Sullivan v. Ammons

Citations

• 95 Miss. 196
• 48 So. 244

Syllabus

<p>Privilege Taxes. Failure to pay. Contracts. Suits on. Maintainance forbidden. Repeal of statute. Laws 1875, ch. 1, p. 10, sec. 5. Code 1880, § 589. Code 1892, § 3401. Amendatory acts. Code 1906, § 3894.</p> <p>Under Laws 1875, ch. 1, p. 10, sec. 5, contracts made hy a person carrying on business without paying the privilege tax imposed thereon were utterly void and a repeal of the statute did not authorize a recovery by the guilty party on such void contracts. Anding v. Levy, 58 Miss. 51; Decell v. Lewenthal, 57 Miss. 331; hut under Code 1880, § 589, and Code 1892, § 3401, making such contracts illegal only so far as the guilty party may base a claim on them, and all statutes amendatory of these code sections containing a like provision, such contracts were merely non-enforceable as a matter of remedy while the statutes were- operative, a defendant had no vested right in a defense based on them and the defense was abrogated hy Code 1906, § 3894, providing a fine and imprisonment only as a punishment for carrying on business without paying the privilege tax imposed thereon.</p>