Commonwealth v. Maury

Citations

• 82 Va. 883
• 1 S.E. 185
• 1887 Va. LEXIS 159

Syllabus

<p>1. State—Power of taxation—State bonds—Coupons.—The State is entitled to tax all persons, property and business within its jurisdiction, unless restrained by contract, expressed or implied. This includes the right to tax the bonds and the coupons attached thereto, which the State has issued, the funding act and the bonds and coupons under it issued constituting no contract that they shall be non-taxable. Murray v. Charleston, 90 U. S. 432.</p> <p>2. Idem—Tax on sales of property—Non-taxahle—Taxable.—A tax on the business of selling property is a tax on the property itself. If the property be non-taxable, there can be no tax on the business of selling it. Otherwise, where the property is taxable.</p> <p>3. Idem—Constitution of United States—Virginia Constitution.—Act of March 15th, 1884, requiring payment of special license tax of 81,000, for privilege of selling coupons cut from the State bonds and imposing tax of twenty per cent, on the face value of such coupons when sold, is not repugnant to the United States and the State Constitutions, wherein they forbid the passage of laws impairing the obligation of contracts.</p> <p>4. Idem—Cases distinguished.—Hartman v. Greenhow, 102 U. S. 672, decided that the act of this State, passed in 1876, imp sing a tax on the State bonds, and requiring that tax to be deducted from the coupons, when tendered by parties other than the holders of the bonds, in payment of their taxes or other dues to the State, was unconstitutional. But it did not decide that the State could not tax either the bonds or the coupons.</p>