184 Ga. 9 | Ga. | 1937
The Southern Broadcasting Company, a private corporation organized for pecuniary gain and engaged in the business of operating a broadcasting station in the City of Atlanta known as Radio Station WGST, pursuant to a contract between it and the Georgia School of Technology, owner of the station and in the name of which the station was licensed by the Federal Communications Commission (formerly Federal Radio Commission), brought its petition seeking to enjoin the city from
A State or municipality may by appropriate legislation require payment of an occupational tax from one engaged in both intrastate and interstate commerce; but in order that the tax shall be valid, it must appear that it is imposed solely on account of the intrastate business; that the amount exacted is not increased because of the interstate business done; that one engaged exclusively in interstate commerce would not be subject to the imposition; and that the person taxed could discontinue the intrastate business without withdrawing also from interstate business. Sprout v. South Bend, 277 U. S. 163 (48 Sup. Ct. 502, 73 L. ed. 833, 62 A. L. R. 45); Postal Telegraph-Cable Co. v. Charleston, 153 U. S. 692 (14 Sup. Ct. 1094, 38 L. ed. 871); Osborne v. Florida, 164 U. S. 650 (17 Sup. Ct. 314, 41 L. ed. 586); Kehrer v. Stewart, 197 U. S. 60 (25 Sup. Ct. 403, 49 L. ed. 663, affirming 117 Ga. 969, 44 S. E. 854); Smith v. Clark, 122 Ga. 538 (50 S. E. 480). With these rules in mind, let us first determine whether the plaintiff is engaged in interstate commerce. There is no dispute of the fact that the plaintiff is broadcasting for hire advertising programs for customers to listeners beyond the State. In Fisher’s Blend Station v. Tax Com., 297 U. S. 650 (56 Sup. Ct. 608, 80 L. ed. 956), it appeared that <eAppellant’s entire income consists of payments to it by other broadcasting companies or by advertisers for broadcasting, from its Washington [State] stations, advertising programs originating there or transmitted to
There are other decisions holding that radio communication is interstate commerce. In Whitehurst v. Grimes, 21 Fed. (2d) 787, it was held: “Eadio communications are all interstate [commerce]. This is so though they may be intended only for intrastate transmission; and interstate transmission of such communications may be seriously affected by communications inténded only
The city contends in this connection that under the evidence in the present case the decision by this court in City of Atlanta v. Oglethorpe University, 178 Ga. 379 (173 S. E. 110), involving the same tax, is controlling and requires a reversal in the present case. It appeared from the evidence in that case that radio station WJTL, operating on 100 watts, broadcast programs originat
Inasmuch as the above rulings are controlling, it is unnecessary to pass upon the other questions presented by the record.