Swift & Co. v. Board of Assessors

Citations

• 115 La. 322
• 38 So. 1006
• 1905 La. LEXIS 658

Syllabus

<p>TAXATION — MERCANTILE FIRMS — STOCK IN TRADE — VALUATION—AVERAGE.</p> <p>1. Where a mercantile company did not have at the date of listing, or at any period of time during the preceding year, merchandise or stock in trade exceeding $1,500 in value, it cannot be assessed on such item for a greater amount.</p> <p>2. Section 7 of Act No. 170, p. 350, of 1898, contemplates that all the elements which constitute the capital of a mercantile firm or company shall be assessed at their average value during the preceding 12 months. Where the stock in. trade varies in amount during that period, the “average” is obtained by calculating the mean of the several amounts.</p> <p>3. There is no warrant in law for finding such average by adding up the receipts of merchandise during the year and dividing the total by 12. Such a method gives the average of the monthly purchases, rather than a “fair average” of the stock in trade employed in the business.</p> <p>(Syllabus by the Court.)</p>