Loyd Corp. v. Commonwealth
Loyd Corp. v. Commonwealth
Opinion of the Court
delivered the opinion of the court.
The Loyd Corporation was chartered in 1910, with its chief office at Abingdon, in Washington county. Its assets consisted wholly of choses in action which had belonged to the estate of William H. Loyd, deceased, which had been previously listed for taxation in the city of Lynchburg, where Loyd resided at the time of his death. The company had been chartered as a holding company to keep together the estate of the decedent. The assets turned into the company consisted of stock in the banks of Lynchburg, stock of the Western Union Telegraph Company, stocks in sundry coal companies, and bonds and notes of private persons for money loaned them. These coal stocks were very closely held, and it could hardly be said that they had a market value', but in the organization of the company they were listed at prices much in excess of any sales that had been made thereof.
In January, 1910, S. M. Loyd, the president of the company, went to Abingdon and interviewed the commissioner of the revenue, with reference to furnishing him a list of the assets of the company for taxation. This interview lasted over two hours, and Loyd furnished the commissioner a complete itemized list of all the stocks, bonds and other property liable to taxation, and answered every question put to him by the commissioner. This list, however, did not affix any values to the several stocks listed, though it named the several companies in which stock was held, and correctly stated the number of shares held in each. There is no controversy here over the values placed upon any of the property except the coal stocks. The bonds and notes above mentioned were listed at their face value. The com
It is not claimed by the Commonwealth that the Loyd Corporation has concealed any of its assets, or that it has failed to furnish a complete itemized list thereof. The entire controversy arises over the valuation of the four groups of coal stocks. The Commonwealth contends that it was as much the duty of the corporation to give the value of these stocks as it was to give the names of the companies and the number of shares held in each, and that, having failed to state the full cash value thereof, the corporation has not made a “full disclosure” of its assets, and hence is» not entitled to the benefit of section 508 of the Code, as amended by act of March 22, 1916 (Acts 1916, p. 826). The president of the corporation told the commissioner that he did not know the value of the stocks, as they were not quoted on any market and were closely held, and, as already stated, the preponderance of the testimony is that he told the commissioner that some of them had been assessed by the commissioner in Lynchburg at over $200 a share. We think it also sufficiently appears that the commissioner knew that these stocks formerly belonged to a citizen of Lynch-burg and had been there listed by a commissioner of the revenue who stood very high in the estimation of the taxing officers of the State.
The Commonwealth makes no charge of fraud against either the commissioner or the officers of the corporation, but only that these coal stocks were assessed at “less than the law required.” At the first interview the president of the corporation had not asked or suggested a low assessment, but only that his company be treated as other citizens. The commissioner was pleased that, the corporation had selected Abingdon as its home office, and readily agreed that such treatment should be accorded. All other personal property in the district, except loans of money, was assessed at much less than its actual cash value, and the commissioner, without adequate investigation and inquiry, assessed the stocks at far below their cash value. The president of the corporation naturally acceded to his valuations and said they were acceptable. The taxes at these valuations were regularly paid from year to year, and it only remains to inquire whether, under these circumstances, there has been that “full disclosure” which entitled the corporation to the benefit of the provisions of section 508 of the Code (1904) as amended.
Section 508 of the Code (1904), as amended by the act of 1916 (Acts 1916, p. 826), is as follows: “If the commissioner of the revenue * * * ascertain that any person, or any real or personal property, or income, or salary, or license tax, has not been assessed for taxation for any year by the State, county, district, city or town, or that the same has been assessed at less than the law required for any year * * * it shall be the duty of the commissioner of the revenue * * * to list the same, and assess persons, property (real, personal and mixed) and levies at the rate prescribed for that year, adding thereto interest at the rate of six per centum per annum, provided, however * * *.
*46 “7. In the case of omitted taxes, wherever the taxpayer has made full disclosures of his taxable property (real estate, tangible or intangible personal property, money and income), and in cases of tangible and intangible personal property, money and income, as enumerated on his returns the items thereof, and there has been an assessment made in good faith by the tax officer, although made under misapprehension of the law, such assessment as to the valuation of such property shall be final; but in cases in which there has not been a full disclosure and enumeration of his tangible and intangible personal property, income and money, whether intentional or otherwise, such assessment shall not be considered final, but in contested cases the burden shall be upon the taxpayer to show that he has made a full disclosure.”
In Union Tanning Company v. Commonwealth, supra, omitted taxes from 1908 to 1915 were assessed, and it appeared that no return of any kind was made for the year 1908, and that for the years 1909 to 1915, inclusive, the returns “did not enumerate the items of bark or hides composing its intangible property listed on such returns, but gave only what was listed as the aggregate fair cash value thereof for the respective years * * * the only information on the subject given by the company to the commissioner, of the revenue to whom such returns were made and who made such assessments was ‘the amount and value
The Commonwealth assigns as cross-error the action of the circuit court in exonerating the plaintiff in error from the payment of omitted taxes for the year 1910. For the reason hereinbefore stated, we are of opinion that the circuit court committed no error in this respect, but that it did err in failing to exonerate- the corporation also from such taxes for the years 1911 to 1914, inclusive, and that for this error its judgment must be reversed.
Reversed.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Loyd Corporation v. Commonwealth
- Status
- Published
- Syllabus
- 1. Taxation—Assessment—Undervaluation—Full Disclosure by Taxpayer—Case at Bar.—A corporation whose assets consisted wholly of choses in action furnished the commissioner of revenue a complete itemized list of its stocks, bonds, and other property liable to taxation, and answered every question put to it by the commissioner. The list, however, did not affix any values to the several stocks listed, though it named the several companies in which the stock was held, and correctly stated the number of shares of stock held in each, and the corporation furnished the commissioner with information from which he could have readily ascertained the fair value of the stocks for the purpose of assessment. The Commonwealth contended that it was as much the duty of the corporation to give the value of the stocks as it was to give the names of the companies and the number of shares held in each, and that, having failed to do so, the corporation had not made a “full disclosure” of its assets, and therefore was not entitled to the benefit of section i 508 of the Code of 1904, as amended by the act of March 22, 1916 (Acts 1916, p. 826), which provides in the case of omitted taxes, that wherever the taxpayer has made a full disclosure of taxable property, and the items thereof, and there has been an assessment in good faith by the tax officer, although made under a misapprehension of law, such assessment as to the valuation of such property shall be final. Held: That the corporation had made a full disclosure of its taxable property within the meaning of the statute, that the assessment thereof was made in good faith, although, some of the stocks were undervalued, and therefore the valuation thereof by the commissioner was final and could not be disturbed. 2. Taxation—Valuation of Property—Duty of Citizen and Commissioner.—While it is the duty of the citizen to return a list of his personal property and the value thereof, it is made the duty of the commissioner by section 491 of the Code (1904) to call upon him for such list, and if he neglects or refuses to give it, the commissioner is given ample power and authority by that section to obtain the needed information from other sources. 3. Taxation—Valuation—Return where there is no Change in Value.—Where property was valued for taxation by a commissioner of revenue and there was no change in the value of the property in subsequent years, in the absence of any evidence to the contrary, the owner of the property had the right to assume that the commissioner would place the same value on the property in the subsequent years that he placed on it when first listed, and valuations so made by the property owner become the valuations of the commissioner when accepted by him and placed oh the tax list. He was not bound by the valuations submitted by the property owner, and if not satisfied with them he should have placed a proper valuation thereon. 4. Statutes—Construction—Proviso.—If there is conflict between the body of a statute and a proviso, then the proviso must prevail, as the later expression of the legislative intent.