[DOWNLOAD] "Lionberger v. Rouse" by United States Supreme Court # Book PDF Kindle ePub Free

eBook details

Title: Lionberger v. Rouse
Author : United States Supreme Court
Release Date : January 01, 1869
Genre: Law,Books,Professional & Technical,
Pages : * pages
Size : 57 KB

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Messrs. Evarts and Broadhead, for the plaintiff in error: 1. We assume, as matter of law, that the State of Missouri has disabled itself by contract with the two now existing State banks of issue from laying any tax upon them, or upon their shares, but that of one per cent.2 And we assume also, that no taxation by the State upon the capital of the National banks can be at present made, under any Federal legislation existing, nor any upon the shares except under the permissive and restrictive authority of the 41st section of the act of Congress of June 3d, 1864.3 How, then, can the tax in question, even admitting it to be a tax on shares, as distinguished from one on capital, be justified? The fact that certain State institutions–sometimes called banks, and without impropriety–are subjected to the same rate and method of taxation as are applied to the National banks is no answer to our question; for the 41st section provides, as the final condition to the validity of State taxation of the shares of National banks, that the tax so imposed 'shall not exceed the rate imposed upon the shares in any of the banks organized under the authority of the State,' where the National bank is located. But, 2. The tax is really a tax on the capital of the banks. The shares are not taxed at all. The shareholder has nothing, under the Missouri statute, to do with the matter. He makes no return of his shares. It is 'the president or other chief officer of such corporation' who delivers to the assessor the list of all the shares in the bank; and it is the corporation which, by the express words of the State statute, pays the tax. That the corporation gets it afterwards, as it can and if it can, does not change the case.