In re Assessment of Durant Nat. Bank

• Decision Date: 24 July 1923
• Docket Number: Case Number: 12802
• Citation: 1923 OK 541,230 P. 712,107 Okla. 65
• Parties: In re ASSESSMENT of DURANT NAT. BANK.
• Court: Oklahoma Supreme Court

1923 OK 541

230 P. 712

107 Okla. 65

In re ASSESSMENT of DURANT NAT. BANK.

Case Number: 12802

Supreme Court of Oklahoma

Decided: July 24, 1923

Syllabus

¶0 1. Taxation -- Assessments of Banks--Procedure--Liability of Shares of Stock.

In assessing state or national banks, the assessment is not against the corporation upon its moneyed capital, surplus, and undivided profits, but the tax is levied against the shares of stock in the hands of the stockholders, and the officers of the corporation act as the agent of the stockholders, both in listing the shares of stock for taxation and in paying the taxes levied against said shares of stock.

2. Taxation--Authority of Tax Ferrets Employed by County--Omitted Property.

Under section 9798, Comp. Stat. 1921, the board of county commissioners are authorized to contract with a person or persons to assist the proper officers of the county in the discovery of property not listed and assessed for taxation, and the authority conferred by this provision of the statute applies only to property omitted from assessment, and does not confer the power or authority to revalue or reassess property which has already been assessed.

3. Same--Power to Reassess Bank Stock.

Where the assessor in assessing a national bank erroneously deducts from the value of the shares of stock the amount invested in nontaxable securities, but assesses the shares of stock to the stockholders although the valuation fixed thereon is undervalued by reason of having made an improper deduction, and no steps are taken to review said assessment, as provided by law, through the board of equalization, and by appeal to the courts, held, that said shares of stock cannot be reassessed as "property not listed and assessed,"' as provided in section 9798, Comp. Stat. 1921; held, further, the county treasurer has no jurisdiction under section 9798, supra, to reassess said shares of stock as omitted property.

4. Same -- Assessment of Corporations -- "Omitted Property."

The general rule applicable to corporations which under the law are assessed upon their moneyed capital, surplus, etc., is, if said corporation fails to report any item or species of property of any kind or character owned by it that it is called upon to report to the assessor, and the value thereof the failure to report said items or species of property thereof is an omission, and not an undervaluation of the property of the corporation, and the item or species of property which the corporation failed or refused to report, may be assessed as omitted property either under section 9597 or 9798, Comp. Stat. 1921.

Error from County Court, Bryan County; John Finney, Judge.

Proceedings to assess omitted property of the Durant National Bank of Durant, Okla. From an adverse judgment, the bank appeals. Reversed and remanded, with directions.

Hayes & McIntosh and Ames, Chambers, Lowe & Richardson, for appellant.

Victor Phillips, Wm. H. Zwick, and McPherren & Cochran, for appellees.

McNEILL, J.

¶1 This is an appeal from a judgment of the county court of Bryan county, making an additional assessment in the name of the Durant National Bank on its shares of stock for the years 1917, 1918, 1919, and 1920, because $ 80,000 worth of public building bonds, owned by the bank during each of said years were omitted from consideration in determining the value of the shares of stock which was subject to taxation for each of said years. The proceedings were instituted and the additional assessment made under authority of section 9798, Comp. Stat. 1921. It is conceded that the procedure for assessing omitted property as provided in said section of the statute was compiled with, and the appeal from the county court to this court is regular. The facts are undisputed, and the appeal presents a question of law, when applied to the admitted facts.

¶2 Regarding the assessment for the year 1919, the facts are as follows: B. A. McKinney, as officer of the bank, filled out an assessment list on the form prepared by the State Examiner and Inspector for assessing banks, and delivered the same to the assessor. Omitting the caption and the first portion, the same reads as follows:

(5) Amount of authorized capital stock,1000 shares, par value $ 100 each $ 100,000

(6) Amount of capital stock paid up $ 100,000

(7) Amount of surplus $ 100,000

(8) Amount of undivided profits

(9) Amount of outstanding bonded indebtedness

(10) Net value of moneyed capital, including surplus and undivided profits (money capital as used includes money actually invested in business, whether represented by certificates of stock, debentures, or bonds $ 200,000

(11) Less exemptions and deductions as follows:

(a) Capital and surplus invested in public building bonds $ 80,000 (Item "A" was not on the printed form but was written in by the assessor or the person making out the assessment list.)

