Charles Evans Whittaker

“ It is surely clear that the Michigan tax is not imposed upon national banks or upon their assets; instead, it is imposed upon the owners of the bank's shares, measured solely by the value of those shares-'determined by dividing (the) capital account by the number of shares of such common stock.' See note 2.
Respondents' argument, and the Court's decision, put out of consideration the liability of national banks to repay their deposits and other debts, and would impose the tax on their gross assets, in direct opposition to the plain terms of the Michigan statute. ”

“ The uncontroverted evidence shows that, as a part or phase of its general banking business conducted in seven cities in Michigan, appellant is extensively engaged in the business of making residential mortgage loans. In those cities, there are 16 savings and loan associations which are also extensively engaged in that business. Competition between them and appellant for such loans is keen and continuous. Both appellant and those loan associations extensively advertise for and solicit such loans from all classes and in every economic strata of the people in those communities. ”

“ It is likewise idle to observe the obvious fact that savings and loan associations have no 'deposits,' and hence no deposit liabilities to deduct, [6] or to argue that they, in valuing their shares for the purposes of this tax, should be allowed to deduct the amounts paid in by their 'shareholders' for their 'shares,' as the resulting figure would be zero, and the effect would be to tax those shares only in fiction. ”