Wallace v. Myers

Citations

• 38 F. 184
• 4 L.R.A. 171
• 1889 U.S. App. LEXIS 2124

Syllabus

<p>1. Constitutional Law — Inheritance Tan.</p> <p>Act N. T. 1885, as amended by Laws 1887, c. 713, imposes a tax of 5 per cent, upon the value of property passing to any person not within certain degrees of consanguinity to the decedent, by will or the intestate laws, from any person who may die seised or possessed of the same while a resident of the state, or which is within the state at the time of his death. Held, that as the law operates alike on all property and persons similarly situated, and the assessment is made by a judicial officer, after due notice and.opportunity to be heard, it does not conflict with the fourteenth amendment to the federal constitution.</p> <p>2. Same — Tax on United States Bonds.</p> <p>Where the property of the decedent includes United States bonds, the tax may be assessed upon the basis of their value. The tax is not imposed upon the bonds, but is merely a tax upon the privilege of acquiring property by inheritance.</p>