Kings Co Sav Inst v. Blair

• Decision Date: 04 January 1886
• Citation: 29 L.Ed. 657,6 S.Ct. 353,116 U.S. 200
• Parties: KINGS CO. SAV. INST. v. BLAIR, Adm'r, etc. Filed
• Court: U.S. Supreme Court

6 S.Ct. 353

116 U.S. 200

29 L.Ed. 657

KINGS CO. SAV. INST. v. BLAIR, Adm'r, etc.

Filed January 4, 1886.

Lewis Sanders and Geo. N. Sanders, for plaintiff in error.

Sol. Gen. Goode, for defendant in error.

WOODS, J.

The Kings County Savings Institution, plaintiff in error, was the plaintiff in the circuit court. It brought its action, as for money had and received, against the defendant in error, as administrator of the estate of James Freeland, deceased, late col- lector of internal revenue, to recover the amount of taxes illegally exacted from it, as it alleged, by the intestate of the defendant in error. The defense relied on was pleaded by the defendant, as follows: 'That the plaintiff herein did not present to the commissioner of internal revenue its alleged claim for abatement, or for refunding the amount claimed in said complaint, within two years after the said alleged claim had accrued, as required by section 3228 of the Revised Statutes of the United States.'

The bill of exceptions shows that, on the trial of the case by the circuit judge and a jury, the plaintiff, to sustain the issue on its part, proved that it made its return for internal revenue taxation for the six months ending May 31, 1878, on the form prescribed by the commissioner of internal revenue, in duplicate, and, accompanying the same, filed an amended return in duplicate. The prescribed return had the following words written upon its face: 'This return, not esempting any part of accounts exceeding $2,000 in the name of any one person, is made under protest, by compulsion, to prevent a penalty from being assessed; but the accompanying is claimed to be the true and legal return exempting $2,000 of all deposits made in the name of any one person; and if the assessment and collection are enforced in accordance with this return, suit will be brought for the excess.' The amended return showed the tax due, according to the construction placed upon the law by the plaintiff, to be $428.75, and had the following words written upon its face: 'In this amended return this savings bank, under advice of counsel, disregards as erroneous this printed form heretofore prescribed and enforced by the commissioner and collector of internal revenue for the United States, and the amended exemption clause, 'less average amount of all deposits not exceeding $2,000 made in the name of any one person,' is construed as exempting 'all deposits made in the name of any one person not exceeding $2,000' of such deposit in his name. This bank claims that the tax be assessed according to this return.'

It was shown that the prescribed return and amended return were delivered to the commissioner of internal revenue on June 6, 1878, and to the collector of internal revenue, the intestate of the defendant, on or before that date. On June 18, 1878, the commissioner of internal revenue assessed the amount of tax, on the face of said prescribed return, at $1,796.25, which amount the plaintiff paid to the collector on July 1, 1878, by a check, which bore upon its face the words, 'Paid, under protest, to prevent distraint and penalty.'

The bill of exceptions recites that the 'plaintiff also proved that, as a matter of fact, the true amount of the tax which should have been assessed against it was the sum of $428.75, as shown by said amended return.' Proof of similar facts, in respect to the tax due from the plaintiff for the six months ending November 30, 1878, was made, and that both the prescribed and amended returns for that tax were delivered to the commissioner of internal revenue on December 9, 1878, and to the collector on or before that date. The plaintiff admitted tnat no other proceedings had been taken than those above detailed. The defendant, to sustain the issue on his part, 'proved,' so the bill of exceptions states, 'that for two years subsequent to the payments of the amounts assessed against the plaintiff, respectively, no appeal had been taken from such payments, or claim made for refund to the commissioner of interal revenue.' He also put in evidence the treasury regulations prescribing the forms and procedure for the refunding of taxes in force from January 1, 1871, to December 31, 1878, as follows:

'Preparations of claims for the refunding of taxes and penalties claimed to have been erroneously or illegally collected.

'[Form 46.]

'Claims for the refunding of taxes and penalties alleged to have been erroneously or illegally collected must be made out upon form 46 in this case. The burden of proof rests upon the claimant. All the facts relied upon in support of the claim should be clearly set forth under oath. The claim should be still further supported by the certificate of the assistant assessor of the proper division, and by the certificate of the assessor and collector. This form and those certificates should be, respectively, in form as follows.'

Then follows the form of an affidavit to be made by the claimant, which, if observed, required him to state the business in which he was engaged, when and by what assessor he was assessed, the amount of the tax, and when he paid it, and to what collector, and that, in the belief of the claimant, the tax was erroneous and improper, and for what reasons, and that by reason of the erroneous assessment and payment he was justly...