City of St. Joseph v. Hannibal & St. Joseph R.R. Co.

Citation39 Mo. 476
PartiesTHE CITY OF ST. JOSEPH, Respondent, v. HANNIBAL AND ST. JOSEPH RAILROAD COMPANY, Appellant.
Decision Date28 February 1867
CourtUnited States State Supreme Court of Missouri

Appeal from Buchanan Circuit Court.

Carr, and Hall & Oliver, for appellant.

H. M. & A. H. Vories, for respondent.

The exception in the charter from all State and county taxes does not exempt the property from city taxes when the property is in the city limits; but on the contrary, by implication at least, leaves the city at liberty to tax the property of the railroad situate in her jurisdiction; and if the railroad company will have or own property in a city, which receives the protection of the police of the city, she must, like individuals, pay her proportion of the cost thereof--City of Lexington v. Aull, 30 Mo. 480; Schacklett v. Hann. & St. Jo. R. R. Co., 30 Mo. 433.

The Legislature had a right and did authorize the City of St. Joseph to levy and collect taxes of and from railroad corporations in the same manner, and to the same extent, as from individuals, and further provided that no exemptions made by any law previously should operate against the authority thus given-- Acts 1863-4, pp. 430-1 & 433.

The right to tax is incident to all governments, and its relinquishment is not to be inferred or to be deduced by arguments--City of Lexington v. Aull, above cited, Providence Bank v. Billings et al., 4 Pet. 560; Hanna v. Board of Commissioners, 8 Blackf. 352.

If the charter of the railroad company could by possibility be construed to exempt the property of the railroad from city taxes, then the act of 1863-4 above referred to, being wholly inconsistent with said exemption, repealed the same so far as the city was concerned. This the legislature had power to do-- Cases above cited; The Columbiana Manuf. Co. v. Vanderpool, 4 Cow. 556; Redf. on Railw. 533, § 11.

HOLMES, Judge, delivered the opinion of the court.

This was a proceeding on the part of the collector of the City of St. Joseph before the city recorder, under the charter and ordinances, to obtain judgment against certain real estate of the defendant, situate within the corporate limits of the city, for the amount of taxes thereon levied for municipal purposes which were unpaid. The plaintiff had judgment, and the case was appealed to the Circuit Court of Buchanan county, where it was affirmed, and now comes up by appeal to this court.

It was admitted that the taxes were regularly assessed, and that the proceedings were had in accordance with the ordinances. The ground assigned for error is substantially that the property was exempt from taxation by the statute laws of the State and was not subject to taxation for city purposes. It was not denied that the city charter gave the corporation full power to levy taxes for municipal purposes, on all property situate within the city limits, whether real or personal, and to levy and collect taxes from railroad corporations as well as from individuals--Laws of 1863-4, p. 431. But it is insisted that the ordinances and charter only authorized the stock of the railroad company to be taxed, and not the property itself; that the stock represented all the property of the company, and that if the real estate were taxed as such there would be a double taxation.

The charter of the defendant provided that the stock of the company should be exempt from all State and county taxes. The third section of the act of the General Assembly of September 20, 1852 (R. R. Laws, 115), required the company to pay into the State treasury a sum of money equal to the...

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20 cases
  • Hamner v. Yazoo Delta Lumber Co.
    • United States
    • Mississippi Supreme Court
    • November 20, 1911
    ...Martin v. City of Charleston, 13 Rich. Eq. (S. C.) 50; Covington Gaslight Co. v. Covington, 92 Ky. 312, 17 S.W. 808; St. Joseph v. Hannibal, etc. R. R. Co., 39 Mo. 476; Livingston Co. v. Railroad Co., 60 Mo. 516; State Hannibal R. R. Co., 101 Mo. 120, 13 S.W. 406. So, also, an exemption fro......
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    • June 12, 1941
    ... ... 310 The Washington University v. H. J. Gorman, City Treasurer of Kansas City, and Frank McCabe, City Assessor ... Rowse, 42 Mo. 308; City ... of St. Joseph v. Hannibal & St. Jo. Railroad Co., 39 Mo ... 476; ... ...
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