworn lists of their taxable property within each county, and in such lists, all corporations must itemize their property in the same manner and to the same extent as is required of railroad or public service corporations.

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Bluebook (online)
1948 OK 69, 192 P.2d 1011, 200 Okla. 291, 1948 Okla. LEXIS 467, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-oklahoma-press-pub-cos-taxes-okla-1948.