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ing a license fee for the privilege of doing business in the State; but the same license fee must be exacted from all corporations of the same class.3 And such a license fee does not come within the provision of the constitution that taxation must be for revenue only,32 or that it must be uniform.3 Of the nature of the imposition of a license fee is the provision that an agent of a foreign corporation shall be responsible for the tax assessed upon it.34

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31 Manchester Fire Ins. Co. v. Herriott, 91 Fed. 711; American Refrig. Trans. Co. v. Adams, 28 Colo. 119, 63 Pac. 410; People v. Thurber, 13 Ill. 554; Walker v. Springfield, 94 Ill. 364; Home Ins. Co. v. Swigert, 104 Ill. 653; State v. Ins. Co. of North America, 115 Ind. 257; Phoenix Ins. Co. v. Welch, 29 Kan. 672; State v. Hammond Packing Co., 110 La. 180, 34 So. 368; Ex parte Cohn, 13 Nev. 424; W. U. Tel. Co. v. Mayer, 28 Oh. St. 521; Germania Life Ins. Co. v. Com., 85 Pa. 513; Slaughter v. Com., 13 Gratt. (Va.) 767; Blue Jacket Consol. Copper Co. v. Scherr, 50 W. Va. 533, 40 S. E. 514; Fire Department of Milwaukee v. Helfelstein, 16 Wis. 136. 32 Goldsmith v. Home Ins. Co., 62 Ga. 379.

33 Parker v. North B. & M. Ins. Co., 42 La. Ann. 428, 7 So. 599. 94 State v. Sloss, 83 Ala. 93.

CHAPTER XXII.

TAXATION LAWS OF THE STATES; GENERAL BUSINESS CORPO

511. Alabama.

512. Arkansas.

513. Arizona.

514. California.

515. Colorado.

516. Connecticut.

517. Delaware.

518. District of Columbia.

519. Florida.

520. Georgia.

521. Hawaii.
522. Idaho.
523. Illinois.

524. Indiana.
525. Iowa.
526. Kansas.
527. Kentucky.
528. Louisiana.
529. Maine.

530. Maryland.

531. Massachusetts.
532. Michigan.
533. Minnesota.
534. Mississippi.
535. Missouri.
536. Montana.

537. Nebraska.

538. Navada.

539. New Hampshire.

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540. New Jersey.

541. New Mexico.

542. New York: general principles.

§ 511. Alabama.

568. Ontario.

569. Quebec.

Alabama imposes a franchise tax upon all corporations,

both foreign doing business in the State and domestic. A tax, both State and local, is paid upon the property of the corporation within the State, the local tax being levied in the same manner as the tax upon individuals. The corporate excess is taxed by deducting from the market value of the shares the proper proportion of the property of the corporation taxed to it directly, assessing the stockholders for the balance, and obliging the corporation to pay the tax, giving it a lien on the shares for repayment.

The Constitution of the State provides that "all taxes levied on property in this State shall be assessed in exact proportion to the value of such property," and "the property of private corporations, associations, and individuals of this State shall forever be taxed at the same rate; provided, this section shall not apply to institutions or corporations devoted exclusively to religious, educational, or charitable purposes." 2

Property of domestic corporations situated in another State is not taxable.3

Under these provisions of the constitution, the property of corporations, both domestic and resident foreign corporations, is taxed in the following manner:

All corporations, both foreign and domestic, doing business in the State, not otherwise specifically required to pay a license tax, pay annually a privilege tax according to the amount of the paid-up capital stock. The amount paid is, if the capital stock is under ten thousand dollars, ten dollars; ten to twentyfive thousand, fifteen dollars; twenty-five to fifty thousand, twenty-five dollars; fifty to one hundred thousand, fifty dollars; one hundred to two hundred thousand, seventy-five dollars; two hundred to three hundred thousand, one hundred twenty-five dollars; three hundred to four hundred thousand, one hundred seventy dollars; four hundred to five hundred. thousand, two hundred dollars; five hundred thousand to

1 Ala. Const. Art. 11, § 1.

2 Ibid. Art. 11, § 6.

3 Varner v. Calhoun, 48 Ala. 178.

one million, three hundred dollars; over one million, five hundred dollars.4

This tax has been attacked as forbidden by the constitutional provisions quoted: but the constitutionality of the tax was sustained by the court. "The tax imposed by the subdivision has the properties and quality of a franchise tax. It is measured or graduated by the amount of the paid-up capital stock of the corporation, and this distinguishes it from a tax on property. Speaking in reference to this inquiry, it was said by Clopton, J., in State v. Stonewall Ins. Co.: 5 'The usual and most certain test is whether the tax is upon the capital stock, eo nomine, without regard to its value, or at its assessed valuation in whatever it may be invested. If the former, it is a franchise tax; if the latter, a tax upon the property.' Reference was made to Bank of Commerce v. New York, in which it was said by Nelson, J., speaking of a franchise tax: 'The tax was like one annexed to the franchise as a royalty for the grant.' The tax may be imposed on the creation of the corporation, but, if the charter or grant of incorporation does not expressly exempt it from taxation, a tax on the franchise may be subsequently imposed at the will of the legislature.

"We may concede that when a tax is imposed on avocations or privileges, or on the franchises of corporations, it must be equal and uniform. The equality and uniformity consist in the imposition of a like tax upon all who engage in the avocation, or who may exercise the privilege, taxed, and, if it be a franchise tax, upon all corporations belonging to the class upon which it is imposed."

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Upon the real and personal property of the corporation the State levies a tax of fifty-five cents per hundred dollars, and

4 Ala. 1901, Act 1151, § 17.

589 Ala. 338, 7 So. 754.

62 Black, 620, 17 L. ed. 451.

7 Brickell, C. J., in Phoenix Carpet Co. v. State, 118 Ala. 143, 22 Sa 627.

tangible property is also assessed locally. The corporate excess is also assessed as follows:

"Every share of any corporation organized under the laws of this State or any other State, or of the United States (other than railroad, telegraph, long distance telephone, express and sleeping car companies, building and loan associations and. banks or banking associations), to be assessed and collected in the county wherein such corporation has its chief or home office in this State, and to be assessed at its actual market value to the person in whose name such shares stand on the books of the corporation, and not to the corporation."

The amount of taxable property, number and value of shares, amount of surplus and undivided profits, and name and residences of stockholders are to be returned by the corporation. "Thereupon it shall be the duty of the assessor, after passing upon such assessments, to deduct from the aggregate amount or sum at which the whole of the shares are assessed the aggregate amount or sum at which the real and personal property of the corporation is assessed for owned by such corporation, and the residue of value remaining after such deduction shall be the assessed value of the whole of such shares, and such residue divided by the whole number of shares shall constitute the value of each share for taxation, and the corporation shall pay for the shareholders the tax assessed against his shares, and the amount so paid for any shareholder shall be a lien on any interest which shareholders may have in any property owned by the corporation. It is the intent and meaning of this subdivision that all the property, real and personal, of the corporation, except such property as is exempt from taxation by the laws of the State or of the United States, shall be assessed for taxation against the corporation as other property in this State is assessed to the owner thereof, and the corporation shall pay the tax thereon, whether such assessment exceeds the aggregate assessed value of the shares or not; that the shares shall be assessed for taxation against the shareholders at their actual market value after deducting

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