Scottish Union & National Insurance v. City of Winchester

Citations

• 110 Va. 451
• 66 S.E. 84
• 1909 Va. LEXIS 164

Syllabus

<p>1. Constitutional Law&emdash; Taxation&emdash;License Tax&emdash;Percentage of Companies.&emdash;An act of Assembly which levies upon an insurance company a license tax for a definite sum and also a percentage on its gross receipts, is not forbidden by that clause of the State Constitution which authorizes the General Assembly to levy a license tax on any business which cannot be reached by the ad valorem system. The percentage tax is not a property tax, but a privilege tax. Such has been the uniform legislative construction of such taxation for more than half a century, and such has been the course of decision in this court imposing similar taxation in analogous cases.</p> <p>2. Constitutional Law-&emdash;Doubtful Validity&emdash;Practical Construction. If a statute is of doubtful validity it will not be declared where it appears that, under the same or similar constitutional provisions, like powers have been conferred by similar statutes which have never been called in question by the courts, nor by two constitutional conventions which have since assembled, but have received the sanction of the and the inferior courts of the State, and have been in for over half a century by all the departments of the State government. The practical construction thus put upon such acts will be regarded as decisive of their validity.</p> <p>Z. Constitutional Law&emdash;License Taxes&emdash;Ad Valorem System.&emdash;There is no substantial difference between the Constitutions of 1869 and 1902 in relation to the imposition of taxes on licenses on business which cannot be reached by the ad valorem system.</p>