State v. First Nat. Bank

• Decision Date: 23 December 1903
• Citation: 180 Mo. 717,79 S.W. 943
• Parties: STATE ex rel. WILSON, Revenue Collector, v. FIRST NAT. BANK OF CARTERVILLE.
• Court: Missouri Supreme Court

79 S.W. 943

180 Mo. 717

STATE ex rel. WILSON, Revenue Collector, v. FIRST NAT. BANK OF CARTERVILLE.

Supreme Court of Missouri.

December 23, 1903.

BANKS — STOCK — TAXATION.

1. Under Rev. St. 1899, § 9153, providing that persons owning shares of stock in banks shall not be required to list them, but that the president of the bank shall deliver to the assessor a list of all shares of stock held therein and the face value thereof, the stock is not assessable to the bank.

Brace, J., dissenting.

In Banc. Appeal from Circuit Court, Jasper County; J. D. Perkins, Judge.

Action by the state, on relation of Robert A. Wilson, as collector of revenue of Jasper county, against the First National Bank of Carterville. From a judgment for plaintiff, defendant appeals. Reversed.

Howard Gray, for appellant. E. L. Shepherd, E. O. Brown, and Geo. W. Crowder, for respondent.

ROBINSON, J.

Plaintiff, as collector of the revenue of Jasper county, began this suit against defendant, the First National Bank of Carterville, Mo., a banking institution organized under the laws of the United States, to collect certain personal taxes, amounting in the aggregate to $2,563, claimed to be due from the bank to the county and state for the years 1897, 1898, 1899, 1900, and 1901, on account of assessments for those years against the shares of stock issued by defendant bank. The following is a copy of the tax bill upon which the suit is predicated:

                --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                           PERSONAL TAX BILL
                State of Missouri, County of Jasper — ss
                  I, Robt. A. Wilson, collector of the revenue within and for the county of Jasper, in the state of Missouri
                do hereby certify that the following amounts of personal taxes remain delinquent in favor of the
                several funds for the several years on personal property in said county and state, set opposite thereto, to
                wit
                ========================================================================================================
                               |             |           | Yrs. for |        |       |        | Spl.  | Min.  |
                               |             |           |   Which  | School | State | County | Brdg. | Twp.  | Total
                  Name         |  Township   | Valuation |   Taxes  |   Tax  |  Tax  |  Rev.  | Tax   | R. R. |  Tax
                               |             |           |  are Due |        |       |        |       |  Tax  |
                --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                First National | Carterville |   25200   |   1901   | 327.60 | 63.00 | 126.00 | 37.80 | 25.20 | 579.60
                Bank           |             |   23606   |   1900   | 306.68 | 59.02 | 118.03 |       | 23.61 | 507.54
                of Carterville |             |   23463   |   1899   | 287.56 | 58.66 | 117.32 |       | 23.46 | 481.00
                               |             |   21875   |   1898   | 196.84 | 54.88 | 109.35 |       | 21.87 | 382.74
                               |             |   18179   |   1897   | 245.41 | 45.45 |  90.89 |       | 18.18 | 399.93
                --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                 In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand at the city of Carthage, in said county and state, this
                third day of March, 1902.                                                   Robert Wilson
                                   Collector of the Revenue within and for the County of Jasper and State of Missouri.
                --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                

At the trial, judgment was rendered for all the taxes sued for, included in the tax bill above set out (except that assessed for the year 1897), to reverse which defendant has brought the case to this court on appeal.

Appellant's first contention is that nothing was shown, either by the tax bill, the taxbooks, or the assessment lists offered in evidence, to indicate that any assessment had ever been made or attempted against the shares of stock of the defendant bank, as alleged in plaintiff's petition, but that, on the contrary, the taxbooks show the assessments were against the capital stock of the bank; and, further, that if the assessments, as made, be held and treated as assessments against the shares of stock of the corporation bank, still no warrant is found in the statute to justify such assessments of said shares of stock in solido to the bank, as plaintiff claims was done in this case; and, as its final contention, appellant says that if the court should be of the opinion that since the act of 1895, the statute did authorize the assessment of the shares of stock of national banks to be made direct against the banks in solido, and not against the individual shareholder, that then the statute is in violation of the restriction of section 5219 of the federal statutes designating how shares of stock of national banks may be assessed by state authority wherever such bank engages in business, and for that reason the taxes in this case cannot be sustained. Respondent, upon the other hand, while recognizing that the rule in this state prior to 1895 was, as is contended for by appellant, that all taxes against the shares of stock of national banks and all corporate banking institutions doing business in this state were assessable against the individual owners of the stock, and not against the bank itself, contends that since the amendment of 1895, now section 9153, Rev. St. 1899, the rule is otherwise, and that the shares of stock of corporate banking institutions doing business in this state are properly assessed in solido to the bank direct, as was done by the assessor in this case; and, further, that such assessment and levy of taxes do not violate the provisions of the federal statutes authorizing the taxation of shares of stock of national banks by state authority.

Respondent's chief reliance, as we understand his effort to sustain the assessment of the shares of stock of defendant bank in solido direct to the bank, as in the present instance, is made to depend upon the fact that by the amendment of 1895, supra, there has been left out or omitted, in the body of the act, the following words, "and the names of the persons who hold the same," found in the law prior to its amendment, prescribing the duties of the president or other chief officer in preparing their statements for the assessors; and that all the assessments involved in this case have been made since the act of 1895 went into effect.

The act of 1891, amended by the act of 1895, provides as follows: "The property of manufacturing companies and other corporations named in article eight, chapter forty-two, and of all other corporations, the taxation of which is not otherwise provided for by law, shall be assessed and taxed as the property of individuals. Persons owning shares of stock in banks, or any joint stock institution or association doing a banking business, or any insurance company, whether of fire, marine, life, health, accident or other insurance, incorporated under or by any law of the United States or of this state, shall not be required to deliver to the assessor a list thereof; but the president or other chief officer of such corporation, institution or association shall, under oath, deliver to the assessor a list of all shares of stock held therein and the names of the persons who hold the same, with the face value thereof, and shall also deliver to the assessor a complete statement of all reserve funds, undivided profits, premiums or earnings, and all other values belonging to such corporations, companies, institutions or associations. And such statement of shares of stock, together with the statement of reserve funds, undivided profits, premiums or earnings and other values so delivered to or furnished the assessor, shall, for the purpose of taxation, be treated as that amount of money, less the taxable value of the real estate and fixtures, subject to the right of the parties in interest, to show the impairment of such shares of stock before the board of equalization. Private bankers, brokers, money brokers and exchange dealers shall make like returns and be assessed and taxed thereon in like manner as hereinabove provided. Insurance companies or any corporations or associations doing business on the mutual plan without capital stock, shall make like returns of the net value of all assets or values belonging thereto, which net value shall be assessed and taxed in the manner hereinbefore provided: provided, however, that the license hereafter required to be paid by any such bankers, brokers and dealers, in addition to such taxes shall not exceed one hundred dollars per annum." Approved April 1, 1891. Acts 1891, p. 195.

The amendment of 1895 reads: "The property of manufacturing companies and other corporations named in article 8,...