Charles Evans Hughes

“ When we deal with intangible property, such as credits and choses in action generally, we encounter the difficulty that by reason of the absence of physical characteristics they have no situs in the physical sense, but have the situs attributable to them in legal conception. ”

“ The corporation established in West Virginia what has aptly been termed a 'commercial domicile.' It maintains its general business offices at Wheeling and there it keeps its books and accounting records. There its directors hold their meetings and its officers conduct the affairs of the corporation. There, as appellant's counsel well says, 'the management functioned.' The corporation has manufacturing plants and sales offices in other states. But what is done at those plants and offices is determined and controlled from the center of authority at Wheeling. ”

“ All moneys are controlled and the expenditures directed by the Wheeling office, and if the immediate expenditure be made elsewhere, it is made only under specific or general direction and control of that office. ”

“ The moneys thus expended in the conduct of its business in Ohio and states other than West Virginia are expended by executive action taken at Wheeling, and by the drawing of checks or drafts at that place, except in connection with the payment of pay rolls at its Portsmouth, Ohio, and Steubenville, Ohio, plants, where pay-roll checks or orders are drawn against moneys sent to banks at those points for the express purpose of meeting the pay rolls and for incidental items as they arise. ”

“ All invoices are payable in Wheeling. The majority of commercial accounts are paid by check issued at Wheeling. Pay rolls are made up and payroll checks are prepared and signed at the various plants and are there distributed to the employees. ”

“ Appellant urges that in Ohio 'only the excess of receivables and prepaid items over current payables' is actually taxed, and that the deduction of 'current indebtcdness' accounts for the amount of the Ohio assessment. The inference is sought to be drawn that the amount of accounts receivable taken into consideration in Ohio was thus larger than the amount assessed. ”

“ Counsel for the state presents an analysis of the state statutes and insists that there is no discrimination between the assessment of the intangibles of corporations, either foreign or domestic, and of those of natural persons, or with respect to the assessment of corporations engaged in public service. ”

“ It appears that the corporation has deposit accounts in several states. The deposits outside West Virginia were made by sending from the Wheeling office to the various banks the original checks or drafts received by the corporation from its customers. From these deposit accounts the corporation, by executive action at Wheeling, pays the amounts required for payrolls, materials, equipment, maintenance, and operating expenses as these amounts become payable in the course of its operations in Ohio and other states. ”

“ Accordingly we have held that a state may properly apply the rule mobilia sequuntur personam and treat them as localized at the owner's domicile for purposes of taxation. Farmers' Loan & Trust Co. v. Minnesota, 280 U.S. 204, 211, 50 S.Ct. 98, 74 L.Ed. 371, 65 A.L.R. 1000. And having thus determined 'that in general intangibles may be properly taxed at the domicile of their owner,' we have found 'no sufficient reason for saying that they are not entitled to enjoy an immunity against taxation at more than one place similar to that accorded to tangibles.' Id., 280 U.S. 204, at page 212, 50 S.Ct. ”

“ Employment offices are mai tained at each plant. The Portsmouth, Ohio, plant makes up and mails out invoices for all products shipped from that plant, together with bills of lading and shipping notices. ”