Tax levy

“ It is that a levy unquestionably with n the taxing power of Congress may be treated as invalid because it is a step in a plan to regulate agricultural production and is thus a forbidden infringement of state power. The levy is not any the less an exercise of taxing power because it is intended to defray an expenditure for the general welfare rather than for some other support of government. Nor is the levy and collection of the tax pointed to as effecting the regulation. ”

“ As in the case of all other taxation, it may sometimes happen that the expenditure will fail to realize the expectation on which the levy is made, and it may thus appear that a special assessment has been laid when justice would have required the levy of a general tax ”

“ Three times out of four the former levy with this apportionment would not be returned; through prudence as well as humanity, the legislator is bound not to overburden the poor. Recently, in organizing the general tax and the revenue of the State, he has looked out for them; now, in organizing the local tax and the revenue of the department or of the commune, he looks out for them to a still greater extent. ”

“ It may, it is true, be subjected to taxation for the payment of the corporate debts, but the levy of taxes must be made by the corporation itself, or by the State. It is not a judicial act, and courts of equity, at least the circuit courts of the United States, cannot by their own officers levy a tax. Rees v. City of Watertown, 19 Wall. 107.
They certainly have no power to compel the levy of a tax by a corporation which is without officers and which has ceased to exist. ”

“ Congress did not intend, however, when it refused to tax the newly acquired shares as income in praesenti to exclude them from taxation in futuro if disposed of at a profit. A tax upon a gainful use either of capital or of income, when the gain is fully realized, is a true tax upon income and not a capital levy. ”

“ The encroachments upon the financial strength of the states, in the form of added taxes, have come with the growing activity of the federal government, as might well have been expected. In the year 1909 the federal corporation tax was laid upon all corporations engaged in interstate business in the United States. It has been urged that a large revenue would be secured by this form of tax levy ”

“ One of the difficulties which we have had to encounter in the practical administration of the Government consists in the adjustment of our revenue laws and the levy of the taxes necessary for the support of Government. In the general proposition that no more money shall be collected than the necessities of an economical administration shall require all parties seem to acquiesce. Nor does there seem to be any material difference of opinion as to the absence of right in the Government to tax one section of country, or one class of citizens, or one occupation, for the mere profit of another. ”

“ Funds for the work carried out by the township road officials are obtained by general taxation, the amount that may be levied being limited by statute and the actual levy being any amount up to the maximum that the township board deems necessary for its purposes. It is the general observation that the tax levy is usually the maximum permitted by law. ”

“ And, in my judgment, there can be no honest attempt at a fair adjustment of the burdens of a direct tax upon the general property of this or any other country which does not make a decent effort at an equalization in proportion to the true value of each article which is taxed. The true value of an article is necessarily its fair, full value, nothing more and nothing less. If we levy general property taxes, we are compelled to require by law that all property subject to the levy shall be taxed in proportion to its value, and such a rule is inevitably a law for a "full rendition." ”

“ Under Missouri law, the KCMSD has power to impose a limited property tax levy up to $1.25 per $100 of assessed value. The power to exact a higher rate of property tax remains with the people, a majority of whom must agree to empower the KCMSD to increase the levy up to $3.75 per $100, and two-thirds of whom must agree for the levy to go higher. ”

“ Any tax levied upon the citizen by the general government for any purpose whatsoever, save for the necessary expenses in the administration of the same, in all of its departments, in accordance with the letter and spirit of the constitution, is without authority, and violates the fundamental law. The levy of taxes in aid of private corporations subserves none of the purposes of the government, and is the exercise of a power not possessed by congress. ”

“ THE INCOME TAX.—All taxes ultimately come out of income, but when we speak of an income tax we refer to a direct levy upon income as it arises, chiefly in the form of wages, salaries, and profits. A Federal income tax was levied during the Civil War, but in the nineties the Supreme Court held that such a tax violated the constitutional provision that Congress shall not lay direct taxes except in proportion to the population of the states. ”

“ Coming now to the provisions for its enforcement, it is entirely clear that, as to the person actually carrying on the business, no notice of the assessment or levy of the tax is necessary. If the person carries on the business, the imposition of the tax follows as a matter of course. ”

“ During this period there was in force the act of the legislature of 1871, of which section 7 is as follows: 'That no city or other municipal corporation shall levy a tax for any purpose which shall exceed two per centum on the assessed cash value of all the property therein listed for taxation, nor shall the police jury of any parish levy a tax for any parish purposes during any year which shall exceed one hundred per centum of the state tax for that year, unless such excess shall be first sanctioned by a vote of the majority of the voters.' Acts 1871, p. ”

“ Although it is called a direct tax, the method of levy, as far as property is concerned, is upon the profits at their source, and not as they are distributed among the receivers. The question of the amount of individual incomes only comes before the authorities when claims for exemption and abatement are made. The character of the tax is accordingly much less odious than it would be if an account of individual incomes were invariably demanded, as was the case in the United States during the Civil War, when an income tax existed for a short time. ”

“ The point involved is whether a tax on net income, when such income is made up by aggregating all sources of revenue and deducting repairs, insurance, losses in business, exemptions, etc., becomes, to the extent to which real-estate revenues may have entered into the gross income, a direct tax on the land itself. In other words, does that which reaches an income, and thereby reaches rentals indirectly, and reaches the land by a double indirection, amount to a direct levy on the land itself? ”

