Altoona City v. O'Leary

Citations

• 60 Pa. Super. 159
• 1915 Pa. Super. LEXIS 162

Syllabus

<p>Taxation — Municipalities—Tax on gas companies — Constitutional law — Acts of May 28,1889, P. L. 287, and May 16,1901, P. L. 228.</p> <p>Under the Act of May 23, 1889, P. L. 287, as amended by the Act of May 16, 1901, P. L. 228, giving to cities of the third class the right “to levy and collect a license tax not exceeding one hundred dollars each annually on all contractors, bankers, brokers, ■ merchants of all kinds, grocers, confectioners, butchers, furniture dealers, jewelers, express companies, telegraph, telephone, steam-heating, gas, water, light and power companies,” a city of the third class has the right for general revenue purposes to enact by ordinance that “all gas companies or individuals furnishing light or heat thereby shall pay annually a license tax of one hundred dollars.”</p> <p>In a proceeding to enforce such an ordinance it is not error to exclude testimony tending to establish matters which, however pertinent in an inquiry as to the reasonableness of an attempted exercise of the police power, have no legitimate place in the determination of the validity of a tax.</p> <p>Such an ordinance does not contravene Article XI, Section 1, of the Constitution, relating to the uniformity of taxation because it assesses and levies a tax upon all gas companies doing business within the limits of the municipality without regard to the quantity of business done by each. Williamsport v. Wenner, 172 Pa. 173, distinguished.</p> <p>A gas company which manufactures its product within the limits of Pennsylvania and sells its entire product within the same limits to a railroad company and a sleeping car company for lighting cars, is not engaged in interstate commerce, although the cars themselves are operated in interstate traffic.</p>