Southland S. S. Co. Of Del. v. Dixon

• Court: Georgia Supreme Court
• Writing for the Court: ATKINSON
• Citation: Southland S. S. Co. Of Del. v. Dixon, 106 S.E. 111, 151 Ga. 216 (Ga. 1921)
• Decision Date: 03 March 1921
• Docket Number: (No. 1981.)
• Parties: SOUTHLAND S. S. CO. OF DELAWARE. v. DIXON, Sheriff.

151 Ga. 216

106 S.E. 111

SOUTHLAND S. S. CO. OF DELAWARE.

v.DIXON, Sheriff.

(No. 1981.)

Supreme Court of Georgia.

March 3, 1921.

(Syllabus by the Court.)

Error from Superior Court, Chatham County; P. W. Meldrim, Judge.

Suit by the Southland Steamship Company of Delaware against M. W. Dixon, Sheriff. Judgment refusing an interlocutory injunction, and plaintiff brings error. Affirmed.

Adams & Adams, of Savannah, for plaintiff in error.

Geo. W. Owens, of Savannah, for defendant in error.

ATKINSON, J. The exception is to a judgment refusing an interlocutory injunction against the sheriff of Chatham county, to prevent the levy and sale of plaintiff's property under a tax execution issued by the comptroller general of the state, for state and county taxes on plaintiff's property located in this state, payable in the year 1919. The plaintiff, on April 19, 1919, made a return to the receiver of tax returns of the county of Chatham for the year in question, showing its property and values as follows:

------------------------------------------------
                |Ossabaw Island, 22, 000 acres of land|$150 000|
                |-------------------------------------|--------|
                |Shipbuilding plant on leased land    |50, 000 |
                |-------------------------------------|--------|
                |Moneys in bank                       |125, 000|
                |-------------------------------------|--------|
                |Office furniture                     |500     |
                ------------------------------------------------
                

The return was rejected by the receiver of tax returns, at the instance of the comptroller general, who contended that the law required it to be made to him. Upon refusal of the plaintiff to make returns to the comptroller general, he proceeded to assess the property. The assessment was as follows:

Real estate located in Chatham county, known as

------------------------------------------
                |Ossabaw Island                 |$220,000|
                |-------------------------------|--------|
                |Shipbuilding plant             |50, 000 |
                |-------------------------------|--------|
                |Money, notes, and accounts     |125, 000|
                |-------------------------------|--------|
                |Office furniture, fixtures, etc|500     |
                ------------------------------------------
                

The plaintiff having declined to pay the tax on such assessment, the comptroller general issued an execution on the basis of his assessment. The plaintiff contended that the property was not returnable to the comptroller general, and that, he being without jurisdiction, the execution issued by him was void and should be enjoined from enforcement against its property. The, case is therefore reduced to the single question of power of the comptroller general over tangible property of plaintiff located in this state, for the purpose of levying and collecting taxes. Such power is asserted by the comptroller general on the ground that the plaintiff is a navigation company, and as such is required to make returns of its tangible property located in this state to him, in virtue of section 8 of the general tax act of 1918 (Acts 1918, pp. 43-83), which, in so far as is material to the question at issue, provides:

"That all railroad companies * * * equipment and navigation companies through their president, general manager, or agents havingcontrol of the companies' affairs in this state, shall be required to make returns of all property of said company located in this state to the comptroller general, and the law now of force providing for the taxation of railroads in this state shall be applicable to the assessment of taxes from said business as above stated."

The plaintiff is an incorporated company. Its charter was granted December 23, 1918, in the state of Delaware, under the "general corporation law" of that state, applicable for the grant of charters for corporations to engage in any and all kinds of business. Its corporate name was declared to be "Southland Steamship Company of Delaware."Its principal office was required to be in the state of Delaware, city of Wilmington, and it was "to have one or more offices to carry on all or any of its operations and business." The amount of its capital stock with which the corporation would commence business was $1,000, which was distributed among five original subscribers to stock in the proportion of two shares to each subscriber, one of whom was a resident of the state of Maine and the others were residents of the state of Georgia. The total authorized capital stock was $5,000, 000, divided into 50, 000 shares of the par value of $100 each. Some of the objects of the corporation, as declared in the charter, were:

"To engage in commerce and navigation upon the oceans, seas, sounds, lakes, rivers, canals, bays, harbors, and other waterways between ports of the United States, its territories and/or possessions, Canada, Central America, Mexico, South America, British Isles, Europe, Asia, Africa, Japan, Australia, West Indies, and/or other islands belonging to foreign powers; and, as incidental thereto, for the purpose of contracting for, purchasing, building for its own use and/or owning and/or equipping, furnishing, and fitting, and/or navigating, and/or chartering to or from others, steam, mail, and/or other boats, ships, vessels, and/or other property, to be used in any lawful business, trade, commerce, or navigation upon the oceans, seas, sounds, lakes, rivers, canals, bays, harbors, and other waterways aforesaid, and for the carriage, transportation, and storing of freight, mails, property, and passengers thereon."

The charter also empowered the corporation to engage in general commercial business, and—

"to carry on all or of the business of ship-brokers, managers of shipping property, freight contractors, barge owners, lightermen, forwarding agents, warehousemen, and/or wharfingers, * * * to manufacture, purchase, or otherwise acquire, own, mortgage, pledge, sell, assign, and transfer or otherwise dispose of, to invest, trade, deal in and deal with goods, wares, and merchandise, and real and personal property of every class and description. * * * In general to carry on any other business in connection with the foregoing, whether manufacturing or otherwise, and to have and exercise all the powers conferred by the laws of Delaware upon corporations formed under the act hereinafter referred to, and to do any and all of the things hereinbefore set forth to the same extent as natural persons might or could do."

A few days after the grant of the charter the corporation was duly organized and its authorized capital stock fully issued. It established branch offices in the cities of New York and...