State Ex Rel. American Bakeries Co. v. Crawford

105 So. 446, 90 Fla. 264
CourtSupreme Court of Florida
DecidedJuly 28, 1925
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 105 So. 446 (State Ex Rel. American Bakeries Co. v. Crawford) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State Ex Rel. American Bakeries Co. v. Crawford, 105 So. 446, 90 Fla. 264 (Fla. 1925).

Opinion

Whitfield, J.

On May 20th, 1925, an alternative writ of mandamus was issued by this court requiring the Secretary of State to issue to the relator, a corporation chartered in another State, having a capital stock of $600,000.00 “with the right” “by a vote of two-thirds in amount of the capital stock outstanding at the time” “to increase said capital stock to any amount up to $10,000,000.00,5 ’ a permit to transact business in the State of Florida upon the payment of $492.50 as the charter tax prescribed by Section 4062, Revised General Statutes, 1920, as amended by Chapters 9123 and 9124, Acts of 1923, viz: “a charter fee graded as follows: Two dollars upon each one thousand dollars of *267 the capital stock of such corporation up to the capital stock of one hundred twenty-five thousand dollars ($125,000.00), fifty cents per thousand on each additional thousand of the capital stock up to and including two million dollars ($2,-000,000.00), and twenty-five cents per thousand on each additional thousand of the capital stock above two million dollars ($2,000,000.00).”

Section 4096, Revised General Statutes, 1920, provides that the Secretary of State “shall not deliver a permit to the (foreign) corporation until he shall have, received from it for the use of the State a sum equal to that which the said corporation would have been required to pay as a charter fee if it had been chartered under the laws of this State.”

The relator contends that the statute requires a charter tax based only on the amount of the capital stock required by the charter to be issued for the business of the corporation (in this ease $600,000.00), and not on any increase of capital stock that the corporation has authority to issue upon a vote of its stockholders, but has not yet taken the necessary corporate steps to issue. See State ex rel. Standard Oil Co. v. Hull, 168 Wis. 269, 169 N. W. Rep. 617; London & L. Fire Ins. Co. v. Ludwig, 86 Ark. 581, 112 S. W. Rep. 197. The State insists that proposed charters filed with the Secretary of State shall state “the amount of the capital stock authorized” (See. 4050, Rev. Gen. Stats. 1920), and that the charter, tax under the quoted statute is based on the entire authorized capital stock of the corporation (in this ease $10,000,000.00.) See Hillman Land & Iron Co. v. Commonwealth, 174 Ky. 755, 192 S. W. Rep. 821; State v. St. Louis & S. F. R. Co., 81 Kan. 404, 105 Pac. Rep. 685. Foreign corporations must.pay the same charter fees as Florida corporations pay. “The contention of the relator *268 is that the capital stock of the company as fixed by its charter is six hundred thousand dollars.

‘' Upon this basis the charter fee would be as follows: Two dollars on each $1000 of the first
$125,000 ..........................$ 250.00
Fifty cents on each $1000 of the next
$475,000 .............................. 237.50
Fee of Secretary of State............:. 5.00
$492.50
“The contention of the -respondent is that the capital stock of the corpox-ation is ten million dollars.
‘' Upon this basis the charter fee would be as follows: Two dollars oxx each $1000 of the first
$125,000 ..........................$ 250.00
Fifty cexits on each $1000 of the next
$1,875,000 ............................. 937.50
Twenty-five cexits on each $1000 of the
next $8,000,000 ........................ 2000.00
Fee oj: Secretary of State.............. 5 00
$3192.50”

The brief for the relator oxx the respondent’s motion to quash the alternative writ, on the ground that $492.50 was not the proper amount required by the statute, was filed July 8, 1925. Before the cause was reached by the court for oral argument requested and for determination, a newly enacted statute, Chapter 10,096, Acts of 1925, which became effective July 15, 1925, provides, Section 56, that: “On filing any certificate of incorporation or other paper relating to corporations in the office of the Secretary of *269 State, the following fees and taxes shall be paid to the Secretary of State for the use of the State:

‘ ‘ On filing a certificate of incorporation:
$2.00 for each $1,000 of par value of stock authorized up to and including $125,000.
50 cents for each $1,000 of par value of stock authorized in excess of $125,000 and not in excess of $1,000,000.00.
25 cents for each $1,000. of par value of stock authorized in excess of $1,000,000.00 and not in excess of $2,000,000.00.
10 cents for each $1,000 of par value of stock authorized in excess of $2,000,000.00. ’ ’
The relator asserts that:
' ‘ If the capital stock be $10,000,000.00 instead of $600,-000.00, then the amount which would be required to be paid under the new law would be as follows:
“On $125,000.00 @ $2 per M............$ 250.00
On $875,000 @ 50e per M.............. 437.50
On $1,000,000 @ 25c per M............ 250.00 '
On $8,000,000 @ lOe per M............ 800.00
Sec. of State’s fee...................... 5.00
Total.............................$1742.50”

Section 63 of the Act of 1925, enacts that “the provisions of section * * * 4052 (R. G. S.) as amended by Chapters 9123 and 9124 of the laws of 1923 * * * shall not apply to corporations incorporated or reincorporated under this Act, but shall remain in full force and effect as to corporations incorporated previous to the effective date of this Act. ’ ’ This provision has reference to corporations chartered in this State and not to foreign corporations which seek to enter the State to do business.

*270 The State may prescribe and change at will the terms, including the amount of charter fees, that shall be complied with by foreign corporations before they will be permitted to transact business in the State, no Federal matters being-involved. 14A C. J. 1245, 1252-6; 36 Cyc. 1226.

The provision that the Secretary of State “shall not deliver such permit to ” a foreign corporation until he shall have received for it for the use of the State a sum equal to that which the said corporation would have been required to pay as a charter fee if it had been chartered under the laws of this State,” relates to the charter fee that is required of local corporations that are incorporated at the time the permit is delivered to the foreign corporation.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

McCann v. Jordan
24 P.2d 457 (California Supreme Court, 1933)
Attorney General Ex Rel. Taylor v. Crawford
116 So. 41 (Supreme Court of Florida, 1928)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
105 So. 446, 90 Fla. 264, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-ex-rel-american-bakeries-co-v-crawford-fla-1925.