THOMPSON
District Judge.
The
complainant is a foreign fire insurance company doing
business in Ohio. As a condition upon which it is permitted
to business in Ohio, and in compliance with the provisions of
section 3660 or the Revised Statutes of Ohio, it deposited
and has now, and during the years 1895, 1896, 1987, 1898, and
1899 had, on deposit with the superintendent of insurance of
the state of Ohio $100,000 in bonds, of which $50,000 are in
municipal bonds of the city of Toledo, Ohio, and $50,000 in
municipal bonds of the city of Columbus, Ohio. The defendant
William H. Halliday is auditor of Franklin county, Ohio, and
the defendant Nelson A. Sims is the treasurer of that county.
Halliday, as such auditor, claiming to act in pursuance of
the laws of Ohio, and upon the ground that the
above-mentioned bonds are taxable property within the state
has assessed them for taxation in Franklin county, Ohio, for
the years 1895, 1896, 1897, 1898, 1899, and 1900, and has
levied taxes thereon for said years, aggregating the sum of
$16,350, which has been certified to Sims, as such treasurer,
for collection, and which Sims, as such treasurer, will
proceed to collect unless restrained by the decree of this
court.
Taxable
property is described and defined by section 2731 of the
Revised Statutes of Ohio, as follows:
'(Property
subject to taxation; when public lands become taxable.) All
property whether real or personal in this state, and
whether belonging to individuals or corporations; and all
moneys, credits, investments in bonds, stock, or otherwise,
of persons residing in this state, shall be subject to
taxation, except only such as may be expressly exempted
therefrom; and such property, moneys, credits, and
investments shall be entered on the list of taxable
property as prescribed in this title; all tracts of land
set apart for school or ministerial purposes, and sold by
and under authority of law, and all lands which shall be
hereafter sold by the United States shall be subject to
taxation as other lands in this state immediately after
such sale; but school or ministerial lands shall not be
sold for taxes until the purchase money therefore shall be
fully paid, but shall be returned as delinquent, and
continue on the duplicate, with the taxes of each year
charged thereon, and added to the tax and penalty due when
the same became delinquent, until payment be made by the
purchaser or his assigns, of such purchase money, with the
tax and penalty, or the lands resold by the county auditor,
pursuant to the laws now or hereafter in force for the sale
of such lands. (56 v. 175, Sec. 1; 71 v. 96, Sec. 78; S. &
C. p. 1438 (S. & S. 757).)'
And the
general rule as to who shall list and how they shall list
personal property for taxation is prescribed by sections 2734
and 2735 of the Revised Statutes of Ohio, as follows:
'(Who
shall list personal property.) Every person of full age and
sound mind shall list the personal property of which he is
the owner, and all moneys in his possession, all moneys
invested, loaner or otherwise controlled by him, as agent
or attorney, or on account of any other person or persons,
company or corporation whatsoever, and all moneys deposited
subject to his order, check, or draft, and all credits due
or owing from any person or persons, body corporate or
politic, whether in or out of such county; all money loaned
or pledge or mortgage of real estate, although deed or
other instrument may have been given for the same, if
between the parties
the same is considered as security merely; the property of
every ward shall be listed by his guardian, of every minor
child, idiot, or lunatic having no guardian, by his father,
if living; if not, by his mother, if living; and if neither
father nor mother be living, by the person having such
property in charge; of every wife by her husband, if of
sound mind, if not, by herself; of every person for whose
benefit property is held in trust, by the trustees; of
every estate of a deceased person, by his executor or
administrator; of corporations whose assets are in the
hands of receivers by such receivers; of every company,
firm or corporation, by the president or principal
accounting officer, partner, or agent thereof; and all
surplus or undivided profits held by any society for
savings or bank having no capital stock, by the president
or principal accounting officer. (62 v. 105, Sec. 4; 75 v.
441, Sec. 1; 76 v. 28, Sec. 2; S. & S. p. 756 (S. & C. p.
1441).)'
Section
2735: '(Where personal property shall be listed.) Every
person required to list property on behalf of others shall
list the same in the same township, city, or village, in
which he would be required to list it if such property were
his own; but he shall list it separately from his own,
specifying in each case the name of the person, estate,
company, or corporation, to whom it belongs; all
merchants' and manufacturers' stock, and all personal
property upon farms shall be listed in the township, city, or
village in which the same may be situated; and all other
personal property, moneys, credits, and investments, except
as otherwise specially provided, shall be listed in the
township, city, or village in which the person to be charged
with taxes thereon may reside at the time of the listing
thereof, if such person reside within the county where the
same are listed, and if not, then in the township, city or
village where the property is when listed. (62 v. 105, Sec.
4; S. & S. 756.)'
How
certain corporations shall list their property is directed by
section 2744 of the Revised Statutes of Ohio, as follows:
'(Corporations
generally; their returns.) The president, secretary, and
principal accounting officer of every canal or slackwater
navigation company, turnpike company, plank road company,
bridge company, insurance company, telegraph company, or
other joint stock company, except banking or other
corporations whose taxation is specifically provided for,
for whatever purpose they may have been created, whether
incorporated by any law of this state or not, shall list
for taxation, verified by the oath of the person so
listing, all the personal property, which shall be held to
include all such real estate as is necessary to the daily
operations of the company moneys and credits of such
company or corporation within the state, at the actual
value in money, in the manner following: In all cases
return shall be made to the several auditors of the
respective counties where such property may be situated,
together with a statement of the amount of said property
which is situated in each township, village, city, or ward
therein. The value of all movable property shall be added
to the stationary and fixed property and real estate, and
apportioned to such wards, cities, villages or townships,
pro rata, in proportion to the value of the real estate and
fixed property in said ward, city, village or township, and
all property so listed shall be subject to and pay the same
taxes as other property listed in such ward, city, village,
or township. It shall be the duty of the accounting officer
aforesaid to make return to the auditor of state during the
month of May of each year of the aggregate amount of all
property by him returned to the several auditors of the
respective counties in which the same may be located. It
shall be the duty of the auditor of each county, on or
before the first Monday of May, annually, to furnish the
aforesaid president, secretary, principal accounting
officer, or agent, the necessary blanks for the purpose of
making aforesaid returns; but no neglect or failure on the
part of the county auditor to furnish such blanks shall
excuse any such president, secretary, principal accountant,
or agent, from making the returns within the time specified
herein. If the county auditor to whom returns are made is
of the opinion that false or incorrect valuations have been
made, or that the property of the corporation or
association has not been listed at its full value, or that
it has not been listed in the location where it properly
belongs, or in cases
where no return has been made to the county auditor, he is
hereby required to proceed to have the same valued and
assessed: provided, that nothing in this section shall be
so construed as to tax any stock or interest in any joint
stock company held by the state. (73 v. 139, Sec. 16 (S. &
C. 1446).)'
And a
special method of taxing foreign insurance companies is
provided by section 2745 of the Revised Statutes of Ohio, as
follows:
'(Returns
by foreign insurance companies.) Every agency of an
insurance
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