First Nat. Bank of Seymour v. Isaacs
| Decision Date | 14 October 1903 |
| Parties | FIRST NAT. BANK OF SEYMOUR v. ISAACS, County Treasurer. |
| Court | Indiana Supreme Court |
OPINION TEXT STARTS HERE
Appeal from Circuit Court, Jackson County; Thos. B. Buskirk, Judge.
Suit by the First National Bank of Seymour against William W. Isaacs, county treasurer. Judgment for defendant, and plaintiff appeals. Reversed.O. H. Montgomery, for appellant. Carl E. Wood, for appellee.
The allegations of the complaint in this case material to a correct decision of the question presented by the assignment of errors are substantially as follows: The appellant is a national banking association, incorporated under the act of Congress known as the “National Bank Act,” and is, and for many years has been, engaged in business in the city of Seymour, in Jackson township, Jackson county, Ind., and the appellee is the treasurer of said county. Between the 1st day of April and the 1st day of June, 1899, the president of the appellant, acting on its behalf, pursuant to the requirements of the tax law, made a statement in writing, in duplicate, showing the number of the shares of the capital stock of said bank, and the name and residence of each shareholder, with the number of shares owned by him. He affixed what he deemed the true cash value of such shares, and also the true cash value of the entire capital stock of said bank on the 1st day of April, 1899, and he delivered one of the said statements to the township assessor of said Jackson township, and one to the county auditor of said county. Thereupon the said capital stock was duly listed for taxation, assessed, and returned by said assessor as other like property was returned for taxation. On July 12, 1899, after due notice, the county board of review revised the said assessment, and assessed the appellant, its capital stock and property, at the aggregate sum of $143,110. The bank appealed from the assessment so made to the State Board of Tax Commissioners, and on August 19, 1899, said state board, having duly obtained jurisdiction of the said matter, granted the appeal, and finally assessed the appellant, its capital stock and property, at the aggregate sum of $133,110. Subsequently, the minutes of the proceedings of the said board being found indefinite, they were on January 2, 1901, corrected and made certain. A certified copy of such proceedings so corrected was issued to the auditor of said Jackson county, but, notwithstanding such reduction and final assessment by the state board, the auditor of said county entered the appellant's name upon the tax duplicate of said county for the year 1899, and charged it with property for taxation of the aggregate value of $143,110, and computed and extended taxes thereon at the rate of $1.68 per each $100 of the said amount. Said auditor thereupon turned over to the county treasurer of said county the said duplicate, with the excessive valuation of $10,000, and the taxes thereon, for the collection of said taxes. The appellant paid all taxes charged against it upon the said valuation of $133,110 as fixed by said state board, but refused to pay the taxes upon the additional and excessive amount of $10,000 so included by the said auditor. The said treasurer threatens to collect the said taxes on the said $10,000 so added to said assessment by levy upon and sale of the property of the appellant, unless enjoined. Prayer for a perpetual injunction. This complaint was sustained by this court in First Nat'l Bank v. Greger, 157 Ind. 479, 62 N. E. 21. Appellee filed an answer in denial. The cause was tried by the court, and a finding was made in favor of the appellee. A motion for a new trial on the grounds that the finding was not sustained by sufficient evidence and was contrary to law was overruled, and judgment was rendered for appellee.
The evidence, which is very brief, is brought here by bill of exceptions, and clearly establishes all the material facts of the complaint.
Counsel for appellee contends that the order of the State Board of Tax Commissioners authorized the county auditor to add the $10,000 as a part of the value of the real estate owned by said bank. He also claims that the action of the State Board of Tax Commissioners on January 2, 1901, in causing an entry to be made upon its records correcting the entry of August 19, 1899, was unauthorized and void. To this proposition, counsel for appellant answers that by an act of the General Assembly of March 7, 1901 (Acts 1901, p. 129), all special meetings of the State Board of Tax Commissioners previously held, and all proceedings at such special meetings, were expressly recognized and declared valid. In response to this proposition, counsel for appellee insists that the act of March 7, 1901, supra, was invalid, for the reasons that the proceedings attempted to be legalized were void for want of jurisdiction in the board, and because “the act settled a pending lawsuit” (sic).
It appears from the proof that the property owned by the appellant, April 1, 1899, was duly listed and returned by the proper officer of the bank to the township assessor:
+--------------------------------------------------------------+
¦Capital stock, 1,000 shares, $100 per share ¦$100,000 00¦
+--------------------------------------------------+-----------¦
¦Value of shares, $128.80 ¦$128,800 00¦
+--------------------------------------------------+-----------¦
¦Amount of all deposits April 1, 1899 ¦$282,591 92¦
+--------------------------------------------------+-----------¦
¦Amount of individual profits on hand April 1, 1899¦3,111 18 ¦
+--------------------------------------------------+-----------¦
¦Amount of surplus fund April 1, 1899 ¦40,000 00 ¦
+--------------------------------------------------+-----------¦
¦Assessed value of real estate ¦20,310 00 ¦
+--------------------------------------------------------------+
At the meeting of the Jackson county board of review, held June 19, 1899, the appellant was ordered to appear on July 1, 1899, and submit a statement of its property for revision, correction, or the assessment of omitted property. The bank appeared as it was required to do, and submitted its sworn statement. On July 10, 1899, the county board made the following order:
“The board of review, having under consideration the corporation statement and schedule of the real estate and personal property of the First National Bank, when, on motion, it was ordered by the board that in order to equalize the values with that of other property of like kind in Jackson county, Indiana, that the following assessments be made on real estate, improvements, and personal property, as follows:
+----------------------------------------------+
¦The real estate is assessed at ¦$ 2,520 ¦
+------------------------------------+---------¦
¦The improvements are assessed at ¦4,095 ¦
+------------------------------------+---------¦
¦The personal property is assessed at¦136,495 ¦
+------------------------------------+---------¦
¦Total assessment ¦$143,100”¦
+----------------------------------------------+
The bank was dissatisfied with the action of the county board of review, and appealed from its order of assessment to the State Board of Tax Commissioners. Upon the hearing of this appeal, the state board granted the petition of the appellant for a reduction of its assessment, and the following order was thereupon entered on its minutes: “In the...
To continue reading
Request your trial