Fid. & Cas. Co. of New York v. Bd. of Review of Cook Cnty.
| Citation | 264 Ill. 11,105 N.E. 704 |
| Decision Date | 16 June 1914 |
| Docket Number | No. 9284.,9284. |
| Court | Supreme Court of Illinois |
| Parties | FIDELITY & CASUALTY CO. OF NEW YORK v. BOARD OF REVIEW OF COOK COUNTY. |
OPINION TEXT STARTS HERE
Proceeding by the Fidelity & Casualty Company of New York against the Board of Review of Cook County to review a decision of the board confirming the action of the Board of Assessors of Cook County in assessing plaintiff for taxation. Assessment annulled and set aside.Miller, Gorham & Wales and Henry Russell Platt, all of Chicago, for appellant.
Dennis W. Sullivan, of Chicago (Henry Horner, of Chicago, of counsel), for appellee.
On April 16, 1913, appellant, the Fidelity & Casualty Company of New York, incorporated under the laws of that state, filed with the board of assessors of Cook county a sworn schedule showing that on the 1st day of April, 1913, appellant had personal property in Cook county of the fair cash value of $29,278.33. Upon receipt of said schedule said board of assessors ordered appellant to show cause why it should not be assessed upon the net receipts of its agency in Cook county for the year next preceding April 1, 1913. Upon a hearing of said order to show cause the board of assessors of Cook county demanded appellant, by its general agents at Chicago, to return to the board of assessors the amount of the net receipts of said agency for the year next preceding April 1, 1913, that said amount might be entered on the tax lists of said county of Cook for the purpose of taxation. The board of assessors stated that, unless a schedule of appellant's net receipts was filed, appellant would be assessed upon the full amount of its net receipts as estimated by the board and a penalty of 50 per cent. added thereto. This demand was complied with under protest, and a return made showing the amount of the net receipts for the stated time to be $559,824.50, said net receipts being made up from business commonly known as accident insurance, health insurance, liability insurance, fidelity insurance, surety insurance, plate glass insurance, steam boiler insurance, burglary insurance, and flywheel insurance, and no part of said receipts arose or was made up from life, fire, marine, or inland navigation insurance. This return of the net receipts by the Chicago general agents of appellant was made under protest that the agency was not required by law to make the return, but made the same at the express direction and demand of the board of assessors, and for the purpose of a test case, and upon the threat that if such return was not made appellant and other companies doing a like business, and not being either life, fire, marine, or inland navigation insurance corporations, would be assessed upon the estimated full amount of their net receipts and a penalty of 50 per cent. added. Thereafter the board of assessors assessed appellant upon the amount furnished by its Chicago agency as the amount of its net receipts for the year next preceding April 1, 1913. Appellant in due time filed with the board of review of said county its complaint, in writing, of the action of the board of assessors. Upon a hearing the board of review confirmed the action of the board of assessors, and held the net receipts derived from each of the nine kinds of insurance before enumerated, which make up the grand total of $559,824.50 as the net receipts for the year next preceding April 1, 1913, as subject to taxation. An appeal from this finding was taken by appellant, and a statement of the facts in the case made by the clerk of the board of review and transmitted to the auditor of public accounts, who has, under clause 4 of paragraph 329 of chapter 120 of Hurd's Statutes of 1911, transmitted the cause to this court for determination.
Appellant contends that the assessment of the net receipts of the Chicago agency by the board of assessors was without warrant of law, that such net receipts are exempt from taxation, and that the board of review erred in affirming the action of the board of assessors.
[1] The property subject to taxation under the general Revenue Act is such as has a situs in this state. The net receipts of appellant in Cook county for the year previous to April 1, 1913, which were on hand or in banks there on that day, were taxable under the Revenue Act, and were scheduled. No authority is conferred by that act to tax the net receipts of appellant which may have been absorbed by losses or transmitted to the home office of the appellant in the state of New York before April 1, 1913. If property of the character here sought to be subjected to taxation is liable, authority to tax it must be found elsewhere than in the Revenue Act. Appellant is not engaged in fire, marine, or inland navigation insurance. It is what is generally known as a casualty insurance corporation. Its business is accident insurance, health insurance, liability insurance, fidelity insurance, surety insurance, plate glass insurance, steam boiler insurance, burglary insurance, and flywheel insurance.
[2] In 1869 the Legislature passed
‘An act to incorporate and govern fire, marine and inland navigation insurance companies doing business in the state of Illinois.’ Hurd's Stat. 1911, p. 1313.
Section 30 of that act was slightly amended in 1879 in phraseology, but not in meaning. As amended it reads:
‘Every agent of any insurance company, incorporated by the authority of any other state or government, shall return to the proper officer of the county, town or municipality in which the agency is established, in the month of May, annually, the amount of the net receipts of such agency for the preceding year, which shall be entered on the tax lists of the county, town and municipality, and subject to the same rate of taxation, for all purposes,-state, county, town and municipal,-that other personal property is subject to at the place where located; said tax to be in lieu of all town and municipal licenses; and all laws and parts of laws inconsistent herewith are hereby repealed: Provided, that the provisions of this section shall not be construed to prohibit cities having an organized fire department from levying a tax, or license fee, not exceeding two per cent. in accordance with the provisions of...
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