Pennsylvania Act 1881-107 — TAXATION OF PUBLIC COMPANIES

Act text

TAXATION OF PUBLIC COMPANIES
                  Act of Jun. 10, 1881, P.L. 99, No. 107              Cl. 72
                               A SUPPLEMENT

     To an act, entitled "An act to provide revenue by taxation,"
        approved the seventh of June, one thousand eight hundred and
        seventy-nine.

        Section 1.  Be it enacted, &c., That all mortgages, money
     owing by solvent debtors, whether by promissory note or penal or
     single bill, bond or judgment, also all articles of agreement
     and accounts bearing interest, owned or possessed by any person
     or persons whatsoever, except notes or bills for work or labor
     done and all obligations given to banks for money loaned and
     bank notes, also all shares of stock in any bank, banking or
     saving institution or company, now or hereafter incorporated by
     or in pursuance of any law of this commonwealth, and all public
     loans or stocks whatsoever, except those issued by this
     commonwealth or the United States, and all money loaned or
     invested in any other state, any all other moneyed capital in
     the hands of individual citizens of the state, shall be and are
     hereby taxable for state purposes, at the rate of four mills on
     the dollar of the value thereof annually: Provided, That all
     mortgages, judgments and recognizances whatsoever, and all
     moneys due or owing upon articles of agreement for the sale of
     real estate shall, after the passage of this act, be exempt from
     all taxation, except for state purposes: Provided, The
     provisions of this act shall not apply to building and loan
     associations; Provided, however, That moneys loaned by building
     and loan associations shall be subject to tax the same as money
     loaned by individuals.
        Section 2.  That hereafter all corporations, paying interest
     on a loan or loans which are taxable for state purposes whether
     secured by bond mortgage, recognizance or otherwise, shall
     report annually, in the month of November, to the auditor
     general the amount of such indebtedness owned by residents of
     this commonwealth, as nearly as can be ascertained, under oath
     of the president or treasurer, and shall pay into the state
     treasury four mills upon every dollar of such indebtedness so
     returned and owned by residents as aforesaid, within fifteen
     days after the thirty-first day of December in each year; and
     for every failure to report or pay as aforesaid the auditor
     general shall add ten per centum as a penalty to the said tax;
     and the said tax may be deducted by the corporation paying the
     same from the interest on such indebtedness, whereupon such
     indebtedness, whether secured by bond, mortgage, judgment or
     otherwise, shall be exempt from other taxation in the hands of
     the holders thereof.
        Section 3.  In case any bank or savings institution,
     incorporated by this state or the United States, shall elect to
     collect annually from the shareholders thereof a tax of six
     tenths of one per centum upon the par value of all the shares of
     said bank or savings institution, and pay the same into the
     state treasury on or before the first day of March in each year,
     the shares, and so much of the capital and profits of such bank
     as shall not be invested in real estate, shall be exempt from
     all other taxation under the laws of this commonwealth.
        Section 4.  It shall be the duty of the president or cashier
     of every bank or savings institution, incorporated under the
     laws of this commonwealth or of the United States and doing
     business in this commonwealth, failing to pay in the six mill
     tax as aforesaid, to make report in writing to the auditor
     general on or before the twentieth day of June in each year,
     stating specifically the amount of capital stock and the amount
     paid in, a full and complete list of the shareholders of such
     bank or savings institution, with their residence and number and
     par value of shares of stock held by each person respectively,
     value of said stock in the market where such bank is located
     during the year ending with the twentieth day of June, which
     said report shall be verified by the oath of the president or
     cashier, taken before some officer authorized to administer
     oaths; and the said president or cashier shall also furnish a
     duplicate original of said report to the commissioners of the
     proper city or county in which such bank or institution is
     located, to be used by them for the purpose of assessing all
     taxes against said shareholders. The auditor general shall have
     power to inquire into the value of such stock, and either abate
     or increase the assessment as may be just. If the said bank
     officer shall neglect or refuse to furnish the reports aforesaid
     as above required, it shall be the duty of the auditor general
     to require the said officers to appear before him in person with
     the books and accounts of the said bank or savings institution
     for interrogation and examination, and the auditor general shall
     have power to issue subpoenas and attachments, to be served by
     any constable or sheriff, and to compel the attendance of such
     bank officer and the production of such books and papers as he
     may deem necessary to make a correct list of the shareholders,
     with their residences and the number and value of their shares;
     and the said auditor general may settle an account in the usual
     mode against the individual shareholders for the state tax of
     four mills and proceed to collect the same according to law, and
     he shall also transmit the lists and assessments made by him to
     the commissioners of the proper cities and counties to be used
     by them in assessing taxes against the said shareholders.
        Section 5.  That one-half the taxes imposed by the fourth
     section of the act to which this is a supplement, and the
     revenues derived therefrom, shall be assigned to the sinking
     fund of this commonwealth, and all other taxes imposed by the
     said act, and the revenue derived therefrom, shall be applicable
     to the payment of the ordinary and current expenses of the
     government.
        Section 6.  The office of assessor provided for under the
     second section of the act entitled "An act to increase the
     revenue of the Commonwealth by taxation of the shares of the
     stock of the national banks," approved April twelfth, one
     thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven, is hereby abolished.
     That the limitation of the amount of state tax to be raised on
     personal property to the sum of five hundred thousand dollars,
     contained in the third section of the act of twenty-fourth of
     May, one thousand eight hundred and seventy-eight, entitled "An
     act defining the powers and extending the duties of the board of
     revenue commissioners," in words following: "Which tax shall
     not, as finally adjusted, exceed in the aggregate the sum of
     five hundred thousand dollars, be and the same is hereby
     repealed. The eleventh and seventeenth sections of the act to
     which this is a supplement are hereby repealed, saving,
     reserving, and excepting unto the commonwealth the right to
     collect any taxes accrued or accruing under said sections, prior
     to the date of the approval of this act.
        Section 7.  That all insurance companies, which shall, within
     thirty days after the approval of this act, pay into the
     treasury of this commonwealth the amount of money claimed by the
     commonwealth for taxes upon their gross premiums, for the period
     of time between the twentieth day of March, Anno Domini one
     thousand eight hundred and seventy-seven and the first day of
     January, Anno Domini one thousand eight hundred and eighty-one,
     together with interest upon the same, shall be liable, from and
     after the first day of January, Anno Domini one thousand eight
     hundred and eighty-one, during the continuance of this act, to
     no taxes upon their premiums, except upon such as were or shall
     be received from business transacted within this commonwealth.