Eppstein v. State

• Court: Texas Court of Appeals
• Writing for the Court: Jenkins
• Citation: Eppstein v. State, 138 S.W. 1124 (Tex. App. 1911)
• Decision Date: 31 May 1911
• Parties: EPPSTEIN v. STATE.

138 S.W. 1124

EPPSTEIN v. STATE.

Court of Civil Appeals of Texas. Austin.

May 31, 1911.

On Rehearing, July 1, 1911.

Appeal from District Court, Travis County; Chas. A. Wilcox, Judge.

Action by the State against Milton L. Eppstein. From a judgment for plaintiff, defendant appeals. Affirmed.

I. M. Standifer, for appellant. Jewel P. Lightfoot, Atty. Gen., James D. Walthall, Asst. Atty. Gen., and Jno. W. Brady, Asst. Atty. Gen., for the State.

JENKINS, J.

The sole issue in this case is the proper construction of section 11 of chapter 18, Acts of the 30th Legislature, p. 485, which reads as follows: "Each and every individual company, corporation or association created by the laws of this state or any other state, who shall engage in his own name or in the name of others, or in the name of its representatives or agents in this state in the business of a wholesale dealer or a wholesale distributor of spirituous, vinous or malt liquors or medicated bitters capable of producing intoxication, shall on or before the first day of July, 1907, and quarterly thereafter, make a report to the Comptroller of Public Accounts, under oath of the individual, or of the president, treasurer or superintendent of such company, corporation or association, showing the gross amount collected and uncollected from any and all sales made within this state of any of said articles during the quarter next preceding. Said individuals, companies, corporations and associations, at the time of making said report shall pay to the Treasurer of the State of Texas, an occupation tax for the quarter beginning on said date, equal to one-half of one per cent. of said gross receipts from said sale as shown by said report. A wholesale dealer or distributor, within the meaning of this section, is any individual, company, association or corporation selling any of the articles hereinbefore mentioned either in his own or in the name of others or in the name of its representatives or agents to retail dealers, or who deliver on consignment to their agents for retail." The contention of the state is that appellant's occupation tax for each quarter should be based upon his total sales, collected and uncollected, made in the preceding quarter. The contention of appellant is that his tax for each quarter should be based upon the amount collected by him during the preceding quarter from sales made during said quarter. The trial court rendered judgment for the state upon the following conclusion of law: "I conclude that it was clearly the intention of the Legislature in enacting section 11, c. 18, of the Acts of 1907, to impose a tax of one-half of 1 per cent. upon the total amount of sales made, whether the consideration of such sales were collected or uncollected."

While we agree with the learned trial court as to the proper construction of this statute, we confess to some difficulty in arriving at a conclusion in the matter. For this reason, if for no other, should we follow the rule of construction urged by able counsel for appellant, we would be compelled to decide in his favor; that is to say, that, if the subject of taxation is not clearly embraced in the very words of the statute, when such words are construed most unfavorably to the state, such subject should be excluded from its terms. Rules of construction are intended to aid courts in arriving at a proper conclusion, but no particular rule should be followed to the exclusion of all others, when to do so leads to illogical deductions. "Artificial rules of construction have probably found more favor with courts than they have deserved." Cooley on Taxation, 449. The rule of strict construction has in some instances been stretched to the extent of excluding from the provisions of a statute that which everybody, except the learned court, knew was undoubtedly included within it. As regards tax laws, Mr. Cooley says: "In some of the earlier cases they seemed to have been looked upon as things which, like obligations entered into with a usurer, were to be confined to the very letter of the bond, if enforced at all, and every intendment was made against them and against proceedings under them." Id. 449. We think that the true rule for the construction of revenue laws was announced by the Supreme Court of Connecticut, viz.: "Fairly for the government and justly for the citizen, and so as to carry out the intention of the Legislature gathered from the language used, read in connection with the general purpose of the law." Hubbard v. Brainard, 35 Conn. 563.

Applying this rule to said section 11, we find that the language used in the concluding part of said section is: "Shall pay to the Treasurer of the State of Texas an occupation tax for the quarter beginning on said date, equal to one-half of one per cent. of said gross receipts from said sale as shown by said...