City of Richmond v. Creel

• Decision Date: 06 December 1913
• Citation: 253 Mo. 256,161 S.W. 794
• Parties: CITY OF RICHMOND v. CREEL.
• Court: Missouri Supreme Court

161 S.W. 794

253 Mo. 256

CITY OF RICHMOND v. CREEL.

Supreme Court of Missouri, Division No. 1.

December 6, 1913.

1. LICENSES (§ 6)—POWER OF STATE—OCCUPATIONS.

The state has power to tax all trades, professions, and occupations, and to delegate such power to municipalities.

2. LICENSES (§ 7)—POWER OF MUNICIPALITY —OCCUPATION.

When the power to impose a license tax upon insurance companies has been delegated to municipalities, it may be exercised by them without any infringement of Const. art. 10, § 3, providing that taxes shall be uniform upon the same class of subjects within the territory limits of the authority levying the tax.

3. COURTS (§ 231)—SUPREME COURT—JURISDICTION —CONSTITUTIONAL QUESTION.

Since the validity of Rev. St. 1909, § 9253, delegating to municipalities the power to impose a license tax upon insurance companies, has been settled, a controversy involving such power cannot confer jurisdiction of an appeal

upon the Supreme Court on the ground that it involves a constitutional question.

4. COURTS (§ 231)—SUPREME COURT—JURISDICTION —REVENUE QUESTIONS.

Under Rev. St. 1909, § 9253, purporting to authorize cities of the third class to impose a license tax upon foreign insurance companies, no construction of a revenue law is involved to give the Supreme Court jurisdiction of an appeal.

Appeal from Circuit Court, Ray County; Francis H. Trimble, Judge.

E. B. Creel appeals from a conviction of violation of an ordinance of the City of Richmond imposing a penalty upon any agent of an insurance company which has not paid a license tax. Cause transferred to the Kansas City Court of Appeals.

Nathan Frank and Richard A. Jones, both of St. Louis, and J. L. Farris, Jr., of Richmond, for appellant. M. M. Milligan, of Richmond, for respondent.

BLAIR, C.

In the city of Richmond, a city of the third class, there exists an ordinance imposing a license tax upon insurance companies and providing that any person acting as agent for any company which has not complied with its provisions shall be subject to a prescribed penalty. The Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, a corporation organized under the laws of New York, failed to comply with this ordinance, and appellant was found guilty of acting as its agent within the city, and has appealed.

The company had previously paid the tax levied upon it under section 7099, R. S. 1909.

The amount of the fine assessed against appellant is $5, and this court has no jurisdiction of this appeal unless such jurisdiction is conferred by the character of the questions raised.

On the trial it was contended: (1) That the ordinance in question is violative of section 3, art. 10,...