(b) Less assessed valuation of real estate in the state of Oklahoma owned in fee simple by corporation and listed separately in its name,as follows: (Description of real estate.)

(12) Total valuation of land and lots $ 67,670

Value fixed by the Assessor $ 52,330

¶3 Under schedule "A" appears the list of stockholders of said corporation, showing the number of shares, value per share fixed at $ 200 each, and the total value of stock held by each stockholder.

¶4 This court has held that in assessing banks, as provided by section 9607, Comp. Stat. 1921, the assessment is not against the corporation, upon its moneyed capital, surplus, etc., but the tax is levied against the shares of stock in the hands of the stockholders, and officers of the corporation act as agent of the stockholders both in listing the shares of stock for taxation and in paying taxes levied against said shares of stock. See Board of Equalization of Kingfisher Co.

v. People's National Bank, 79 Okla. 312, 193 P. 622; Board of Equalization v. First State Bank of Oklahoma City, 77 Okla. 291, 188 P. 115; Brown v. Hennessey State Bank, 78 Okla. 141, 189 P. 355. The section of the statute, supra, provides, in substance, that shares of stock of national banks shall be assessed at their actual cash value, and from the value of the shares of stock shall be deducted the assessed valuation of real estate in this state owned by the corporation and listed separately in the name of the corporation.

¶5 In the instant case, according to the assessment list, the capital stock of the bank was evidenced by 1,000 shares of stock of the cash value of $ 200 per share, or a total value of $ 200,000. The assessor should have deducted from the total value of the shares of stock $ 67,670, being the assessed value of real estate assessed against the bank, and assessed the 1,000 shares of stock to the stockholders for $ 132,330, thereby making the assessment of $ 132.33 per share of stock. It is conceded that the assessor made a further deduction of $ 80,000, being the amount of the capital of the bank invested in public building bonds, and assessed the shares of stock at $ 52,330, or $ 52.33 per share. The statute in force at that time did not authorize the assessor to deduct the amount of capital invested in public building bonds from the total valuation of the shares of stock, although said bonds were exempt from taxation. The shares of stock were assessed at $ 52.33, when they should have been assessed, according to the assessment list filed, at $ 132.33 each.

¶6 Section 9798, Comp. Stat. 1921, under which these proceedings were instituted, authorizes the county commissioners to employ a tax ferret to assist in "discovering property not listed and assessed." For reversal, it is contended that, the county assessor of Bryan county having determined the value of the shares during the years in question, and having assessed all the shares of stock, the shares of stock were not omitted property within the meaning of section 9798, supra, and not being omitted property, the county treasurer or the county court acquired no jurisdiction over the proceeding to reassess the same. It is contended by the defendant in error that this is an effort to increase the assessment made upon the shares of stock by the assessor, not by the revaluation, but by assessing property omitted from consideration in arriving at the assessed values. The statute authorizes the tax ferret to assist in "discovering property not listed and assessed," and the question for consideration is whether the additional assessment can be considered an assessment "on property not listed and assessed."

¶7 One of the cardinal rules in construing statutes is to ascertain the legislative intent, and in doing so the court may look to other sections of the statute upon the same subject. Section 9597, Comp Stat. 1921, deals with property that has been omitted and undervalued, and provides, in substance, if any real or personal property be omitted in the assessment of any year or years and thereby escapes its just and proper proportion of taxation at any time, the county assessor shall cause the property to be entered upon the assessment rolls and taxbooks for the year or years omitted. The section provides for giving notice to the parties affected. The section further provides as follows:

"* * * That whenever any real or personal property, on account of same being grossly undervalued on account of false representations, or concealments made by the owner or owners or their agents in rendering the same for assessment, etc. * * *"

¶8 The section authorizes the county assessor at any time within three years from the date of such undervaluation of said property to cause the property to be entered on the assessment rolls and taxbooks for the year or years so undervalued, and upon giving notice and after a hearing. The section further provides that as to such property grossly undervalued, no contract shall be made with any one for the discovery of said property grossly undervalued, nor shall the county pay any one a commission for in any way causing the same to be...