“ As the difficulty of a tax on a person's whole expenditure is much greater than one on his whole income, inasmuch as the items are more numerous and more diffused, it is only attempted to levy a few taxes on some special items of expenditure, such as those on horses, carriages, plate, watches, and so on; but as these do not reach all persons with any degree of quality, they are so far forth objectionable. A house-tax, levied on the occupier, and not on the owner, unless he be at the same time the occupier, would be a direct tax on expenditure every way unobjectionable. ”

“ The PAC asked the Government to consider whether final statutory authority for levy assessments should continue to rest with the IBA alone, or whether this should be changed in the new legislation - which could require the Authority to consult the Home Office and the Treasury. Given that the levy is a form of tax payable to the Consolidated Fund, I think there is a strong case for making this change ”

“ One of the reasons why a court should not thus interfere, as it would in any transaction between individuals, is, that it has no power to apportion the tax or to make a new assessment, or to direct another to be made by the proper officers of the State. These officers, and the manner in which they shall exercise their functions, are wholly beyond the power of the court when so acting. The levy of taxes is not a judicial function. ”

“ All the property of each taxing jurisdiction must under these provisions bear the levies for all the dififerent public needs in that jurisdiction. State, county, municipal, school and road taxes are imposed in a cumulative levy upon each and all of the different forms of property of each jurisdiction. The state has had distinct sources of revenue (but mainly of recent development) in the inheritance tax, insurance licenses and tax on net premiums, general corporation fees and licenses and minor miscellaneous sources. ”

“ They may levy, assess, and collect an annual tax to defray the current expenses of their local government, but such tax shall never exceed for any one year one-fourth of one per cent., and shall be collectible only in current money. And all license and occupation tax levied, and all fines, forfeitures, penalties, and other dues accruing to cities and towns, shall be collectible only in current money. ”

“ We stand on different ground when we review the modifications to the District Court's order made by the Court of Appeals. As explained supra, at 43, the Court of Appeals held that the District Court in the future should authorize KCMSD to submit a levy to the state tax collection authorities adequate to fund its budget and should enjoin the operation of state laws that would limit or reduce the levy below that amount. ”

“ The adoption of the taxing act, as recommended by the commission, may therefore be taken, as appellant contends, to evidence a definite and specific legislative purpose to levy a new type of franchise tax, measured by corporate net income, including the tax exempt income from federal and state bonds. ”

“ Where a special tax is imposed under the law of Illinois, it is asserted, no inquiry into the benefits can be had, and, therefore, there arises the question whether the levy was invalid as exceeding the benefits to be derived, since all investigation into the amount of the benefits was, as a matter of law, excluded. But this proposition is plainly an afterthought. ”

“ The state legislature biennially fixes the rate of taxes for state purposes; the amount of this levy is now limited by the Constitution to 21/2 mills on the dollar. The board of county commissioners fixes the rate of county taxes and levies those taxes; and the county treasurer collects the taxes of the state and those of the county. Among the other sources of revenue are a poll-tax of two dollars on each man between the ages of twenty-one and sixty, licences, an inheritance tax, rent of state lands and the income from invested funds received from the sale of state lands. ”

“ The revenue acts do not discriminate between the respondent and others similarly situated, in the imposition of the income tax. If the respondent is exempt from the exaction, the conclusion must follow, because the tax directly burdens the functions of the state acting through the city of Long Beach. Considerations which have led to the condemnation of taxes in other circumstances are here absent. The levy is not upon the property of the municipality, nor upon the income it derives from its property, is not upon the city's share of the oil recovered, the lease, or the gross income therefrom. ”

“ The General Assembly may levy a tax on incomes in excess of six hundred dollars per annum; may levy a license tax upon any business which cannot be reached by the ad valorem system; and may impose state franchise taxes, and in imposing a franchise tax, may, in its discretion, make the same in lieu of taxes upon other property, in whole or in part, of a transportation, industrial, or commercial corporation. ”

“ By the obligation so entered into it was also agreed that the tax levied by the act and confirmed by the constitution should be a continuing annual tax until the bonds, principal and interest, were paid in full; that the appropriation of the revenue derived therefrom should be a continuing annual appropriation; and that no further authority than that contained in the act should be required to enable the taxing officers to levy and collect the tax, or the disbursing officers to pay out the money as collected in discharge of the obligation of the bonds. ”

“ But he was further of opinion that that power had not been exercised as to any part of the property of the company not subject to a state tax, that the county was only authorized to levy a percentage on the state tax, and that, as the state was not authorized to levy a tax upon the road and its appurtenances, and none such had been levied, there was no state tax upon which the county could assess a percentage. ”

“ A levy is from the practical view perfectly feasible, and is not open to more objection than any other new tax of like magnitude.70 Nevertheless, like all new taxes, it cannot be brought in without friction, and is, therefore, scarcely worth advocating for its own sake merely in substitution for an existing tax of similar incidence. It is to be regarded as the fairest and most expedient method of adjusting the burden of taxation between past accumulations and the fruits of present efforts, whenever, in the general judgment of the country, the discouragement to the latter is excessive. ”

“ People's Five Cents Savings Bonk touches or disposes of any other question than these, viz.:
1. That the tax in both of them was not a tax under the clause of the State constitution giving authority to the legislature 'to impose and levy proportionate and reasonable assessments, rates, and taxes upon all the inhabitants of, and persons resident and estates lying within, the commonwealth,' because those taxes must be proportionate upon all persons and property within the State. ”