Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1909-11-11
Il Vermont Taxing Business Out OF
the Stntc1
(From the Rutland Herald.)

(f'rOm inc RutlaNI HeralO.)
The Herald recently called attention
to the fact that some thi-ty-odd YER
mont corporations surrendered their
charters. in effect. last year. and also
to the fact that the Colonial Inr COM
pany of st. Adams had been organized
under the laws of Maine because the
alter were more favorable than the
laws of the State where thc corcerr
must actually operate. Now comes addi-
tional information bearing on the folly
of excessive regulation and taxation Of
corpora tons. The following is taken
from a Chica go paper of recent date
Ffty-threc Illinois corporations have
surrendered their charters since August,
A considerable proportion of these have
recognized under charters issued under
the Maine laws. In few cases tho bust
ness has been taken over by partner
ships.
There moves are in part the result Of
the working of the carefully drawn Hi
nois corporation laws, which place many
duties and restrictions upon companies
operating under them. In part. also they
follow the recent enactment OF federal
| corporation tax law, imposing an addi-
.ional burden.
A number OF the eXpatriated Illinois
corporations reappcaring with charters
secured under the leniont easy going
Maine laws. have returned TO their M
tive State, to do business as foreign con-
pan!es. Hy 50 doing they escape the pa
| ment of the Illinois capital stock tax,
gain the right Of one corporation to
vote the stock OF another, and secure en-
emption from other restrictions imposed
! by statutes of this State.
AS for the working c' tho federal cor
| poration tax law, Still too new to have
been construed - the courts. companies
| have been advised to resist its dema IDS
| for payments and statements Attorneys
| OF standing have declared the statute
unconstitutional.
Here. In concrete form, Is n situation
| that IL likely to confront Vermont If she
| persists in going further in the "reg,i-
| lation' and taxation Of her domestic cor
| porntions. The Heralds warnings along
| these lines have been met with some
| editorial shruKs, ard nm occasional COM
ment has appeared to the effect that
| these thirty-odd defunct Vermont corpor-
atoms "died-a -borning" and that taxa
lion and regulation Ind nothing to do
with it.
| Applying the snrle sort of reasoning to
] tho ..:-ois situation, one might say that
| the 81 corporations. referred to above.
might be similarly dismissed. This is
| hardly the case, however, as may he seen
by the following:
Among the Chicago corporations that
! have taken out Maine charters nre the
O. e. II. company and the Camel COM
pany, dealers in railway supplies and
! the Tan San company. dealers in Japan
csc mineral waters j NJ. Hopkins, pres
ident Of the Camel company, stated that
| that concern and the Q. & II. company,
with the Ayan Car company--an original
Maine corporation-arc allied concerns.
I'VE surrendered our charters" said
Mr. Hopkins yesterday, because we
| wanted to avoid the Illinois laws-the
| payment OF capital stock tax. the pro-
hibition against one corporation votinG
the stock OF another, and the 5000 other
restrictions and regulations that handicap
an Illinois company We secured chart
ers under the laws OF Maine and are
now doing business in Illinois as foreign
corporate
We are on an equal footing with laws
or Maine and are now doing business In
this state"
Ihc Illinois laws are playing havoc
win nome corporations, and II is likel,
that many other Illinois concerns vii
dissolve and become foreign corpora
tons"
w. arthur Brownlee, manager of TN
ran san company said his company als'
hsd given up it's Illinois charter and re
organized under the laws OF Maine.
we did this" said Mr. Brownlce
! because We were advised by our lawyer