Samuel Nelson, Bank Tax Case — Opinion of the Court
“ The capital is not an ideal, fictitious, arbitrary sum of meney set down in the articles of association, but, in the theory and practical operation of the system, is composed of substantial property, and which gives value and solidity to the stock of the institution. ”
Samuel Nelson, Bank Tax Case — Opinion of the Court
“ Now, when the capital of the banks is required or authorized by the law to be invested in stocks, and, among others, in United States stock, under their charters or articles of association, and this capital thus invested is made the basis of taxation of the institutions, there is great difficulty in saying that it is not the stock thus constituting the corpus or body of the capital that is taxed. It is not easy to separate the property in which the capital is invested from the capital itself. ”
Samuel Nelson, Bank Tax Case — Opinion of the Court
“ The former mode involved an inquiry into the whole of the financial operations of the bank, its several liabilities, and its available resources; often a complicated and difficult undertaking, and, at best, of uncertain results. ”
