Taber v. Indian Territory Illuminating Oil Co., 25794.

• Court: Supreme Court of Oklahoma
• Citation: 69 P.2d 359,180 Okla. 323,1937 OK 398
• Docket Number: 25794.
• Parties: TABER, County Treasurer, v. INDIAN TERRITORY ILLUMINATING OIL CO.
• Decision Date: 15 June 1937

69 P.2d 359

180 Okla. 323, 1937 OK 398

TABER, County Treasurer,
v.
INDIAN TERRITORY ILLUMINATING OIL CO.

No. 25794.

Supreme Court of Oklahoma

June 15, 1937

Syllabus by the Court.

1. The imposition by a state of a nondiscriminatory ad valorem tax upon personal property used in operations under an oil and gas lease covering restricted Indian land is not precluded by the fact that the lease is a federal instrumentality.

2. The rules of law announced in Taber v. Indian Territory Illuminating Oil Co., 177 Okl. 67, 57 P.2d 1167, are expressly superseded and withdrawn.

Appeal from District Court, Payne County; Freeman E. Miller, Judge.

Action by the Indian Territory Illuminating Oil Company against George W. Taber, County Treasurer. Judgment for plaintiff, and defendant appeals.

Reversed and remanded, with directions.

Superseding opinion in 177 Okl. 67, 57 P.2d 1167, and conforming to judgment of the Supreme Court of the United States in 300 U.S. 1, 57 S.Ct. 334, 81 L.Ed. ---.

Guy L. Horton, Co. Atty., of Stillwater, for plaintiff in error.

W. P. McGinnis and Fred M. Carter, both of Bartlesville, Archibald Bonds, of Oklahoma City, and Donald Prentice, of Bartlesville, for defendant in error.

WELCH, Justice.

This is an appeal by the county treasurer of Payne county from a judgment in favor of the plaintiff, Indian Territory Illuminating Oil Company, for refund of taxes paid under protest.

The controlling question is whether the property assessed, and upon which the tax was levied, is taxable by the state of Oklahoma, or its political subdivision. The property in question consisted of certain items of personal property used in the operation of an oil and gas lease on restricted Indian land.

The plaintiff contends that the property was exempt from taxation because to permit the state to impose a tax on the property would burden a federal governmental instrumentality, and that because the oil and gas lease was a federal instrumentality the property here involved and used on such lease was exempt from state ad valorem taxation.

This court by a majority opinion adopted that view in the first opinion in this case, 177 Okl. 67, 57 P.2d 1167.

Upon appeal, the Supreme Court of the United States reversed the judgment of this court, and remanded the cause, see Taber v. Indian Territory Illuminating Oil Company, 300 U.S. 1, 57 S.Ct. 334, 81 L.Ed. ---.

It is the duty of this court to follow the Supreme Court of the...