Petersen v. State of Iowa State Treasurer

• Decision Date: 10 December 1917
• Docket Number: No. 74,74
• Citation: 38 S.Ct. 109,245 U.S. 170,62 L.Ed. 225
• Parties: PETERSEN et al. v. STATE OF IOWA ex rel. STATE TREASURER et al
• Court: U.S. Supreme Court

245 U.S. 170

38 S.Ct. 109

62 L.Ed. 225

PETERSEN et al.

v STATE OF IOWA ex rel. STATE TREASURER et al.

No. 74.

Argued Nov. 21, 1917.

Decided Dec. 10, 1917.

Mr. Hugh O'Neill, of Chicago, Ill., for plaintiffs in error.

Mr. Freeman C. Davidson, of Emmetsburg, Iowa, for defendants in error.

Mr. Chief Justice WHITE delivered the opinion of the Court.

Anna M. Anderson, a native of Denmark, but a naturalized citizen of the United States, died in the state of Iowa where she resided and owned property. By her will she gave money legacies to her nephews and nieces who were subjects of the Kingdom of Denmark and resided therein. By the death duties imposed by the law of the state of Iowa a higher rate was imposed on legacies made to nonresident aliens than was payable on those given under similar conditions to residents of Iowa whether made by a citizen or by resident or nonresident aliens, Section 1467, 1907 Supplement to the Code of Iowa. The representative of the estate of Anderson in filing his accounts having credited himself with the sum due to the state on the legacies, which he had paid, the foreign legatees opposed the allowance of such credit on the ground that the charge of a greater sum to them because they were aliens and nonresidents than would have been charged against them had they been residents was illegal because in conflict with a treaty between the United States and Denmark. The case is here to review the action of the court below rejecting such contention and upholding the validity of the charge. In re Anderson's Estate, 166 Iowa, 617, 147 N. W. 1098, 52 L. R. A. (N. S.) 686.

The court, conceding that if the treaty were applicable it would be controlling, based its conclusion solely on the ground that the treaty when rightly considered did not apply, and in the argument at bar the error of this conclusion is the sole ground relied upon.

The treaty is that of April 26, 1826 (8 Stat. 340) renewed in 1857 (11 Stat. 719), and the particular clauses invoked are article 1, the favored nation clause, and article 7, dealing more directly with the subject under consideration. We postpone momentarily the first to come at once to the latter. The article is as follows:

'The United States and his Danish Majesty mutually agree, that no higher or other duties, charges or taxes of any kind, shall be levied in the territories or dominions of either party, upon any personal property, money, or effects, of their respective citizens or subjects, on the removal of the same from their territories or dominions reciprocally, either upon the inheritance of such property, money, or effects, or otherwise, than are or shall be payable in each state, upon the same, when removed by a citizen or subject of such state respectively.'

It is obvious that the article places restrictions upon the authority of the respective countries to impose taxes, duties or charges under the circumstances and conditions for which it provides. Conceding that it requires construction to determine whether the prohibitions embrace taxes generically considered, or death duties, or excises, on the right to transfer and remove property, singly or collectively, we are of the opinion that the duty of interpretation does not arise since in no event would any of the prohibitions be applicable to the case before us. We are constrained to this conclusion because the case here presented concerns only the power of the state of Iowa to deal with a citizen of that state and her property there situated, while the prohibitions of the treaty, giving to them their widest significance, apply only to a citizen of Denmark and his right to dispose of his property...