Commonwealth v. Union Trust Co.

Citations

• 237 Pa. 353
• 85 A. 461
• 1912 Pa. LEXIS 944

Syllabus

<p>Taxation — State taxes — Capital stock taxes — Trust companies —Reports—Duties of Auditor General — Act of June IS, 1907, P. L. 61J) — Banks and Banking.</p> <p>1. The report required to be filed by a trust company under the Act of June 13, 1907, P. L. 640, is intended to furnish the. basis upon which the Auditor General shall fix the taxable value of the shares of stock but it is not conclusively binding upon him, and if he is not satisfied with its correctness, it is his duty to inquire further and make settlement upon the actual value of the stock as shown by the facts.</p> <p>2. The Act of February 11, 189o, P. L. 4, transferring supervisory duties in matters relating to banking institutions from the Auditor General to the Commissioner of Banking in no way interferes with the power of taxation to be exercised by the Auditor General, who in the performance of his duties in this respect exercises his own functions without reference to what the Commissioner of Banking may do in matters pertaining to the supervision and regulation of banking institutions. In the exercise of his powers the Auditor General is not bound by the rules and regulations of the banking department.</p> <p>3. Where upon settlement of an account for taxes upon the capital stock of a trust company the return as filed by the company appraises the value of its shares at $20,097,466.50, but it appears from data contained in the report that the company appraised securities representing undivided profits at their cost price and that their reported value in the tax year was greatly in excess of sucb price, which difference the company recognized and carried as a reserve account, the Auditor General may fix such higher value upon these securities as a basis for ascertaining the actual value of the shares.</p>