47 Ind. App. 50 | Ind. Ct. App. | 1911
— This proceeding was instituted by appellant for and on behalf of certain of its stockholders, named, against appellee to enjoin him from collecting taxes which appellant claims were illegally assessed against its said stockholders.
Issues were formed by the complaint in one paragraph, and an answer in general denial. Upon request the court made a special finding of facts and stated conclusions of law thereon. Judgment was rendered on said conclusions of
It appears from the special findings that on March 1, 1909, and for more than one year immediately following said date, appellant was a banking corporation, organized under the laws of the United States of America, and located in the city of Evansville, Indiana; that on May 10, 1909, appellant, by its cashier, made out a statement under oath, in duplicate, shoAving the number of shares of capital stock of such bank, the name and residence of each shareholder, Avith the number of shares owned by each, and delivered said statement to the auditor of said county. In addition, said statement also shoAvs that on March 1, 1909, said bank had a paid-up capital stock of $200,000, a surplus of $40,000 and undivided profits amounting to $16,757; that dividends were paid during the preceding year amounting to seven per cent, and that the assessed value of real estate held by the bank was $46,030.
It is further found that upon notice given as provided by statute the county board of review for said county met in the court-house of said county on the first Monday of June, 1909, for assessment, review and equalization of taxes, and remained in session thirty days; that said statement, aforesaid, was by the auditor of said county laid before said board of revieAV; that on July 1, 1909, at a regular meeting of said board, on motion said board placed an assessment of seventy per cent on the value of the capital stock, surplus and undivided profits of appellant bank, approximating $179,730; that between the first Monday in July and the last day of December of the year 1909 the auditor of said county made out a duplicate list of taxes assessed in said county, and entered the valuation of such capital stock of appellant on the tax duplicates for the current year, and computed and extended taxes thereon the same as against the valuation of other property in said city of Evansville, Indiana. A copy of a portion of the tax duplicate was set
‘ ‘ City of Evansville — Tax Duplicates of Vanderburgh County, Indiana, for 1909.
Tax Duplicate No. 4,357 Citizens National Bank
Names * * * (number of shares omitted) * * * # * #
Total shares 2,000 at $100 per share
70% capital stock, undivided profits surplus and $179,730.00
less real estate 46,030.00
$133,700.00
First installment 1.845.06
Second installment 1.845.06
$3,690.12”
It is also found that on or before the last day of December of the year 1909 said auditor caused to be delivered to appellee one of such duplicates; that appellee, as soon as he received such duplicate, caused notice to be given as provided by statute of the amount of taxes charged for state, county, school, road or other purposes, etc; that the first instalment of taxes on said shares of capital stock was not paid on or before the first Monday in May, 1910; that after said date said appellee added to said taxes a penalty of ten per cent; that thereafter on June 1, 1910, the auditor and treasurer of said county extended upon the tax duplicates of said county for the year 1909 the amount of taxes due from each shareholder of appellant, setting out opposite the name and number of shares of each shareholder on said tax duplicates the amount of taxes assessed against such shares, with ten per cent penalty added.
It is further found that appellee is threatening to, and will unless restrained, proceed to make demand upon each of said shareholders for the amount of said taxes due upon
Upon the facts found, substantially as heretofore set out, the court stated its conclusions of law as follows: “ (1) The plaintiff bank, in case of an illegal assessment for taxation against its shareholders upon the shares of the plaintiff’s capital stock respectively held by such shareholders, is authorized to maintain a suit to restrain the collection of such illegal tax from such shareholders. (2) The action of the board of review of Vanderburgh county, which is set out in the eighth finding of facts herein, and the entry made after such action of such board of review by the auditor of Vanderburgh county upon the tax duplicates of said county, which is set out in the seventh finding of facts herein, and
The first conclusion of law is not questioned by either appellant or appellee, and for that reason is not considered in this opinion.
Appellant reserved exceptions to the second, third and fourth conclusions of law as stated by the court, and upon these conclusions error is predicated.
It is insisted by appellant that the assessment was illegal, in that the tax duplicates could not be changed or corrected by extending to the individual stockholders, without notice, the taxes assessed in the first instance against the bank.
Section 10316 Burns 1908, Acts 1891 p. 199, §147, provides, in part, that, “he [the auditor] shall, from time to time, correct all errors which he may discover in his duplicate, either in the name of the person charged with taxes, the description of the property or the amount of the tax charged. ’ ’
Judgment affirmed.