109 So. 344 | La. | 1926
Plaintiff is universal legatee and sole heir of her mother, and seeks herein (contradictorily with the inheritance tax collector) to compel the defendant company to transfer into her name certain shares of its capital stock standing upon the books of the company in the name of her mother, without (previous) payment of an inheritance tax under Act 127 of 1921, p. 323 (Ex. Sess.).
On the other hand, defendant corporation is organized under the laws of this state, and has its domicile therein, where all of its physical property is situated.
And the Inheritance Tax Law aforesaid provides (section 2, p. 324) that "said tax shall be imposed with respect to all property * * * embraced in any inheritance, * * * including all personal property physically in the state, * * * whether owned or inherited by * * * a resident or nonresident, and whether inherited * * * under the law of this state or of any other state * * * [and all personal *651 property owned by residents of the state, * * * wherever situated * * *]."
And that is precisely the situation, in this state under the Uniform Stock Transfer Law (Act 180 of 1910, p. 265). For under the provisions of that statute no title to shares of stock in a corporation can be acquired or held by any one, in any way, adversely to the bona fide holder of the certificate of stock duly indorsed. See Sections 1, 8, 10, and 13. The transferablevalue of the stock lies therefore wholly in the certificates; and thus the certificates are by law made the corporeal or physical representatives of the stock itself, so that, where said certificates are, there also the stock itself is physically located.