The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1908-12-10
Heirs to Big Estates 10 kenoshs
County Deeply interested in
Suit in Supreme Court
TEST OF INHERITANCE TAX Law
More Than Hundred Thousand Dol
lar Paid to the State From This
County in Last Five Years
May be Returned to Heirs

A number of Kenosha people are
watching with a great deal of interest
a suit which has been started in the
Supreme Court of the state to test the
constitutionaHty Of the Wisconsin In
.heritance Law which has been started
by Mrs. Abbie Beals of Milwaukee.
The suit is most important to people
in this county as in her complaint Mrs
Beals claims that the law under which
inheritance taxes have been collected
since 1903 is null and void In that
tine there has been more than $4,000
collected in inheritance tax in this
comfy.
At the time of the payment Of the
tax here attorneys protested that the
law for the collection Of the tax was
unconstitutional, but no effort was made
to get a settlement from the state by
a suit in the Supreme Court 1t is held
that if the law should be declared I'M
constitutional the state must in equity
pay back to the estates all that has
been paid in for this sort of taxes.
Kenosha county has paid to the state
more than one-tenth Of the total
amount collected under the law. The
estate of the late Frances Balm Newell
paid to the state less than q year ago
nearly $4,000 as inheritance tax and
at the same time the executors Of the
will of the late Harriet M. Balm turned
over a large sum in taxes. In all
more than thirty estates in Kenosha
county have been taxed under the state
law and while in many estates the
amount paid has been small if the Su-
preme Court decides that the law is
unconsti tutional all of this money must
be paid back to the heirs of the de
ceased.
The Beals suit is novel in several
respects. By authority of section 5000
of the revised statutes the suit is
started in the Supreme Court. The
claim was presented to the legislature
two years ago and rejected. The
amount claimed is comparatively small
being only $3,024.61, but the Beal case
raises some new points which are ex-
pected to preclpitate a fierce legal bat
tle
The attorneys for the plaintiff, Wink
Ter, Flanders, Bottum & Fawcett, Mil
waukee, Tuesday filed the suit in the
Supreme Court and with it printed
brief of seventy-six pages which is an
exhaustive argument in favor of the
plaintiff Is contentious.
The plaintiff sets up three grounds
on which she considers the law uncon-
stitutional. They are as follows:
That no provision is made ia the law
for taxing the first $25, 600 Of transfers
which exceed in value or amount the
sum Of $4,000, the result of which is
to make the classification arbitrary, I'M
reasonable and unjust.
That in view of the decision of the
Supreme Court in the Nunnermacher
case that ahe right upon which the
tax is levied is a. natural right, the nm
equal or progressive rate imposed by
the law renders it unconstitutional.
! mat Jde progressive feature OF the
tax is in violation Of the spirit and
intent Of section Is of articles /, and
cognate provisions of the constitution,
which recognize specifically the right
to take property by descent as an in
herent right and forbid, Determinations
by law in reference thereto.
| The state, it is understood, will en-
Ter a general demurrer to the complaint
which will bring the question of consti-
nationality squarely before The court.
The state is anxious to secure an early
ruling in the case in order that the leg
islature may consider the question of
inheritance taxation if the present law
| is declared unconstitutional.