129 Pa. 217 | Pa. | 1889
Opinion,
This was an attempt on the part of the commonwealth to tax the capital stock of the American Bell Telephone Company, to the extent that its capital was employed in “ doing business within this commonwealth.” Under the facts as found by the court below, we are very clear the commonwealth is not entitled to collect such tax. The company is a corporation created by the laws of the state of Massachusetts. Its principal office or place of business is in the city of Boston. It has no office, agent, or place of business in this state. All the contracts for rent and royalty of telephones were made in Boston, and the payments therefor were made there. It leases to certain Pennsylvania corporations the use of the telephones, and furnishes the instruments, which remain the property of the company, and are to be paid for whether used or not. The Pennsylvania corporations carry on the business here. They construct and own the necessary lines of wires, switches, switch-boards, and other apparatus necessary to carry on the business. They maintain their own offices, and employ and pay the officers and agents needed to carry it on. The telephone company transacts no business here; it has no part of its capital or - property here, except the instruments in question, which, as before observed, are leased to Pennsylvania corporations, with a license to use the same. Under such state of facts it would seem clear that the telephone company could not be taxed as doing business within this state.
It was contended, however, on the part of the common wealth, that, because the company had in its contract with the Pennsylvania corporations, reserved a certain power of control over telephones leased to them, and might, upon certain breaches of said contracts, enter upon, take possession of, and operate
Judgment affirmed.