Commonwealth v. Philadelphia Manufacturers' Mutual Fire Insurance

Citations

• 242 Pa. 203
• 88 A. 943
• 1913 Pa. LEXIS 864

Syllabus

<p>Taxation — Fire insurance companies — Mutual companies — Reserves — Acts of June 1, 1889, P. L. 420, and June 28, 1895, P. L. 408.</p> <p>Under the Act of June 1, 1889, P. L. 420, and its Supplement of June 28, 1895, P. L. 408, a tax is imposed upon the gross amounts of premiums and assessments received from the business of insurance companies transacted within the Commonwealth, excepting, however, from its provisions “companies doing business upon the purely mutual plan, without any capital stock or accumulated reserve.” The defendant company was a mutual fire insurance company. Its method of doing business was to require contributions or deposits from its stockholders at the beginning of each policy year; the balance of this deposit not used for the payment of losses or other purposes connected with the business of the insurance company was returned at the end of the year. It was decided by the lower court that the fund created by the said deposits and its accretions was the property of the members who had contributed to it; that the company had no beneficial or absolute title to it; that it could not be considered as a reserve within the meaning of the exception in the act above quoted, and that judgment should be entered for the defendant in an action to recover taxes assessed against it under this statute. St eld, no error.</p>