Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1878-05-04
Congress and the Personal -.

leVying tax on personal ,r,nar.,,i g. NJ
trict owned by persons .ar;ng dnn,io;rns 49,
where, has recently + ,.on aive, IL 81 n;.
cumstances name"
1sSS Ge,,t Ef -TToRNEY, ID. c., April Goth.
tSS :stb ;ns ea: Herewith return vours OF
tingufsheT giving correspondence OF dis
RcaIT .fsr OF the Supreme Court-and the
bia OF Assessors for the District of Column
Ny opinion is requested as to the SCOPE OF
existing statutes levying tax on personal
property IN the District owned by persons
having domiciles elsewhere. 1t is seen this
has reference to that large and important
class OF property owners. Senators, membe IS
OF the Cabinet, of the House, and others fill
| ing Important public places, and an increas-
the capital.
The law is furnished by Congress. Its con-
strnction and execution are left to the District
| authorities, II misapprehended it may he
| revised by the law officer of the United States
or determined by declaratOry act or resol,I-
ton Of the two Houses.
For the time being nearly the whole person
| mel of all the great departments of the Gov
| eminent are the subjects of the DistricC OF
| Columbia, and such authority as here exists.
and share largely its advantage Protection,
| its discOmfortS and Inconvenience.
1t is quite within the province of the two
houses to define by law the exact relations OF
the personnel OF their members, and of all
other funct ;Onaries, to such municipal author
tiles as they are pleased to set up here. Until
that IS done they are to be recognized and gov
erned as all other sOiOurnerS, not of the for
eign missions. In the delicate matter Of taxa
ton nothing can be easier than for Congress
to protect the property of its members. These
gentlemen know the laws by which they are
taxed i'm the states of their dOmiciles, and ca n
protect themselves and others from a double
assessment although as legislators for the Dis
trict they shrink to the proportions OF board
OF aldermen and council of municipality,
with no other limit than the institutional
american ideas to which they are supposed
IN INF ttnI ut. int
The act of March Sd. 1877, and the amenda
toy ac' of April 3D. 1873 are the present tax
law OF this district. The first section of the
THAT for the support of the government OF
the District of Columbia for the fiscal year
ending June 20, 1873, there shall be levied upon
| all lands outside of the cities Of Washington
and Georgetown held and used solely for agr-
| cultural purposes u tax of one dollar and
tHentN-hVe cents on each one hundred dollars
OF the assessed value thereof, and upon al
other real and personal property in said Dis
trict excepting only the real and personal
property OF the United States, and that herein
after stated, tax OF one dollar and fifty GEMS
on each one hundred dollars of the aSSe ised
|. value thereof
This unequivOcally declares that all the
property, real and personal, in the District
not owned by the United States, shall be taxed ::
no matter who the owners are or where they
reside: Its situs alone determines its liability.
Section IS as follows:
mat the property exempt from taxation
under this act shall be the following and no
other, namely; First, the Corcoran Art Build
ing, free public library buildings, churches.
the Soldiers Home, and grounds actually Oc-
cuDed by such buildings; secondly, houses
for the reformation of Offenders, almshOuseS,
buildings belonging to institutions of purely
pubic charity, conducted without charge to
inmates, profit or income; cemeteries dedicat-
ed and used solely for burial purposes and
without private income or profit but ii any
portion of any such building. house grounds
or cemetery SO in terms excepted is larger than
IS absolutely required and actually used for its
legitimate purpose aud none other, or is used
to secure rent OF income, or for any business
purpose, such portion OF the same. or a sum
equal III value to such portion, shall be taxed
against the owner of said building or grounds ::
thirdly. such property as is now exempt from
taxation by laws of the United States f0urtitIY.
personal property not ?n said District and
t0red elsewhere, but OlCRed BIZ persons dOUli
cued in said District; filthy. personal pro
of $500
This contains all the exemptieUs known to
that act. In q communication al December
~, 1871, in reference to these sections eX-
pressed the following opinion, to which ad-
here:
THE act of March 3, 1877, is the law in force.
The first section leyieS taxes on all real and
personal property in the District. The exemp-
tions OF the oth section do no: include properly
owned by temporary residents nor can / find
in the act anything TO qualify the scope of the
first section lin this reSEect.]
AS general rule, personal property is tax
able at the d0mlcile OF the owner, under the
principle that its possession follows his person
ii, however, the property is permanently out
OF the state CT his domiclle, II cannot be taxed
lheTe. All personal property can be taxed in
the state Or Jurisdiction where it IS. think
where q IS TO he regarded as permanently loo a.
led, IS the rule.
"A man whe carries on a business in the
DISTRICT, all the property employed in and
about it, has its site here for taxation SO a
man who keeps aresidence here, the furniture
which constantly remains in it, ike the house
itself, may be taxed here, though the OWne"
may have residence, his dOmicIe. elsewhere.
II his furniture comes and goes with him. the
and credits, L think can only be taxed in the
home state and clearly no property should be
taxed in two states for the same time
although the language OF the above frs;
section is broad enough to cover all the prop
erty actually within the District at given
time, It is to be presumed that the legislature
i think 1t did not intend to tax properly here
temporarily. l think it did not Intend to tax
property taxed in the states. where the owners
have their dOmicles."
The eighth section above quoted was
amended by the act of April s. 1873, as iol-
lows:
I'm section Sth strike out the word .domi
ciled' and insert in lieu thereof the words lem
pOrarily residing"
may not speculate as to what Congress NAV
nave intended to say in the premises. What
provision and words are brought together i'm
orderly sequence.
From section /. There shall be levied upon
all personal property in said District [of Col
umbia] tax of one dollar and fifty cents on
each one hundred dollars of the assessed value
lhereO1, urOm Sec s as amended) [eXceptl
personal property not in said District and
taxed elsewhere but owned by persons tenn
p0rarily residing in said District
call attention to the conference of these pro-
VISIONS and the .perSpicuity of this language
The first section in explicit terms declares The
subject OF taxation 10 be property situate
WithiR the District.
The exemption saves from it's effect s!prop
erty not in said District" which would Saar,