State v. Planters Gin Co.

1935 OK 1090, 52 P.2d 710, 175 Okla. 386, 1935 Okla. LEXIS 901
CourtSupreme Court of Oklahoma
DecidedNovember 5, 1935
DocketNo. 24779.
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 1935 OK 1090 (State v. Planters Gin Co.) 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
State v. Planters Gin Co., 1935 OK 1090, 52 P.2d 710, 175 Okla. 386, 1935 Okla. LEXIS 901 (Okla. 1935).

Opinion

GIBSON, J.

Plaintiff in error was plaintiff, and defendant in error was defendant in the trial court. They will be referred to herein as they appeared at the trial.

This is a tax ferret proceeding originally commenced before the county treasurer of Beckham county in August, 1932. The purpose of the proceeding, according to the notice served upon the defendant, was to assess certain alleged omitted property belonging to defendant for the years 1910 to 193L inclusive, and described in said notice as “capital, surplus and undivided profits, cotton, cotton seed, seed cotton, machinery, cash, notes, mortgages, bills receivable, accounts receivable and any other current assets not) revealed to the county assessor in making-rendition for taxing purposes,” and subject) to taxation in Beckham county.

Defendant’s answer alleged that its principal place of business, as designated by its articles of incorporation, was in Oklahoma City; that all its capital stock had been sold and the proceeds invested in gin properties located in several different counties of the! state, and that all its properties had been assessed for ad valorem purposes in each separate county where the properties were located. It is further alleged that the company at all times elected to assess its physical properties, and had never made a return of its moneyed capital, surplus) and undivided profits for taxation.

The plaintiff’s reply denied all affirmative allegations of the answer, and alleged that the intent of the assessor and the defendant in making assessments was immaterial to the issues.

From the judgment of the county treasurer declining to assess the alleged omitted property, the state appealed to the county court of Beckham county. At the conclusion of the introduction of plaintiff’s evidence in the county court, that court sustained defendant’s demurrer to plaintiff’s evidence and rendered judgment for defendant.

The case is brought here upon numerous specifications of error. First, it is contended that the court erred in requiring plaintiff to elect which of two remedies it would pursue; that is, whether it wou'd attempt to assess defendant’s moneyed capital, surplus and undivided profits or its physical properties. With that contention we agree. The notice served on the defendant in the tax ferret proceeding charged that the defendant had for each ofi the year-s 1910 to 1931, inclusive, failed to list for taxation in Beckham county personal property consisting- of “capital, surplus and undivided profits, cotton, cotton seed, seed cotton, machinery, cash, notes, mortgages, bills receivable, accounts receivable and any other current assets not revealed to the county assessor,” valued in a *387 large amount for each of the years mentioned. The evidence at the trial developed ■the facts that the defendant corporation was organized in the year 1900, and that in its articles of incorporation the city of Oklahoma City was designated as the principal place of business of the corporation, and that its articles of incorporation were not amended changing its principal place of business from Oklahoma City to Elk City until the year 1931. When the foregoing facts were developed, the plaintiff was required to make the election above referred to. It was neither necessary nor appropriate to put plaintiff to this election, for when the proof disclosed that defendant’s principal place of business was not in 'Beckham county, it then became apparent that the taxing authorities of that county had no authority to assess defendant’s “moneyed capital, surplus and undivided profits.”

Section 12369, O. S. 1931, requires that corporations shall be taxed on their moneyed capital, surplus and undivided profits “in the county, town, district or city where such corporation is located, less the assessed valuation of any real estate located in this state.” Section 12372, O. S. 1931, requires each corporation to furnish a sworn statement to the' assessor “in the county where its principal business is transacted” showing capital, surplus and undivided profits and a list and location and the assessed value of all real estate' and tangible personal property. Section 12604, O. S. 1931, provides that when a person is doing business in more than one county, the property and credits existing in any one of the counties are to be taxed in that county; credits not existing fin nor pertaining especially to the business in any one county are to be listed and taxed in that county where “his principal place of business may be.” This section also provides that bank deposits shall be listed and taxed in the name of the owner in the township, city, town or school district where he resides.

The above-cited statutes provide the exclusive method for the general ad valorem assessment of property belonging to the e’ass of domestic corporation in which the defendant falls.

Section 9730, O. S. 1931, provides that the articles of incorporation of a domestic corporation must designate “the place where its principal business is to be transacted.”

It is apparent that the provisions of sections 12369, 12372, and 12604, supra, referring to the location and principal business situs of the taxpayer, had reference to the principal place of business as designated in the articles of incorporation. Such place so designated is the fixed domicile of the corporation for purposes of taxation, conclusive alike on the corporation and the taxing authorities. (Cl C. J. 530, section 650.) That: domicile or residence may not be changed by the corporation at will, but must be accomplished as provided by statute. (14 O. J. 340.) Thompson on Corporations (3rd Ed.) vol. 1, sections 569-571.

Section 9732, O. S. 1931, prescribes the method of making such change, that is, by filing amended articles of incorporation with the Secretary of State. The defendant did not amend its articles until January 10, 1931. Hence its capital, surplus and undivided profits were not taxable in Beck-ham county for any of the years mentioned prior to the date of the amendment of the articles and the change of defendant’s domi-ci'c.

In Standard Paving Co. v. County Board, 135 Okla. 15, 273 P. 201, we said:

“It will thus be seen that the primary rule under our statutes is the same as at common law; that the property of either a corporation or an individual is prima faciei taxable at the legal residence of the owner. In the case of a corporation, its ‘legal residence for general taxation purposes is at its principal place of business”

—and:

“Section 9962, Comp. Stat. 1921 (12372, supra), provides the method of .arriving at thp value of real and personal property of a corporation for the purpose of assessment and taxation; and also the statute reiterates the general provisions, or rather makes more definite the residence or domicile of the corporation for the purpose of taxation. It fixes the domicile for taxing purposes at the principal place of business of the corporation, which is equivalent to the term, ‘where the owner lives or resides,’ when used in cases where the taxation of personal property of an individual is involved.”

It is stated in 20 C. J., page 521, that “an election can exist only where there is a choice between two or more inconsistent remedies actually existing at the time the election is made.” In Tulsa Rig, Reel & Mfg. Co. v. Arnold, 94 Okla. 120, 221 P. 19, in the first syllabus, we said:

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
1935 OK 1090, 52 P.2d 710, 175 Okla. 386, 1935 Okla. LEXIS 901, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-planters-gin-co-okla-1935.