Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1903-03-18
NOTES HELD BY BANKS ASSESSED
German Trust Company Will Resist
Payment of Tax on 100000 Worth
Of Notes and Mortgages Held in its
custody-Risht to Examine Banks
Books involved.

o plaintiff and the city of Davenport tn,
0 defendant. are two actions that will bs
. of great interest to every bank ano
: mortgage holder in the state The frs
) IS against the assessor of the county
D and the other against the assessors OF
, the city, when the matter is simmered
down, tho it is the official acts OF
those assessors. and not the men them
selves. that are called to account
In each Of these cases the assessor
charged the German Trust company
with having, and holding as agent,
} notes and mortgages in the amount of
$S0u.U00. Under the statute 1t was
claimed that the Trust company could
De held Tor the tax on this sum- The
trust company had refused to make
any return of notes or mortgages so
neid by 1t. holding that they were in
It's hands as the property of others.
merely retained by 1t as the employee
or the owners, and that it was not
lasseSsable. 1t refused to disclose the
names of the owners of these securities.
1 as = bank would refuse to tell the
. assessor the names of its depositors.
and the sums carried to their credit.
I The assessors then and thereupon made
a guess of 100000, and this assessment
the Trust company is resisting as UNI
| fair and Illegally made.
| II the Trust company were to
throw open its books to the view of
the assessor. and show him the names
of the owners of the securities in It's
hands, 1t probably would not be charge
able with any of this tax. 1t Is declared
to be the fact that inspection OF the
tax books shows that the owners of
these securities have returned them
for taxation and paid taxes on them
but to make such an exhibition of its
confidential affairs would be to forfeit
general business confidence. and the
company chose rather to fight the as
sessment in the courts than be put out
OF business in that manner.
BY the evidence introduced in the
trial of the case, which was held Mon
day before Judge Wolfe. the German
Trust Company held $4,000 in secur-
tiles of the kind named The evidence
showed that of this $4,000 belonged
to owners Who under the Iowa law can
Friendless, the Independent School
District of Davenport, and the German
Free school. The sum of $4,000 In |
these securities did belong to indiyid-
uals amenable TO the jurisdictions OF
of these assessors, and the balance was
owned by individuals in other states
and taxable, and presumably taxed |
where they lived. AS matter OF fact |
Ii should have been, but the character
o f the tenure whchh the Trust COM
pany had on those securities it is that /
makes the case of general interest.
The testimony showed that the Trust I
company had first owned these secur-
ities and had then sold them to their
present owners, who had then entered
into contracts with the Trust COM
pany for the safe keeping and posses
sion OF those papers, and for the col
lection of the moneys due on them,
the company TO be paid one-half OF
per cent on such collections as We're
deposited to the credit of the owners
OF the securities in the German Savings
bank.
To the person initiated in the Iowa
law this might appear to confer upon
the Trust company no obligation to
pay taxes on the property of other peo-
pie, but it happens that some thirty :
years ago this state framed a law for !
the catching of money sent into this {
state for investment, which had been K
GLIDING taxation here because it came
from another country, and 1t is the
contention OF the assessor and the
county and city attorney that this
statute holds the German Trust com
pany bound TO pay this tax, in this /
nsance something like $4,000 to 49, t
300. Lane & Waterman appear for the l
Trust company and the decision will be {
along one of these days, Judge Wolfe III
laving taken the case under advise II
nent IS
The case is one that involves an is q
sue that touches hundreds, perhaps v
thousands of persons in this county, d
of thousands in this state,
ind million of dollars in this city alone
In commenting on the case, the
Davenport Democrat says: &c
Ii the German Trust company loses n
his case in the end the banks will be a
leld for the notes they have on hand O
or safe keeping and collection. and +
very financial or loan agent here, or ii
elsewhere in Iowa. will be caught in S,
he same way. 1t is quite possible A
hat the same property may be three o
lines taxed under this law The real
Y pays its tax. The man who owns
mortgage turns it In. and 1t is tax
d. The bank or Trust company, that a.
as that security for safe keeping. Il
;hich the owner cannot give it--pays I'll
he third tax. Enough, surely, to| rt
1eet the demands of the most needy |u
nd exacting state. m
The taxing of agents on all the
per they have in their hands, or on
ne Wild guesses of the assessors, will
orce them to disclose their patrons. AZ
nd, in the end, will be effective in ~
DING still further in the work Of ~
.hich the tax ferretts in Iowa have 8,
one so much-driving capital out of
he state Not less than three of four
,ilion dollars in this city will be tr
fected. 1t need not all leave here, he
nd will not, but much of 1t will.lhf
here are other states that are bidding
II the money that Iowa is taxing out lar
her reach, and the decision of this a,
ase in the interest of the municipali- a,
es, will be Very great assistance to
lem, and an equal detriment to the i'll
ate of Iowa. in the judgement of men BIZ
u