New York Life Ins. Co. v. Board of Com'rs of Oklahoma County
| Decision Date | 08 March 1932 |
| Docket Number | 19776. |
| Citation | 9 P.2d 936,155 Okla. 247,1932 OK 193 |
| Parties | NEW YORK LIFE INS. CO. v. BOARD OF COUNTY COM'RS OF OKLAHOMA COUNTY. |
| Court | Oklahoma Supreme Court |
Syllabus by the Court.
1. Where a foreign life insurance company is licensed to do business in this state and has paid its annual entrance fee annual tax of 2 per cent. on all its premiums collected in the state, after all cancellations and dividends to policyholders were deducted, and its annual license fee or tax on each local agent, and contends that such fees or taxes are a substitute for and in lieu of all other character of taxes, and that it should not be required to pay an ad valorem tax on its office furniture, the situs of which is in one of the counties of this state, and which is used by such company in its business of soliciting, operating, and writing life insurance, held, that the payment of such fees or taxes are not a substitute for or in lieu of an ad valorem tax upon the personal property of said corporation.
Appeal from District Court, Oklahoma County; Sam Hooker, Judge.
Proceedings by the New York Life Insurance Company before the Board of County Commissioners of Oklahoma County, for the remission and cancellation of a certain ad valorem tax against its office furniture. From a judgment of the District Court affirming a decision of the Board of County Commissioners denying plaintiff the relief prayed for in its petition plaintiff appeals.
Affirmed.
Wilson & Wilson, of Oklahoma City, for plaintiff in error.
Geo. M Callihan, Co. Atty., and I. L. Harris, Asst. Co. Atty., both of Oklahoma City, for defendant in error.
This is an appeal from the district court of Oklahoma county, involving the question of whether or not a tax may be assessed on an ad valorem basis against the office furniture of the New York Life Insurance Company, plaintiff in error, a foreign insurance company, licensed to do business in this state, when such furniture is used solely in its business of soliciting, operating, and writing life insurance.
The parties will be referred to as they appeared in the trial court.
It appears from the record that there was assessed on the tax rolls against said plaintiff, a valuation of $500 for the year 1926, on account of its ownership of certain office furniture, and that an ad valorem tax had been levied thereon for said year at the current rate amounting to the sum of $23.08; that plaintiff presented its petition to the board of county commissioners of Oklahoma county for the remission and cancellation of said tax, and contended that it had paid its annual tax of 2 per cent. on all premiums collected in the state of Oklahoma for the year in question; that, by reason of the provisions of section 6687, C. O. S. 1921, this office furniture, which was used solely for the purpose of transacting its business, was exempt from the payment of said ad valorem tax, and that the assessor of said Oklahoma county was without authority under the provisions of said statute to spread the valuation of $500 upon the tax rolls for ad valorem assessment for said year.
The record further shows that plaintiff had paid to the insurance department of this state for the year in question a license fee of $3 each for 146 agents, a total of $438; that during the same year it had filed its report with the state insurance commissioner, showing that it had collected a total of $2,615,504.41, in premiums from Oklahoma policyholdders, and had returned $565,005.55 to policyholders in the state of Oklahoma, in payment of dividends; that it had paid $25,521.99 as premiums on that portion of its Oklahoma business that had been reinsured, leaving a balance as the net premiums of $2,174,986.87, against which had been levied a 2 per cent. gross premium tax amounting to $42,499.54, which had been paid to the state insurance commission. In addition thereto, the company had paid its annual entrance fee to the insurance department in the sum of $200.
The board of county commissioners denied plaintiff the relief prayed for in its petition, and an appeal was perfected therefrom to the district court of Oklahoma county. The district court affirmed the action of the board of county commissioners, and plaintiff has duly perfected its appeal therefrom to this court.
