Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1897-12-02
TAXATION OF INVESTMENTS.
Section No. 4 of the Adams Bill Became
Operative Yesterday.

ScctiOu NOs . vi tHo thhhthH pih DNsoh'
Operative Yesterday.
Section No. Of the Adams bill for
the taxation of Investments became
operative yesterday and several corpora
tiOns followed it's requirements by pre-
senting information concerning their
business to the county assessors OF viii
mington hundred. The section named
is as follows:
1.-The president and secretary of all
corporations and associations liable to
taxation under \this act shall. on the
first day OF December in each year,
make their respective returnH under
oath to the assessor of the hundred or
assessment district in which the prin-
cipal Office or business place OF the cor
poration or association is situated;
which return shall show the whole
number of shares in each of said cor
puration or association, the market
value OF each share and the aggregate
market or real value of all the shares,
with the name of the owner and the
numhar Of shares owned by each res
| sppctively'
Assessor j. ID. Mccoy of the First
district. Assessor James F. Early OF
| the Second district and Assessor Charles
Whann of the Third district, sat in tue
Levy Court room to receive the returns
| from the various corporations. In view
Of the opposition to the law it was
perhaps little surprising that so many
corporations responded to the require
ment. There are, however, many more
tn hear from. Among those who made
returns yesterday are the following: Sc
curity Trust and Safe Deposit Co.,
Equitable Guarantee and Trust Co.,
Pusey & Jones Co., Charles Warner Co.,
johnson Forge Co. New Century Club,
William b. Clerk Co., Pooono Ice Co..
Diamond Ice Co.. McLear g. Kendall
Co., Wilmington Coal Gas Co., Seidel
| & Hastings Co., j. Morton Poole Go.
and Gawthrop g. Bro. Go.
| In addition to the section quoted the
following section of the bill refers to
the requirement rs to making returns,
by fixing penalty for not doing 30 IL
is as follows: "Any officer of any cor
poration or association failing to make
return or report as herein required
shall be guilty Of misdemeanor, aud
upnn conviction shall pay fine OF not
less than ten nor more than five hun
dred dollars, or be imprisoned not
less than tan days nor more than elk
months"
just what effect the possibility OF
having to undergo the penalty may
have had upon the officers of any of the
corporations to comply With the act 1t
would liz difficult to say. but it may
be taken as significant that no returns
of private individuals were received
by the Issessors this morning, there
being no penalty attached to theii
failure to comply with the law. The
requirements upUn individual owners
! 10, q of thu unf uh lph
reads as follows.
; "All classes of property herein named
and made subject to taxation shall he
assessed and taxed, whether the aame be
situated in this State or elsewhere, oil
whether the same be held as owner oil
in trust for the owner 10 any capacity
whatsoever, and the person owning,
! holding or controlling the same shal
be required to make returns thereof Il
the assessor OF his hundred or assess
} ment district, showing distinctly wher'
| the same is situated, owned or held
and the owner thereof. And when sncf
! returns are received by the assessors
they shall be arranged Alphabetical,
in the list of other taxable property
provided, however, that any invest
ments liable to assessment and taxation
by this act, which are taxed in an.
, other State or county, are expressl.
) exempted from the provisions of thi
3 act. ~
: The greater number OF the returns re
+ ceived from the corporations wer
r in accordance with the requirements O
the law but few OF them had not beei
q sworn to, as required. That Oversight
! was easily adjusted.
The assessors made no effort to ente
8 the returns in their books, but whel
{ they come TO do so will use the book
: prepared for State assessment lay
which was passed some years ago, th
books having the necessary headings.
, The assessors will sit at the Cour
House the rest of this week and mex
Monday and from December 18th t
10th, inclusive.