69 Pa. Super. 318 | Pa. Super. Ct. | 1918
Opinion by
William R. Myrtetus- died June 6, 1891. In his will he gave the income of his estate to his wife for life. She died May 10, 1899. January 31, 1916, a collateral inheritance tax appraisement was made and upon the tax at that date, interest was added at the rate of twelve per cqnt. per annum from the date of the widow’s death.
Two questions are raised, 1. Is there a presumption of payment arising by reason of the lapse of time? 2. If not, what is the rate of interest, if any, to be charged?
If the tax was due .at the death of the testator twenty years having passed since then, the tax would be presumed to have been paid: Stewart’s Est., 147 Pa. 383; Ash’s Est., 202 Pa. 422. If the tax became due at the death of the widow, no presumption of payment would arise. The Act of May 6, 1887, P. L. 79, provides in Section 3 where the estate is given to collaterals to' take effect in possession or come into actual .enjoyment after the expiration of an estate for life or years the tax “shall not be payable, nor interest begin to run thereon, until the person or persons liable for the same shall come into actual possession......and the tax shall be assessed
As to the second question, is the rate of interest to be charged six per cent, or twelve per cent.? The Act of 1850, supra, provided that all taxes not paid within one year of the death of decedent should bear twelve per cent, interest from said date. This applied to estates in remainder: Com. v. Smith, 20 Pa. 100. The Act of 1855, supra, changed this and provided that the penal by of twelve and one-half per cent, (sic) should not be charged until the estate should come into actual possession and enjoyment after the termination of the estate for life or years. The Act of 1887 provides that no interest shall begin to run until after the life tenant’s death. This act does not attempt to fix any new rate of interest and does not change prior legislation in this regard. The evident purpose of the act was to do away with the six per cent, interest charged before the expiration of the life estate (Section 1, Act of 1850). The legislative intent as to this is completely expressed and the inference does not follow that when the tax is actually due, the twelve per cent, rate fixed by the former act should not apply. Under the fourth section of the Act of 1887, the twelve per cent, runs upon all taxes due at the death of decedent not paid within one year. It is not reasonable to suppose that the legislature intended that one kind of delinquent taxes should pay one rate and a different kind another rate. Our attention has not been called to any decision of either of our appellate courts upon the question. In Cooper’s Est., 127 Pa. 435, where the different acts are construed, interest was charged at the rate of twelve per cent., but the question appears not to have been raised.
The decree of the lower court is affirmed.