252 Pa. 161 | Pa. | 1916
Opinion by
The claim of the Commonwealth for collateral inheritance tax against the estate of John Arbuckle, deceased, was disallowed on facts which were either admitted or found by the court below and not assigned as error on this appeal, and the only question for our determination is whether correct legal conclusions followed them, culminating in the decree appealed from. The decedent was a resident of the State of New York, and died in the City of Brooklyn March 27, 1912, intestate, unmarried and without issue, leaving to survive him as his only next of kin two sisters, Catherine A. Jamison and Christina Arbuckle, the appellees. Letters of administration on his estate were granted by the surrogate of Kings County, New York, to Charles A. Jamison and Christina Arbuckle. They have not filed an account of their administration of the estate, and ancillary letters have not been issued in the State of Pennsylvania. At the time of his death the decedent was one of two partners composing the firm of Arbuckle Brothers, his copartner being William A. Jamison. They were dealers in coffee and groceries and their main place of business was in the City of New York. Branch houses owned by the firm were established and operated at different places, under different names. One of these was Arbuckle & Company, of Pittsburgh, this State. The partners owned several pieces of real estate, which were used in connection with their business in that city. These properties had been conveyed to them as partners, and “not as tenants in common.” The copartnership agreement provided that, in the event of the death of either partner, the survivor should continue the business and pay the estate of the deceased partner his net interest in the
The claim of the Commonwealth for collateral inheritance tax is on the interest of John Arbuckle, deceased, in the partnership assets of the Pittsburgh branch of the firm. The majority of the court below held that, under the copartnership agreement, no interest in the partnership had passed to the estate of John Arbuckle upon his death, but only a chose in action, a right to demand payment for the value of his interest in the partnership in accordance with the terms of the copartnership agreement, and that said chose in action, being a mere intangible thing, did not pass to the next of kin of the deceased, but to his personal representatives as part of his personal estate, having its situs in. the State of New York. From the decree disallowing the claim of the Commonwealth we have this appeal.
In addition to his interest in the Pittsburgh branch of the firm of Arbuckle Brothers, John Arbuckle owned in severalty at the time of his death certain real estate in that city which descended to his heirs at law. It was, of course, liable to collateral inheritance tax, which has been paid; but, if he had died testate, domiciled in the State of New York, and directed by his will that the said real estate should be sold, the proceeds of a sale of it would not have been subject to the payment of collateral inheritance tax in this State, for the realty would have been converted into personalty by the testator himself, the situs of which, at the time of his death, would have
Counsel for the Commonwealth contend that, under the copartnership agreement, there was no conversion of the deceased partner’s interest in the partnership real estate, that the agreement was merely executory and the surviving partner had the right to elect whether he would take and pay for the interest of his deceased partner. No such interpretation can possibly be given to the copartnership agreement. It expressly provides that the surviving partner “shall pay” to the estate of the deceased partner his “net interest” in the partnership, an account of the stock to be taken and the real estate to be appraised for the purpose of ascertaining the value of that
It is urged that Small’s Estate, supra, sustains the claim of the Commonwealth, and this view ivas entertained hy the learned dissenting member of the court below. Nothing is to be found in that case which conflicts with the unbroken line of authorities denying the Commonwealth the right to collect the tax here claimed. After reannouncing the rule that intangible personal property of a nonresident, “such as bonds, mortgages and other choses in action,” is governed as to its situs by the fiction or maxim, mobilia personam sequuntur,and is not subject to collateral inheritance tax under our laws, because not “situated within this State,” we held that the interest of George Small’s estate in the limited partnership association of P. A. & S. Small was liable to collateral inheritance tax because the testator had specifically bequeathed to his brothers all his interest in the said partnership association and in “all the property, real and personal, notes, stocks, bonds and accounts” owned by it, the situs of which association and all of its assets had been fixed here in Pennsylvania by the testator and the other two members of the association. “Not only was the ‘thing’ given employed in a business which was by its nature localized, but the manifest intent of the testator was that it should remain in this State. The bequest was specifically of testator’s interest, including ‘all the property, real and personal, notes, stocks, bonds and accounts,’ in a limited partnership organized under the laws, and having its principal place of business in this State. The value of the property depended largely upon its continuance here. There was no reason for its conversion and transmission to the testator’s domicile, and it was given to the surviving partners as such in specie. The facts plainly made an exception to the general rule. The actual situs was
Appeal dismissed and decree affirmed at the cost of the Commonwealth.