Cleveland & Western Coal Co. v. O'Brien
Cleveland & Western Coal Co. v. O'Brien
Opinion of the Court
Judgment was rendered in favor of the treasurer of Cuyahoga county in the court below. A demurrer to the petition was sustained in the court of common pleas, and the matter comes up both on error and appeal to this court.
The plaintiff, a corporation under the laws of Ohio, filed its petition in the common pleas court of Cuyahoga county, setting out that it is a corporation organized under the laws of Ohio and having its principal place of business in the city of Cleveland in said county, and that the defendant was the duly elected, qualified and acting treasurer of the county of Cuyahoga and state of Ohio. Plaintiff says that in its business of buying and selling coal it has acquired and operated a dock in the city of Milwaukee, county of Milwaukee and state of Wisconsin; that said dock is operated as a distinct department of the plaintiff’s business and that all dealings connected therewith are kept separate and distinct from the other business of the plaintiff; that all coal put upon said dock by the plaintiff is charged up to said dock as though it were a separate entity from the plaintiff and that its operating costs and all expenses in connection with its operation are kept separately, regular books being kept to cover all purchases and sales in connection therewith, said books being kept in the Milwaukee office; that all remittances to the plaintiff arising from the sale of dock coal are made to the Milwaukee office, endorsed by the manager of said office, and deposited to the credit of the plain
As before stated, the demurrer to this petition was sustained by the common pleas court, and the plaintiff not desiring to plead further the plaintiff’s petition was dismissed, and it was “considered that
It is immaterial whether the question raised be decided upon appeal or error proceedings, inasmuch as there are no facts stated in the record to be considered by the court except those pleaded in the petition.
The question to be determined is whether or not the money of the plaintiff company deposited at Milwaukee is subject to taxation in Cuyahoga county, Ohio. We are of the opinion that it is subject to taxation and that the court of common pleas did not err in sustaining the demurrer to the petition.
Ordinarily money deposited in a bank to the credit of a corporation or individual and subject to check by the depositor creates the relation of debtor and creditor between the bank and the depositor, and moneys deposited in a bank subject to check are credits of intangible property. By the provisions of Section 5326, General Code, the term “money” or “moneys,” for the purposes of taxation, “includes any surplus or undivided profits held by societies for savings or banks having no capital stock, gold and silver coin, bank notes of solvent banks, in actual possession, and every deposit which the person owning, holding in trust, or having the beneficial interest therein, is entitled to withdraw in money on demand.”
Now it is perfectly proper and legitimate for the legislature to provide by legislation what things shall be money and what shall not be money for the purpose of taxation, but it will be noted that
Notwithstanding the fact that for the purposes of taxation these funds of the plaintiff at Milwaukee are to be considered as money, they nevertheless are intangible property, and have their situs in Cleveland, the. residence of the plaintiff company. Every corporation in Ohio for the purpose of taxation is as much a person as an individual person, and its residence is fixed by statute as the place where its principal office is located in the state.
Under the provisions of Section 5328, General Code, “All real or personal property in this state, belonging to individuals or corporations, and all moneys, credits, investments in bonds, stocks, or otherwise, of persons residing in this state, shall be subject to taxation, except only such property as may be expressly exempted therefrom. Such property, moneys, credits, and investments shall be entered on the list of taxable property as prescribed in this title.”
It is not claimed in this case that the moneys on deposit in Milwaukee are exempt by virtue of any law in Ohio which exempts them. The claim made by counsel for plaintiff is that under Section 5404, General Code, a corporation is required to-list for taxation moneys and credits of the corporation within the state at the true value in money. This
“The president, secretary, and principal accounting officer of every incorporated company, except banking or other corporations whose taxation is specifically provided for, for whatever purpose they may have been created, whether incorporated by a law of this state or not, shall list for taxation, verified by the oath of the person so listing, all the personal property thereof, and all real estate necessary to the daily operations of the company, moneys and credits of such company or corporation within the state, at the true value in money/”
The construction to be placed on this section we think is that all real estate and all personal property, all moneys and all credits belonging to a corporation within the state of Ohio, shall be listed for taxation at their true money value. Of course tangible property located outside of the state of Ohio cannot be taxed in the state of Ohio; but intangible properties, such as credits and moneys on deposit in a bank located outside of the state and owned by individuals or corporations in this state, we hold have their situs in the state at the place of residence of the owner, and are to be there taxed.
It would be inequitable and unjust to hold in a case like this that a corporation which has money on deposit outside of the state will not be liable to list this money for taxation, whereas an individual similarly situated — in the state and having money on deposit outside the state — would be required
It is urged that Section 5406-3, General Code (106 O. L., 249), throws some light upon the question under consideration. That section provides:
“In determining the location of property for the purpose of the two preceding sections [that is, for the purpose of listing the same for taxation] all moneys and credits used in or appertaining especially to a separate business transacted by an incorporated company at a particular place, shall be deemed to be located at such place where the business is transacted, and moneys and credits not used in or appertaining especially to such separate business transacted at any particular place shall be deemed to be located at the principal place of business of such company.”
This statute was enacted for the benefit of the state of Ohio, and the various counties, in order that the various towns, municipalities and other subdivisions of the state might have the benefit of receiving the taxes from property located in the subdivisions of the state. And this rule was made
For the reasons stated the demurrer will be sustained, and a decree may be entered in favor of the defendant.
The error proceedings will be dismissed.
Judgment for defendant.
Petition in error dismissed.
Judges of the First Appellate District, sitting in place of Judges Grant, Carpenter and Lieghley of the Eighth Appellate District.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.