151 N.Y.S. 79 | N.Y. App. Div. | 1915
John S. Tilley died a resident of Albany county on the 25th day of March, 1913. During his lifetime, and for a period of about thirty-five years, decedent had been carrying on business in Watervliet; and although his wife does not appear to
In the proceedings for the fixing of the transfer tax upon the estate of Mr. Tilley the appraiser made a finding that decedent was the owner of one-half of these joint accounts, aggregating $38,481.49, and an order assessing the tax on the sum of $19,240.74 was made. From this order the decedent’s widow appealed to the Surrogate’s Court, where the same was reversed. The State Comptroller appeals from the order of reversal.
Upon this appeal it is urged that “it matters not whether the rights of the survivor accrued as alleged contractual rights, or as voluntary provisions, if the decedent intended that only at his death the survivor’s title to his interest should become absolute and fixed, a tax should be imposed upon the transfer of his interest in the funds.” But we are not here dealing with an equitable but with a tax problem; we are not interested in the intent of the decedent, but with the legal relations of the parties to these joint accounts. Do special tax should be imposed upon the citizen unless it is within the letter and spirit of the law, and the only question to be determined here is whether the law has provided for the taxation of joint accounts.
By the provisions of section 144 of the Banking Law (Consol. Laws, chap. 2; Laws of 1909, chap. 10),
The order appealed from should be affirmed, with costs.
All concurred, except Smith, P. J., dissenting.
Order affirmed, with ten dollars costs and disbursements.
Now Banking Law (Consol. Laws, chap. 2; Laws of 1914, chap. 369), § 249. — [Rep.