Stone v. Memphis Natural Gas Co.

Decision Date24 February 1947
Docket Number36329.
Citation29 So.2d 268,201 Miss. 670
CourtMississippi Supreme Court
PartiesSTONE, Chairman of Tax Commission, v. MEMPHIS NATURAL GAS CO.

J. H. Sumrall, of Jackson, for appellant.

Canada, Russell & Turner, of Memphis, Tenn B. L. Tighe, Jr., of Jackson, and Edward P. Russell, of Memphis, Tenn., for appellee.

GRIFFITH, Justice.

Appellee a Delaware corporation, owns and operates a natural gas pipe line running from the Monroe gas field in Louisiana to Memphis in the State of Tennessee, and beyond. The pipe line enters Mississippi at a point a few miles south of Greenville, and runs thence, in this State, towards the north in a general direction parallel with the Mississippi River and enters Tennessee at a point almost directly south of Memphis. The map of the line, made a part of the record shows that there are approximately 135 miles of it in this State, and that the system includes two compressing stations at points in this State.

There is a stipulation in the record covering the further facts and these are that appellee company is not, and has not been, engaged in any intrastate commerce in Mississippi, but that its business, so far as concerns this State, has been interstate solely and exclusively; that it has only one customer in the State, and to this customer it delivers gas wholesale, under a contract made in another state; that appellee company has not been domesticated or qualified as a foreign corporation with the right to do intrastate business; has no agent for service of process and has not had any such agent, and has maintained no office, in this State; and that it has no employes or representatives in this State other than those necessary to maintain the pipe line and its related facilities.

The State, through its Tax Commission, has demanded of appellee company the payment of the corporation franchise tax imposed under Secs. 9312-9340, Code 1942, for the years 1942, 1943 and 1944, and has entered its order adjudging appellee liable therefore, from which order appellee under Sec. 9328, has appealed for a review by the courts, contending that inasmuch as appellee does no intrastate business whatever in Mississippi, and is not qualified to do any intrastate business therein, no tax of any kind can be levied by the State against it other than the ad valorem taxes which it has always fully paid--that any other tax, and particularly a franchise tax, would be to tax interstate commerce.

The franchise tax here sought to be collected by the State is not a tax upon 'doing business' as that term is ordinarily understood in the purely commercial sense, but is that which is defined in the statute Secs. 9312 and 9314, as follows: 'When the term 'doing business' is used in this Act, it shall mean and include each and every act, power or privilege exercised or enjoyed in this State, as an incident to, or by virtue of the powers and privileges acquired by the nature of such organization, whether the form of existence be corporate, associate, joint stock company or common law trust.'

It is to be...

To continue reading

Request your trial
15 cases
  • Interstate Oil Pipe Line Co v. Stone
    • United States
    • U.S. Supreme Court
    • June 20, 1949
    ...widely from the statute under consideration in the Memphis case with its definition of 'doing business.' See Stone v. Memphis Natural Gas Co., 201 Miss. 670, 29 So.2d 268, 270. Since this statute did not apply to pipe lines reaching across the state line, we conclude that the Supreme Court ......
  • Memphis Natural Gas Co v. Stone
    • United States
    • U.S. Supreme Court
    • June 21, 1948
    ...keeping in repair, and otherwise in manning the facilities of the system throughout the 135 miles of its line in this State.' 201 Miss. 670, 29 So.2d 268, 270. It argued that the state tax did not bear directly upon interstate commerce and that any burden imposed upon that commerce was remo......
  • Mississippi State Tax Commission v. Tennessee Gas Transmission Co.
    • United States
    • Mississippi Supreme Court
    • December 14, 1959
    ...following Southern Natural Gas Corp. v. State of Alabama, 1936, 301 U.S. 148, 57 S.Ct. 696, 81 L.Ed. 970; Stone v. Memphis Natural Gas Co., 1947, 201 Miss. 670, 29 So.2d 268, affirmed in Memphis Natural Gas Co. v. Stone, 1947, 335 U.S. 80, 68 S.Ct. 1475, 92 L.Ed. 1832; Southern Package Corp......
  • Stone v. Dunn Bros., Inc., 39731
    • United States
    • Mississippi Supreme Court
    • June 13, 1955
    ...income which was derived from hauling pipe from the railhead to the right of way--at the end of the journey. In Stone v. Memphis Natural Gas Co., 201 Miss. 670, 29 So.2d 268, 270, the appellee was held to be liable for the state franchise tax, although its business was solely and exclusivel......
  • Request a trial to view additional results

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT