Blied v. Wis. Foundry & Mach. Co.
| Decision Date | 16 June 1943 |
| Citation | 10 N.W.2d 142,243 Wis. 221 |
| Parties | BLIED v. WISCONSIN FOUNDRY & MACHINE CO. |
| Court | Wisconsin Supreme Court |
OPINION TEXT STARTS HERE
This is an appeal from a judgment of the Circuit Court for Dane County; Alvin C. Reis, Circuit Judge.
Affirmed.
Action by Frank C. Blied, plaintiff, against Wisconsin Foundry and Machine Company, a Wisconsin corporation, defendant, brought on November 3, 1942 by plaintiff in his own right, and on behalf of others similarly situated, to recover an amount withheld by defendant corporation from preferred stock dividends and paid to State of Wisconsin on account of Wisconsin dividend privilege taxes pursuant to chapter 505, Laws of 1935, as amended. Defendant interposed a general demurrer to plaintiff's complaint. On December 12, 1942, judgment was entered sustaining a general demurrer and dismissing plaintiff's complaint. The material facts will be stated in the opinion.
Stroud, Stebbins & Wingert, of Madison, for appellant.
William L. Buenzli, of Madison (Thomas, Orr & Isaksen, of Madison, of counsel), for respondent.
William Ryan, of Madison, amici curiae.
Plaintiff, a Wisconsin resident, was the owner of cumulative preferred stock, issued by defendant. The stock was purchased in 1942 with the provision that there would be paid thereon preferential cumulative dividends at the rate of $5.50 per share during such time as the stock should be outstanding, payable out of net profits or surplus applicable thereto, as and when declared by the directors of the defendant. Respondent's principal place of business is the city of Madison and its income is wholly derived from profits and business transacted in the state of Wisconsin. In 1942 defendant declared two semi-annual dividends, each at the rate of $2.25 per share, payable April 1st and October 1st, respectively. Subsequent to each declaration, defendant deducted from the amount of dividend so declared and payable an amount equal to 3% thereof, representing the Wisconsin privilege dividend tax imposed by section 3, chapter 505, Wisconsin Laws of 1935, as amended. In doing this, defendant relied upon the literal provisions of the statute, and asserted that the privilege dividend tax is against the stockholder in respect of the privilege of receiving dividends.
Plaintiff's contentions are that while the language seems to place the tax on the stockholder it must be ignored in view of the fact (1) that the corporation alone is made liable for the tax, (2) that the...
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International Harvester Co v. Wisconsin Department of Taxation Minnesota Mining Mfg Co v. Same
...And in Wisconsin Gas Co. v. Wisconsin Dept. of Taxation, 243 Wis. 216, 10 N.W.2d 140, 146 A.L.R. 1212; cf. Blied v. Wisconsin Foundry Company, 243 Wis. 221, 10 N.W.2d 142, the Court held that the burden of the tax is imposed upon the stockholders so that the corporation is not entitled to d......
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Wisconsin Gas Electric Co v. United States
...from the fixed dividends owed to the preferred stockholder who cannot recover his loss from the corporation. Blied v. Wisconsin Foundry & Machine Co., 243 Wis. 221, 10 N.W.2d 142. And the corporation which seeks to leave the stockholder's dividend whole by absorbing the tax itself receives ......
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Wisconsin Gas & Electric Co. v. United States
...was authoritatively established in the Penney case." On the same day, the Supreme Court of Wisconsin decided Blied v. Wisconsin Foundry & Machine Co., 243 Wis. 221, 10 N.W.2d 142. In that case, a preferred stockholder sued the defendant corporation to recover from it the amount it had withh......
- Wis. Gas & Elec. Co. v. Wis. Dep't of Taxation