City of Richmond v. Creel
City of Richmond v. Creel
Opinion of the Court
Defendant was convicted in the circuit court of Ray county for the violation of an ordinance of Richmond, a city of the third class, imposing a license tax upon foreign' insurance companies. The ordinance provided for an annual license tax of $5 on each insurance agent engaged in carrying on any kind of insurance business in the city and, in addition, provided an annual tax of $10 on each company doing an insurance business in the city through an agent. Defendant, who is an insurance agent in Richmond, paid the tax imposed upon him, but the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company of New York, for which he transacted business as agent, failed to comply with the ordinance and this action was begun in the police court of the city against defendant, under a section of the ordinance making it a misdemeanor for an agent to transact business for a company which failed or refused to pay the license tax.
On the trial in the circuit court defendant contended, first, that the ordinance is in violation of section 3, article 10, of the Constitution which provides that taxes ££ shall be uniform upon the same class of subjects within the territorial limits of the authority levying the tax,” and, second, that the section of the statutes authorizing cities of the third class to impose a license tax upon foreign insurance companies (sec. 9253, Rev. Stat. 19091) has been repealed' by section 7099, Revised Statutes 1909, which provides, that £ £ every insurance company . . . not organized under the laws of this State shall, as hereinafter provided, annually pay a tax upon the premiums received ... at a rate of two per cent per annum, in lieu of all other taxes,” etc.
. A jury was waived and the cause was tried in the circuit court on an agreed statement of facts. Defendant was fined five dollars and afterward was allowed an appeal to the Supreme Court, on the ground
The judgment is affirmed.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.