State Bd. of Equalization v. Courtesy Motors, Inc.

Citation362 P.2d 134
Decision Date09 May 1961
Docket NumberNo. 2982,2982
PartiesSTATE BOARD OF EQUALIZATION of the State of Wyoming, Appellant (Plaintiff below), v. COURTESY MOTORS, INC. (Defendant below), and Chopping Motors, Appellee (Defendant below).
CourtUnited States State Supreme Court of Wyoming

Norman B. Gray, Atty., and W. M. Haight, Deputy Atty. Gen., for appellant.

Brown, Healy, Drew, Apostolos & Barton, William H. Brown, Morris R. Massey, Casper, for appellee.

Before BLUME, C. J., and PARKER, HARNSBERGER, and McINTYRE, JJ.

Mr. Justice PARKER delivered the opinion of the court.

The State Board of Equalization brought suit against Courtesy Motors, Inc., and Chopping Motors for sales tax alleged to be owing. Courtesy Motors made no appearance and we shall hereafter refer to Chopping Motors as defendant.

The facts developed by stipulation and agreement without the presentation of evidence were: Courtesy Motors, Inc., which held a selective sales license, quit business on March 20, 1957. On April 23, a notice of assessment for $484.48 was sent that corporation by the board. A purchase money, chattel mortgage for some $38,000 had been given by Courtesy Motors to defendant July 18, 1955, and on the same day was filed in the office of the county clerk. This mortgage was foreclosed by defendant on June 5, 1957, and the property covered was purchased by the mortgagee for the sum of $20,000, leaving a deficiency of some $10,000; however, no money changed hands. On these facts, the court entered judgment for defendant.

The statute upon which plaintiff predicates its claim is § 39-300, W.S.1957:

'The tax imposed by this act * * * shall be a lien, with preference over all creditors, excepting taxes and debts due the United States, upon the property of any wholesaler or retailer or proprietor who shall sell out his business or stock of goods or shall quit business * * * and his successor in business shall be required to withhold sufficient of the purchase money to cover the amount of said taxes * * * . If the purchaser of a business or stock of goods shall fail to withhold the purchase money as above provided, and the taxes shall be due and unpaid after the thirty-day period allowed, he, as well as the vendor, shall be personally liable for the payment of the taxes collected, interest and penalties accrued and unpaid by the former owner.'

Plaintiff contends that defendant as a purchaser of the property is liable for the payment of the unpaid taxes, such liability growing out of the provisions of the mentioned statute and basically arising by reason of the precedence of the tax lien over defendant's chattel mortgage executed at a time after the Selective Sales Tax Act had been passed, although prior to the date when the tax was due.

Defendant, while conceding that the legislature has the constitutional power 'to make a sales tax lien * * * preferred to all other liens, whether antecedent or subsequent,' denies that such a construction of the statute is warranted. Although other argument is presented, the crux of plaintiff's contention is the definition of the words 'all creditors,' and it is urged that these show the legislature to have intended that a sales tax lien take precedence over every obligation both secured and unsecured. In arriving at this conclusion, plaintiff says that no designation is more inclusive than is 'all' and that the word 'creditors' includes those of all types. While this argument, developed as it is by reference to various definitions, is somewhat persuasive, even plaintiff is apparently aware of the danger in relying upon generic statements and presents cases from other states to show that the lien for sales tax is considered to be superior to that of other liens. Unfortunately, these cases are of limited assistance since, as plaintiff admits, no other statute is similar to that in Wyoming and substantially all of those considered provided that the sales tax lien shall have priority over all other liens. An analysis of these cases would therefore avail little. 1

Plaintiff discusses at some length a Wyoming district court ruling of some years past wherein it was held that the lien for sales tax took precedence over a purchase money, chattel mortgage. Several facts which evidently had a bearing in that case were dissimilar to the one at bar, but in any event the judgments of district courts are not precedents 2 and are valuable only to the extent that any sound view is worthy of consideration.

It is agreed by the parties that taxes can become a lien only by virtue of statute, and accordingly, the interpretation of § 39-300, W.S.1957, 3 is the determining factor in the present cause. In an analysis of the matter we turn first to the legislative history. The sales tax law was first passed in 1935 as c. 74, and § 10 thereof provided, inter alia, that 'The tax imposed by this Act shall be a lien upon the property of any * * * retailer * * * who shall sell out his business * * *.' The law was amended 4 by c. 102, S.L. of Wyoming 1937, and to this portion of the section was added 'with preference over all creditors, excepting taxes and debts due the United States.' We have been unable to ascertain the intent of the legislature in making this addition, and the words must therefore speak for themselves, but they are scarcely self-explanatory.

A companion section, originally § 11, c. 74, S.L. of Wyoming, 1935, and now § 39-299, W.S.1957, may throw some light on the subject. As first passed it read, 'A tax due and unpaid under this Act shall constitute a debt due the state from the vendor and may be collected * *...

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4 cases
  • Ogburn's Estate, In re
    • United States
    • Wyoming Supreme Court
    • October 15, 1965
    ...also be to ignore fundamental tenets of construction. In re Lendecke's Estate, 79 Wyo. 27, 329 P.2d 819; State Board of Equalization v. Courtesy Motors, Inc., Wyo., 362 P.2d 134, 136. As we view it, the proper answer lies somewhere between the divergent contentions of the Reminding that we ......
  • U.S. v. Wyoming Nat. Bank of Casper
    • United States
    • U.S. Court of Appeals — Tenth Circuit
    • November 4, 1974
    ...decision does not have precedential value and is persuasive only to the extent of its underlying logic. State Board of Equalization v. Courtesy Motors, Inc., Wyo., 362 P.2d 134, 135. A federal court need not follow state decisions which are not precedents in the state itself. King v. Order ......
  • Fargo Public Library v. City of Fargo Urban Renewal Agency
    • United States
    • North Dakota Supreme Court
    • March 30, 1971
    ...21 C.J.S. Courts § 201, p. 352. The decisions of lower courts are not binding upon appellate courts. State Board of Equalization v. Courtesy Motors, Inc., 362 P.2d 134, 135 (Wyo.1961); In re Seaman's Estate, 166 Ohio St. 51, 139 N.E.2d 17 (1956); City of Sedalia v. Donohue, 190 Mo. 407, 89 ......
  • Wyoming Dept. of Revenue and Taxation-Excise Tax Div. v. First Wyoming Bank, N.A.-Kemmerer, TAXATION-EXCISE
    • United States
    • Wyoming Supreme Court
    • April 24, 1986
    ...of deeds (county clerk), for record. * * * " Sales tax liens are solely objects of statutory creation. State Board of Equalization v. Courtesy Motors, Wyo., 362 P.2d 134 (1961). As noted earlier, § 39-6-410 is ambiguous when applied to the facts here. Therefore, resort must be made to princ......

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