Plummer v. Coler

Citations

• 178 U.S. 115
• 20 S. Ct. 829
• 44 L. Ed. 998
• 1900 U.S. LEXIS 1661
• 3 A.F.T.R. (P-H) 2712

Syllabus

<p>Tlie right to take property by will or descent is derived from and regulated by municipal law; and, in assessing a tax upon such right or privilege, the State may lawfully measure or fix the amount of the tax by referring to the value nf the property passing; and the incidental fact that such property is composed, in whole or in part, of Federal securities, does not invalidate the state tax, or the law under which it is imposed.</p> <p>The relation of tire individual citizen and resident to the State in which he resides is such that his right, as the owner of property, to direct its descent by will or permit its descent to be regulated by statute, and his right as legatee, devisee or heir to receive the property of his testator or ancestor, are rights derived from and regulated by the State; and no sound distinction can be drawn between the power of the State, in imposing taxes upon franchises of corporations, composed of individual persons, and in imposing taxes upon the right or privilege of individuals to avail themselves of the right to grant and to receive property under the statutes regulating the descent of the property of decedents.</p>