It is the theory of the plaintiff that its office furniture, located in the county of Oklahoma, assessed in the instant case, and used solely in the transaction of its insurance business within this state, is not taxable; that when a foreign insurance company pays the entrance fee, the annual 2 per cent. on all premiums collected in the state, and the annual license fee or tax on each local agent, all as provided for by article 19 of the Constitution of the state of Oklahoma, and section 6687, C. O. S. 1921, the payment of such fees or taxes is a substitute for ad valorem taxes and is in lieu of all other character of taxes, and that if said plaintiff is required to pay said ad valorem tax herein sought to be imposed upon it, the same would subject plaintiff to double taxation. The defendant contends that said section 6687 merely imposes a license fee or a tax upon the business of plaintiff, and has nothing to do with the ad valorem taxes upon its property; that the property in question, possessed by plaintiff, is not exempt under the statutes, nor the Constitution of the state, and that said license fees or taxes are not a substitute for or in lieu of an ad valorem tax upon the personal property of said corporation.
Sections 1 and 2 of article 19 of the Constitution of the state of Oklahoma contain the original basis for the collection of fees and the license required of foreign insurance companies. Said section 1 provides for the regulation of foreign insurance companies and the granting of a license to such company upon its compliance with the laws of the state, including the deposit of collateral or indemnity for the protection of its patrons within the state, and requiring such insurance companies "to pay all such taxes and fees as may at any time be imposed by law or act of the Legislature, on foreign insurance companies," and further providing that "refusal to pay such taxes or fees shall work a forfeiture of such license." Section 2 requires each foreign insurance company to pay to the insurance commissioner an entrance fee of $200 per annum, for the use of the state, and provides that, until otherwise provided by law, such insurance company shall pay an annual tax of 2 per cent. on all premiums collected in the state after all cancellations are deducted, and a tax of $3 on each local agent.
The Legislature in 1909, in accordance with the above provisions, "until otherwise provided by law," enacted under section 6687, C. O. S. 1921, said constitutional provisions, of an annual tax of 2 per cent. on all premiums collected within the state after all cancellations and dividends to policyholders are deducted, and an annual tax of $3 on each local agent, and also incorporated in said section the following language: "And such other fees as may be paid to said insurance commissioner, which taxes shall be in lieu of all other taxes or fees, and the taxes and fees of any subdivision or municipality of the State."
Applicable sections of the Constitution of the state and statutes are as follows:
Article 10, § 5 of the Constitution of the state of Oklahoma provides:
Article 10, § 6: "* * * That all property not herein specified now exempt from taxation under the laws of the Territory of Oklahoma, shall be exempt from taxation until otherwise provided by law. * * *"
This does not include furniture of foreign corporations.
Article 10, § 8: "All property which may be taxed ad valorem shall be assessed for taxation at its fair cash value. * * *"
Article 10, § 12: "The Legislature shall have power to provide for the levy and collection of license, franchise, gross revenue, excise, income, * * * production or other specific taxes."
Article 10, § 22: "Nothing in this Constitution shall be held, or construed, to prevent the classification of property for purposes of taxation; and the valuation of different classes by different means or methods."
Article 10, § 13: "The State may select its subjects of taxation, and levy and collect its revenues independent of the counties, cities, or other municipal subdivisions."
Section 9574, C. O. S. 1921: "All property in this state, whether real or personal, including the property of corporations * * * except such as is exempt, shall be subject to taxation. * * *"
Section 9960, C. O. S. 1921: "All taxable property shall be listed and assessed each year * * * on the first day of January of each year. * * *"
Section 9666, C. O. S. 1921: "The county assessor shall on the 15th day of January of each year proceed to take a list of all taxable property in the county, and assess the value thereof as of January 1st. * * *"
Section 9669, C. O. S. 1921: "The county assessor shall, on the first Monday in June, deliver all lists of property to the county board of equalization for the purpose of having them adjusted and equalized."
Section 9690, C. O. S. 1921: "There is hereby levied annually an ad valorem tax upon all property in this State which may be subject to taxation upon such basis * * * to pay the expenses of the state government for each fiscal year. * * *"
Section 9575, C. O. S. 1921, sets forth the property which shall be exempt from taxation, and the same does not include any property of a foreign insurance corporation.
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