Chowan County v. Commissioner of Banks
| Decision Date | 27 April 1932 |
| Docket Number | 16. |
| Citation | 163 S.E. 808,202 N.C. 672 |
| Parties | CHOWAN COUNTY et al. v. COMMISSIONER OF BANKS. |
| Court | North Carolina Supreme Court |
Appeal from Superior Court, Chowan County; J. Paul Frizzelle, Judge.
Action by Chowan County and others against the Commissioner of Banks Liquidating the Citizens' Bank. From a judgment for plaintiffs, defendant appeals.
Affirmed.
On April 26, 1930, the Citizens' Bank located at Edenton Chowan county, N. C., filed with the state board of assessment, in compliance with section 600 of the Machinery Act of 1929 (chapter 344, Public Laws of 1929), its annual report for assessment and taxation as of April 1, 1930 accompanied by a statement of its condition as of April 1 1930, and showing the value of said stock over and above the value of property listed locally to be $24,816.75. Thereupon the value of said corporate excess of the stock was tentatively fixed by said board or by the Commissioner of Revenue at the amount shown by the report, and the bank was notified accordingly.
The bank protested that this valuation was too high, and the protest was acted upon at a meeting of the board on June 10, 1930; and, "after careful consideration," the board reduced the value and fixed it at $19,375, and so notified the bank on June 12, 1930. No further protest was made nor any appeal taken by the bank from this decision, and the state board of assessment in due course, on August 1, 1930, certified this final valuation to the register of deeds of Chowan county, who placed it on the assessment roll of taxable property in the county for that year.
During July, 1930, final values of all taxable property listed in Chowan county as of April 1, 1930, were fixed and determined by the county commissioners acting as the board of equalization and review, and thereafter the commissioners levied county taxes for that year at the rate of $1.28 on the $100 of valuation, being $251.87 on the $19,375 valuation of the corporate excess of the stock of the Citizens' Bank, as will appear by mathematical calculation.
The bank closed on December 27, 1930, and was taken over for liquidation by the Corporation Commission and its successor, the defendant, commissioner of banks. County taxes had not been paid. On February 11, 1931, the state liquidating agent, acting under the Corporation Commission or its successor, the defendant, wrote to the Commissioner of Revenue asking that the valuation of the corporate excess of the capital stock of the bank as of April 1, 1930, be canceled, and on February 17th the Commissioner of Revenue, acting by his assistant and without action by the state board in meeting, wrote to the county accountant requesting that the said valuation as previously determined and certified by the board be stricken out. All of this was done without notice to Chowan county or its officials.
The county officials refused to comply with the request. The liquidating agent, acting under the commissioner of banks, paid the taxes levied on the property listed locally without prejudice to the question of liability for the tax on the corporate excess. The county filed a claim for the tax on the corporate excess in accordance with the law relating to the liquidation of banks, which was rejected, and this action was begun on said claim. N.C. Code (anno) of 1931 (section 218 (c), (10), and (11).
The court below rendered judgment for the county. The defendant excepted, and assigned error to the judgment as signed and appealed to the Supreme Court.
D. G. Brummitt, Atty. Gen., A. A. F. Seawell and W. D. Siler, Asst. Attys. Gen., and W. S. Privott, of Edenton, for appellant.
W. D. Pruden, of Edenton, for appellee.
The question involved: Under the circumstances of this case did the Commissioner of Revenue, after the assessment was regularly made and no appeal taken in accordance with the statute, have authority to strike out an assessment of the value of the "corporate excess" of the capital stock of the Citizens' Bank, made by the state board of assessment and certified to Chowan county, and thereby prevent the collection of taxes levied thereon by the county? We think not.
Sections 600 and 603 of the Machinery Act of 1929 (Public Laws 1929, chap. 344) provide the method by which the state board of assessment shall assess the value of stock in banks and other corporations. Provision is made and time limit set in which the taxpayer may, if not satisfied, appeal to the superior court, and then to the Supreme Court.
In the present case there was no appeal taken by the bank in accordance with the statute. On August 1st, the excess, $19,375, was certified to Chowan county, N. C.
Section 603(6) of the act, supra, is as follows: "The State Board of Assessment shall, on or before the first day of August of each year, certify to the Register of Deeds of the county in which such corporation, limited partnership or association has its principal office or place of business, the total value of the capital stock of such corporation, limited partnership or association as determined in this section; and such corporation, limited partnership or association shall pay the county, township, city or town tax upon the valuation so certified." (Italics ours.)
In Garysburg Mfg. Co. v. Board of Com'rs of Pender County, 196 N.C. at page 748, 147 S.E. 284, 286, citing numerous authorities, we find: An appeal in the above case was taken to the Supreme Court of the United States, and in Garysburg Manufacturing Company v. Board of Commissioners of Pender County, 280 U.S. 520, 50 S.Ct. 67, 74 L.Ed. 589, is the following: citing authorities. Blackmore v. Duplin County, 201 N.C. 245, 159...
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