The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1875-02-25
Taxation without Jurisdiction.

tains little tina. is new either in fact or in
inference, its clearness of statement will
arrest the attention of the reader and disa-
bpse his mind of certain popular fallacies in
regard to the matter. Mr.. Wells treats
chiefly of taxation without territorial juris'
dction, taxation without returning an equiv
alent in the way of its correlative protection
to person or property, and double taxation or
taxation at one and the same time by con-
ficting Jurisdictions, of one and the same
property.
Tue proposition that personal property
shall be excluded from direct assessment for
the reason that no system has been devised
which will enable state to tax it with any
approach to uniformity and equity, has not,
in Mr.. Wells opinion, received full meas
ure of popular approval, though many are
finding out that "the assumption of power
on the part of state officials to tax citizens
for personal effects situated beyond the terri
tory or jurisdiction of the taxing power, or,
as the statute of Massachusetts has it, wher-
ever they are, is something wholly unwarran-
ted" The illegality of the assumption has
been definitely settled by recent decision of
the United States Supreme Court. The tax
alton of personal property is looked upon by
Mr.. Wells as a relic of personal servitude,
having for its prototype the ancient tdille,
and he halls the decision as an indication
that hereafter states must limit the exercise
of their taxing power to persons (poll taxi,
business, and property within their territorial
limits. The right to tax arises from the cor
relative duty to protect. Of course where
there is no jurisdiction there can be no pro-
lection, and consequently no rightful taxa
tion. That things cannot occupy two places
or two jurisdictions at the same time is an
axiom of jurisprudence as well as law of
nature.
As logical result of the decision in The
foreign :held bonds case, which, in respect to
extra-territorial taxation, is only legally ap-
plicable to states, Mr.. Wells holds that cities,
towns, and even school districts will commit
acts of spoliation by taxing any property act
ually situated beyond their territorial bounda-
ries and jurisdiction. He reasons that "as it
will be a matter of great difficulty, if not
physical impossibility, accurately to ascertain
what movable personal property was on a Civ
en- day within any given taxing district of linn
tied territorial area, or to restrain it in such
district il disposed temporarily to move off in
anticipation of the day of assessment, the ul-
innate result will be exactly what equity and
the principles of sound political economy re-
quire should be, namely: an entire abandon
ment of all attempts to tax personal proper
ty, and the adoption of plan of taxing but
few artices-tangible property and fixed signs
OF property like real estate-in such way
that the results of the taxation will diffuse
themselves with equality and uniformity not
only over all personal property, but also upon
all other property of every description.
A collateral subject is the question of the
taxation of indebtedness. The right to tax
itors at the time when made cannot be
doubted but the practice of taxing by state
authority debts to creditor who resides In
state other than that of the residence
of the debtor is held by Mr.. Wells
to be taxation of interstate commerce. The
borrower always has to pay,in additional rate
of interest or some other form, the tax upon
the contract. So if Maine taxes through the
agency or medium of resident creditors, bonds
and mortgages made in Michigan, she taxes
extra, territorialy debtors in Michigan. But
she has no power to tax debtor in Michi-
gan. When citizen of Maine, Ito vary Mr..
Wells illustration) lends money or sells com
modities to citizen of Michigan the
money or the goods pass out from
the jurisdiction of Maine into the jurisdiction
of Michigan. If the transaction is represent
ed by book account the Michigan man has
the property and the Maine man has in re-
turn conclusion Of flaD. If the Maine man
has written promise to pay, in form of a
note or bond and mortgage, he has simply in
possession a contract made outside the terri
tory of Maine by man in Michigan.
From this Mr.. Wells advances to the posi-
ton that debts are titles or conclusions of
law and not property, and have no situs in
dependent of the property which is the sub
ject of the qualified title. For example, a
deed is title to land, and credit is quail
fed lien or title to all of the debtors property
according to certain priorities Of lien. If one
state taxes the land and another state taxes
the deed on the valuation of the land; or if
one state taxes the debtors property and an
other state taxes the creditors lien on, or ii
tie in, that property, there IS manifest injus-
tce. The debtor, for upon him in reality the
whole burden falls, pays double tax. The
conclusion drawn is that credit, title aud
ownership are not things, but are conclusions
and deductions of law from certain facts, hav-
ing no situs because having no corpus to be
located, or body to be taxed, or materiality to
fill space in any state.
Mr.. Wells frames reducti0 ad abSurduma
after this manner: If the credits or owner
ship of evidences of indebtedness which per-
sons who change their residence from for
eign land to this country bring with them,
are property, then they must be imports and
exempt from all state taxation. "Under this
theory who can doubt that such imported
credits would soon become fAvorite subject
of Importation, and that the owner would
lawfully consider himself as the original pack
age?"
As a concluding illustration of Mr. Wells
position let us ask for example "Which is the
taxable property, the Maine Central railroad,
located in Maine, or the stock and bonds of
that railroad, held, it may be, all over the
world?" Mr.. Wells says that the road is the
taxable property, and that the stock and
bonds are not property at all, but merely the
eidences of title and debt. He objects to
the taxation of credits and titles inside the
state on real property outside.
An old Boulbon war-horse was in from the
country, Wednesday, and, while in town,
heard the news from Tennessee. ''There,
Lize,' he said to his wife, "drive back home,
and don't look for me fore Saturday niglt.
Pm going to celebrate. Justice has been
done at last The good old time is returnn'
Andy johnson has been elected again Hoop
hooray Pm on it biggern terbacker fac
ory."-Missowi BrunStcick.