The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1902-08-09
T FIDELITY CASE
Suit by Which Pagan 5
Tax Board Justi6es
It's ATTACK on the
Trust Com
panies.
WHAT THE COURT DECIDED
Assessment Must Be Uni
form and Be Made
at the True Value
ofthe Property.
STOCK VALUES FIXED
Law Does Not Mean That
It Shall Be Taxed at
Par But at It's True
Worth.
STOCK VALUES FIXED

The Pagan members of the Tax Board
Justify their attacks upon the trust COM
panies of the city and the proposition to
jack up their assessments on what is
known as the Fidelity Trust Company
case. This was the suit brought by the
Fidelity Company of Newark against
Andrew G.. Voght, Receiver of Taxes of
the City of Newark. The Fidelity Com
pany has a capital of $1,0O0,000 and for
the year 1900 the city assessed it upon
that amount of personal property under
provisions of IN act of 1915, which pro-
vides s'that all the real and personal
estate of every corporation incorporated
by any act of the Legislature, or by the
filing of a certificate, or otherwise under
any general law of the State, shall be
taxed the same as the real and personal
estate of an individual; provided, how
ever, that the provisions of this section
shall not apply to railway, turnpike, in
surance, canal or banking corporations,
or to savings banks. or to cemeteries,
church property or purely charitable or
educational associations"
The plaintiff claims exemption from
taxation upon all its property except the
par value of it's capital stock of 81 ,O0O,-
900 by virtue of the provisions of Section
% OF "An act concerning trust COM
panies'' (P. L. 1899, PIP. $50, 467), which
section provides that ''every trust COM
pany incorporated under any law of this
State shall be taxed in the taxing dis
trict, where its office is situated, upon
the amount of its capital stock. issued
and outstanding, except that any real
estate belonging to any such corporation
shall be taxed in the taxing district
where such real estate is situated. and
the amount of assessment upon said real
estate may be deducted from the amount
Of any assessment made upon the capi-
tai stock of the company as herein pro-
vided for; the capital stock, property and
franchise of any such corporation shall
be exempt from taxation in this State,
except as hereinabove provided for"
The following agreement is made part
of this case:-
at is agreed between counsel that the
following shall be added to and form
part of the agreed statement of facts in
this case, the same as if originally in
corporated therein:-The property of the
plaintiff in certiorari taxed by the Com
missioners of Assessment and Revision
of Taxes of the City of Newark, which
se icf nf
personal property of various kinds and
forms, such as stocks and bonds of
private and semi-public corporations mot
exempt from taxation), money, mortgages
upon real estate, prommissory notes,
stock notes, and other evidences of in
debtedness, in which the capital and
surplus of the plaintiff in certiorari was
invested The true value of such per-
sonal property aggregates at least the
amount of the assessed valuation. The
market value of the capital stock of the
prosecutor at the time the assessment
was made was at least 5000 per share.
It's par value was 500 per share"
The company certioraried the assess
ment to the Supreme Court and it was
argued at the November term, 1900, be-
fore Justices Van Syckle and Fort. On
February 25. 1901, the court rendered its
decision in which it heidi
u. Popularity existing in the use Of
property constitutes legitimate basis of
classification for the purposes Of taxa
tion, as in the case of railroad property;