AMERICAN BANK STATIONERY CO. v. STATE
No. 199, October Term, 1949.
Court of Appeals of Maryland
Decided July 19, 1950.
Motion for rehearing and/or modification filed August 11, 1950; denied November 2, 1950.
Charles E. Quandt, with whom were Carlyle Barton, Carlyle Barton, Jr., and Niles, Barton, Yost & Dankmeyer on the brief, for the appellant.
GRASON, J., delivered the opinion of the Court.
The appellant was sued in the Superior Court of Baltimore City by the State of Maryland for an additional assessment on its income tax returns for the years 1941 to 1947, both inclusive. It admitted the increased assessment for the years 1945 to 1947, inclusive, and paid the same, so that this suit involves increased assessment for the years 1941 to 1944, inclusive.
To the declaration filed by the State, in its first plea appellant admitted as due, the amount claimed for the years 1945, 1946 and 1947. Its second plea was the general issue plea. Its third plea was that the cause of action did not accrue within three years before the filing of the suit, and in its fourth plea it set up that the additional income taxes for the years 1941 to 1944, both inclusive, were not assessed by the Comptroller of the Treasury of the State of Maryland within three years from the respective dates on which the income tax returns of the defendant for said fiscal years were originally due or filed, as required by the provisions of the Maryland Income Tax Law; that said additional assessment for said fiscal years is invalid, illegal and void ab initio.
The State demanded a bill of particulars of the second plea, and filed a demurrer to the third and fourth pleas. The appellant answered the demand for particulars of its general issue plea and set up the matters contained in its fourth plea as particulars of its general issue plea. The State then demurred to the general issue plea as particularized, and the court sustained the demurrer. The State then moved for a summary judgment, which motion was granted, and judgment entered for the plaintiff for $3,067.95, with costs. From this judgment the case comes here on appeal.
It is the contention of the appellant that the provisions in the section of the Code cited, that “within three years from the date the return was originally due or filed“, is a condition precedent, and as that time elapsed the Comptroller had no authority in law to revise a return duly filed with that officer. The State contends (1) that a revision of a return so made by the Comptroller cannot be attacked in a collateral proceeding, but only
The record in the case shows that notice of the revision made in the returns of the appellant was duly mailed to it within the time prescribed by law, and there is no denial that it received the notice. No argument of a failure to receive due notice, by the appellant from the Comptroller, of the excess assessments upon the returns in question was made in this court; that question is, therefore, not involved in this case. The various returns were fully made and there is no semblance of fraud involved here.
The Comptroller has full power to revise and correct an income tax return of a taxpayer. In this case the Comptroller found that the method used by the appellant for the computation of tax due for the respective years was wrong. It was his duty to make the correction and increase the assessment based on his view of what was the proper way to compute the tax. The appellant had a right to appeal to the State Tax Commission from the action of the Comptroller, and if not satisfied with its action, it could have appealed to the Baltimore City Court, and from the action of that court, it could have appealed to this court.
Gittings v. Baltimore City, 95 Md. 419, 52 A. 937, 938, 54 A. 253, involved a bill in equity to restrain the collection of certain taxes on property located in Baltimore City. The City demurred to the bill, which was sustained by the lower court, and that action was affirmed
The court, in that case, quoted from the opinion of this court in Allegany County Commissioners v. Union Mining Company, 61 Md. 545, as follows: “‘It is only when the tax itself is clearly illegal, or the tribunal imposing it has clearly exceeded its powers, or the rights of the taxpayers have been violated, that the interposition of the special remedy by injunction can be invoked, and only then, when no appellate tribunal has been created with power to remedy the wrong.‘”
The court, in the Gittings case, also quoted from Friedenwald v. Shipley, 74 Md. 220, 21 A. 790, 24 A. 156: “‘It is too well settled to admit of further discussion that a Court of equity cannot undertake the decisions of questions which the law has confided to another tribunal especially designated to adjudicate them.‘”
The opinion of this court, in the Gittings case, further states: “The plain object of this section of the charter was to provide a prompt, efficient, and ample remedy for the correction of all errors, either of omission or commission in the assessment and collection of taxes in the city of Baltimore, and in construing a similar provision in 61 Md., supra, this Court said that even where the tax itself is illegal, or the tribunal imposing it has
In Schluderberg & T. J. Kurdle Co. v. Mayor & City Council, 151 Md. 603, 613-614, 135 A. 412, 416, suit was brought by the Mayor and City Council for taxes alleged to be due. Schluderberg claimed that the property assessed was exempted. Judge Digges, speaking for this court in that case, said: “The principle is well settled that where the statute establishes a fact-finding body or commission, and it has jurisdiction over the parties and the subject-matter, its decisions on questions of fact are conclusive and final, in the absence of fraud, unless an appeal is provided by law to some appellate or supervisory tribunal.”
In Baltimore Steam Packet Company v. State Tax Commission, 161 Md. 9, 155 A. 158, 162, Judge Digges, again speaking for this court, quoted from the Schluderberg case: “‘* * * The appellant here did not protest the assessment of this personal property, after having been notified by the State Tax Commission of its being made; neither did it appeal from that body to the Baltimore City Court within thirty days, the time prescribed by the statute. * * * We are of the opinion that, upon its failure to do this, the appellant is now precluded from making this defense in a collateral proceeding brought against it for the collection of the tax. * * *‘”
In Wasena Housing Corp. v. Levay, 188 Md. 383, 52 A. 2d 903, the appellant brought an action at law for the refund of taxes erroneously or mistakenly paid. In that case (decided May 14, 1947) Judge Henderson, speaking for this court, reviews extensively the legislation and the authorities of this court, and points out the procedure which the Legislature has provided for the taxpayer to follow in case he is dissatisfied with the assessment of his property. The judgment in that case was affirmed.
In Board of County Com‘rs of Anne Arundel County v. Snyder, 186 Md. 342, 348, 46 A. 2d 689, 692, it is said:
“Where a statutory right of appeal is granted, that remedy is exclusive. Stark v. State Board of Registration, 179 Md. 276, 283, 19 A. 2d 716; Applestein v. Osborne, 156 Md. 40, 143 A. 666.”
We cannot accept the view that the appellant in this case was deprived of due process of law. Due process of law was afforded it by the procedure set up in
It is unnecessary to consider other questions raised in the briefs.
Judgment affirmed, with costs.
MARKELL, J., delivered the following dissenting opinion.
Oversimplification usually defeats its ends. In this case, in at least two respects, strange results are reached by applying, to a suit at law to collect taxes, statutory provisions relating to administrative appeals from assessments.
1.
2.
I think the judgment should be reversed.