In re the Appeal of Macfarlane
In re the Appeal of Macfarlane
Opinion of the Court
OPINION OP THE COURT BY
This is an appeal from an assessment made by the Minister of Finance of a stamp duty of $2,000 upon a bill of sale of the Steamship “China” to the appellant, George W. Macfarlane, this being the duty payable upon a valuation of said steamship of $400,000. The pleadings, exhibits and testimony in the mandamus suit brought by the appellant against the Collector of Customs, ante, are made a part of this case.
The statute (Sec. 3, Ch. 103, Laws of 1892) prescribes that the duty upon a bill of sale of a ship shall be “the same as on a conveyance,” and that the duty upon a conveyance shall be $1 “when the purchase or consideration money therein expressed shall not exceed $500.” The “consideration money expressed” in the bill of sale in question is five shillings. Therefore the duty should be $1 and not $2,000 as assessed by the Minister.
The statute (Sec. 7, Oh. 55, Laws of 1876) prescribes that, “All consideration money shall be set out in words at length
The consideration is to be distinguished both from the thing sold and from the motive for the sale. Eor the purpose of assessing stamp duties, our statutes do not permit the Minister to inquire into either the motive for executing an instrument or the adequacy of the consideration. The duty is assessable only upon the actual considerations and then only upon such considerations as are mentioned in the statute. The only consideration mentioned in our statute as affecting the stamp duty upon a bill of sale of a ship under the circumstances of the
The appeal is sustained and the stamp duty adjudged to be one dollar.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- IN THE MATTER OF THE APPEAL OF GEORGE W. MACFARLANE, RESPECTING STAMP DUTY ON BILL OF SALE OF STEAMSHIP \CHINA\""
- Cited By
- 2 cases
- Status
- Published