Wells Fargo & Co. v. Harrington
| Decision Date | 26 November 1917 |
| Docket Number | 3819. |
| Citation | 169 P. 463,54 Mont. 235 |
| Parties | WELLS FARGO & CO. v. HARRINGTON, County Treasurer, et al. |
| Court | Montana Supreme Court |
Appeal from district Court, Silver Bow County; J. B. McClernan Judge.
Injunction by Wells Fargo & Co. against John J. Harrington, County Treasurer of Silver Bow County, and another. From the decree rendered, defendants appeal. Affirmed.
S. C Ford, of Helena, and Frank Woody, of Butte, for appellants.
Kremer Sanders & Kremer, of Butte, for respondent.
Wells Fargo & Co., a corporation organized under the laws of Colorado and authorized to do and doing business in this state, having paid to the secretary of state the fees required as a condition precedent to doing business here, and having paid its annual license taxes and taxes upon its tangible property, brought this action to restrain the collection of a further tax upon a valuation of $30,000 fixed by the assessor of Silver Bow county upon the company's franchise on all intrastate business done by it in this state. The district court overruled a demurrer to the complaint, and the county and its treasurer, declining to plead further, suffered judgment to be entered against them, and appealed.
The indorsement on the assessment roll must be held to indicate an intention on the part of the assessor to describe the franchise of this company and to fix the valuation thereof upon the basis of the amount of intrastate business transacted by it, and this presents for our determination the question: Does the plaintiff corporation exercise or enjoy a franchise in this state, as the term is used in the Constitution and statutes? The subject, taxation, is considered in article 12 of our state Constitution. All property is subject to taxation, except such public and quasi public property as is specially exempted and such other property as may be exempt by law. Section 1. The power to tax corporations or corporate property shall never be relinquished, and every corporation in this state or doing business herein shall be subject to taxation on all real or personal property owned or used by it, unless it belongs to a class of property which is exempt. Section 7. All property shall be assessed in the manner prescribed by statute or by the Constitution. Section 16. Section 17, defines property to include moneys, credits, bonds, stocks, franchises, etc.
The question, Is a franchise granted by this state subject to taxation? is not open to discussion. The Constitution answers it in the affirmative, and no amount of judicial learning exhibited in decided cases can add to or subtract from that determination. But what is meant by a "franchise," as that term is employed in our Constitution? That it is not a word to which is attached a limited, precise, well-understood, and generally accepted meaning, is evidenced by the fact that in Words and Phrases (first edition and second edition) 22 pages are given over to definitions of the term. In its broad significance the word is used frequently to denote a right or privilege conferred by law, and in this sense we speak of the elective franchise as a privilege enjoyed by every one of our citizens who possesses the qualifications prescribed by law. The right to exist as a corporation in this state is a franchise or privilege conferred upon any individuals who meet the requirements of the statutes. So, likewise, the authority to conduct business in this state as a corporation is a franchise, and in this sense every corporation enjoys a franchise, even though it may be formed for religious, benevolent, charitable, educational, literary, scientific, or social purposes, or for the promotion of painting, music, or other fine arts. But the authority to engage in any of these undertakings is not peculiar to corporations. Every individual may pursue the same lines of endeavor to the same extent without permission from the state, and enjoy all the rights, privileges, and benefits accorded to the corporation. Other illustrations might be drawn of the use of the term in this comprehensive sense.
The word also has a more restricted meaning, to denote a special privilege conferred upon certain individuals, associations, and corporations, not enjoyed by the citizens generally. For example: Under its franchise a street railway may lay its tracks upon and operate its cars over public roads, streets, and alleys, and occupy such thoroughfares to the exclusion of the public, to the extent necessary to the conduct of its business. A telegraph or telephone company under its franchise may use such public places for its pole lines and wires; and a gas or water company, by virtue of the like authority, may tear up the streets and other public roads, and to that extent impede public travel, for the purpose of laying, repairing, or renewing its mains. These examples might be multiplied almost indefinitely, for such franchises are about as varied as the purposes for which corporations may be organized; but the foregoing suffice to illustrate a character of public privilege or franchise not conferred upon or enjoyed by the public generally. If the bare privilege of doing business as a corporation is a franchise, within the meaning of that term as employed in the Constitution, then every corporation in this state is taxable upon its franchise, whether it be engaged in religious or charitable work, or in buying and selling dry goods, groceries, and other wares, in the printing or publishing business, or in any other one of the numerous occupations mentioned in section 3808, Revised Codes, unless its franchise as such is devoted exclusively to some purpose mentioned in section 2499, Revised Codes.
But this court may not arbitrarily formulate a definition of the word "franchise" and determine this appeal accordingly. The duty is laid upon us to ascertain, if possible, the meaning which the framers of the Constitution intended should be attached to the term. In an effort to carry into effect the mandates contained in article 12 of the Constitution, the legislative assembly in 1891 availed itself of the first opportunity presented after the Constitution was adopted to enact a general revenue measure to meet the changed conditions incident to the admission of the state. The act was very comprehensive in its terms, contained 206 sections, and treated of every phase of the assessment of property and the imposition and collection of taxes. Laws 1891, pp. 73-129. Section 11 provides for the assessment of the property-including franchises-of railroads operated in more than one county, and follows closely the language of the Constitution. Section 26 provides that the personal property of express companies must be listed and assessed in the county, town, or district where such property is usually kept. Section 27 provides for the assessment of the...
To continue reading
Request your trial