30 Kan. 185 | Kan. | 1883
The opinion of the court was delivered by
The objections to the collection of the taxes levied upon the shares of stock owned by the plaintiff in the Leavenworth coal company — a mining corporation — are two fold:
I. It is contended that the individual stockholders of the corporation are not liable to be taxed for their respective shares thereof, because the property of the company is assessed to the corporation and taxed in the township where it is located, and therefore that the taxation of the stock to the individual stockholders would be duplicate taxation. Section 12, ch. 107, Comp. Laws 1879, requires:
“All incorporated companies, except banks and banking associations, manufacturers’ and mining companies, shall be required to list, by their designated listing agent, in the township or city where the principal office of said company is kept, the full amount of stock paid in and remaining as capital stock, at its true value in money, and such stock shall be taxed as other persoual property: Provided, That such amount of stock of such companies as may be invested in real or personal property in the state of Kansas, which at the time of listing said capital stock shall be properly specified and given to the assessors for taxation, shall be deducted from the amount of such capital stock.”
The same section also prescribes:
“No person shall be required to include in the list of personal property any portion of the capital stock of any company or corporation which is required to be listed for such company or corporation.”
As mining companies are not required under the provisions of the statute to list their stock through a designated listing agent, the individual members of such corporations, under the provisions of §§ 9 and 10 of said chapter 107, are to list their shares of stock. Clearly, the legislature has the power to determine the manner of assessing and taxing prop
It is urged, however, that as the property of the corporation was listed in Kickapoo township, Leavenworth county, for taxation in 1881, and that as the corporation paid its taxes for the year 1881, the assessment and taxation of the stock of the company is double taxation, and therefore unlawful; this upon the theory that the property of the corporation assessed to it included the real and personal property and all franchises. This does not necessarily follow. While the aggregate value of all the shares of stock of a corporation ordinarily includes the real and personal property and its franchises, its tangible property may not include so much. If a company has special privileges, or a monopoly of any
The evidence introduced upon the trial is not before us therefore we are to pass only upon the conclusions of law .found upon the facts, which, for the purpose of this case, are admitted to be sustained by the evidence. Upon the taxation ' of the property to the corporation, it is sufficient to say that the statute provides that the shares of stock shall be assessed to the holders, and it follows that they shall pay the taxes thereon. If there was any wrongful or unjust assessment, against the corporation, that does not concern us, because the corporation is not here complaining. The judgment of the district court, however, attempts to relieve the plaintiff and the corporation from all double taxation. Thus, under its conclusion, the stockholders are to pay taxes only on the excess of the valuation of the property of the corporation. This excess may be made up of the value of the special privileges or franchises belonging to the corporation. What these special privileges or franchises are, we are not informed. As a. general rule, it is difficult to say that corporations in this state-have any special privileges or franchises, as all corporations are created under general laws. But it may be that this corporation has obtained certain exclusive privileges to mine-coal under the streets and alleys of Leavenworth city by contract, whereby the stock of the company has a market value over and above the value of its real and personal property. But as the district court only decided that the plaintiff was required to pay a tax upon his stock over and above the valuation of the property assessed to the corporation, the stock was not twice taxed, nor was the property it represented subject to double taxation. (6 Wall. 632; Commonwealth v. Company, 12 Allen, 298; Van Allen v. Assessors, 70 U. S. 573; Cooley on Taxation, 163.)
II. It is claimed that after the plaintiff had made and ver
The judgment of the district court will be affirmed.