Wagner Free Institute v. Philadelphia

Citations

• 132 Pa. 612
• 19 A. 297
• 1890 Pa. LEXIS 858

Syllabus

<p>1. Under the constitution of the United States and the decisions of the Supreme Court, a charter is ordinarily a contract; but a charter which is revocable at the will of the grantor is a quasi contract only, and to such a charter the rule of the Dartmouth College case does not apply.</p> <p>2. Under the constitutional amendment of 1857, and § 10, article XVI. of the present constitution, the legislature may alter or revoke any charter of incorporation, “ whenever in their opinion it may be injurious to the citizens of this commonwealth,” and that body is the final judge of what is injurious, and when.</p> <p>3. Exemption from taxation is a subject of inherent public interest; and under said constitutional provisions the legislature may at any time repeal an exemption of property from taxation contained in a charter granted subsequently to 1857, and such repeal may be made by general enactment.</p> <p>4. The effect of the act of April 8, 1873, P. L. 64, is to repeal the exemption from taxation of the real estate of religious, charitable and educational institutions, excepting that upon real estate, not exceeding five acres, which is annexed or attached to the buildings of such institutions: Northampton Co. v. Navigation Co., 75 Pa. 461; Wagner Institute’s App., 116 Pa. 555.</p>