The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1910-01-23
ISSUE OF TAX ON
MILLIONS INVOLVED
Minnesota Claims Right to In
heritance Tax on Great North
ern Holdings of Kennedy.
PECULIAR QUESTION IS
RAISED BY THE STATE
Once Settled in Court, viii
Probably Have Bearing in
Other States.
BY Leased Wire to Tho Tribune,

BY Leased Wire to The Tribune.
NEW YORK, Jan. 22,-Millions o1
dollars included in the estates of dece
dent owners of stock in big corpora
ions will be affected by the outcome
Of Minnosota's claim just made upon
the $60,o00,000 estate of the late John
Stewart Kennedy OF this city for the
inheritance tax on 10000 shares of
Great Northern railroad stock, par
value Sl0000,000, included in TINT es-
tate. Minnesota s contention that all
stock in corporations chartered by that
state is property located there, and tnat
stock certificates do not constitute the
property, is likely to be adopted by
other states If it is successfully NAM
tanned,
Estates like those Of the late e. n.
Hartman, D, o. Mills and H. ". Rog;
ers, constituting in lar~e measure OF
stocks of corporations Of other states
than New York. would probably be
mulcted in large sums for inheritance
tax to The benefit of the treasures or
those states which have an inheritance
tax law and which are the home states
OF those corporations IN which the cs-
tate is a holder of stocks. IT this CON
tention of Minnesota is upheld by the
courts OF final resort,
ATTORNEY General George T. Simpson
of Minnesota. who with Assistant At
torney General c.. Louis Weeks has
with the executors of Mr.. Kennedy IS
will. said to The Tribune representa-
tive today, Just previous to his depar
ture for home.
Simpsons Statement.
EOur in+ervioyvs with Mr. Robert
DeForest, one of the executors OF MI
Kcnnedy's will, and one of the mem
bers in the law firm acting MS legal ad-
visers. has not been conclusive. The
executors nre fully disposed to meet us
fairly. If it should become necessary
to litigate the matter, the litigation Will
be friendly AS TO the outcome we are
confident Of winning out and collecting
The tax, which will amount to Sloo,OO0
1t least
"Mr. DeForest was evidently sur
prised by the contention we set up. that
Mr. Kennedy's Great Northern railway
stock Aas its status as property IN Min"
nesota. In some of the states certif-
rates of stock are considered rs being
property in themselves. Other states,
OF which Minnesota is one, hold that
property in corporation has It's sitns
In the state under which it holds its
charter. or IN other words. the state
from which il derives its life. Taking
this view of the matter, certificates of
stock do not constitute the property. but
serve merely as evidence or owner
ship.
Is that the Great Northern Railway
company, in which Mr.. Kennedy was q
very large stockholder, or, in other
words, very large owner. is a Min.
nesota property subject to the laws of
that state. While the principle involved
in this proposition has net been adiudi"
Gated upon in the Minnesota courts, we
are willing that il be IL Mr.. Kennedy s
executors choose to contest it.
Position of State.
ttMeanwhile the state has conserved
It's position BY the appointment OF Mr..
Weeks as snecial administrator of the
estate of Mr.. Kennedy, and in that
capacity Mr.. Weeks has taken title to
the property The officials of the Great
Northern Railway company have been
auly notified of this action and no
transfer of the Kennedy stock can le-
gallv be made except with the consent
of Mr. Weeks We have no desire TO
administer upon Mr.. Kennedy's prop
erty, however; Mr. Kennedy's own ex"
ecutors are more competent for that
Our sole aim is TO safeguard our own
state in what we hold TO be a rightful
claim under the Minnesota inheritance
tax laws.
"If Mr. Kennedy's executors will
come to Minnesota and probate the will
there, giving the customary bonds for
administration of the property in nc
cordance with the Minnesota laws, Mr.
Weeks will promntly resign his posi-
tion as special administrator and the
matter will thus be disposed of, the
state ASSESSING and collecting the tax
in due course as the administration Of
the state proceeds.
State Ready for Suit.
"Otherwise. the state itself will Of
fer the will for probate and the prop
erty will be administered upon in the
fax claim is concerned The only re-
course left to Mr. Kennedy's executors
in that case would be to institute litiga-
tion TO determine whether our conten-
tion as 10 the situs of the property is
correct. We would In q measure wei
come such litigation as a means of OBJ
tanning for the first time the decision
nf Minnesota court upon that point
It would he Of interest in other states
as well, and would have very i'm
portant bearing upon the settlement in
future of the estates of ldecedent own.
ers of stock in corporations.'
Incidentally ii was learned today that
large part Of the Kennedy estate viii
escape taxation in New York City. Mr..
Lawson, president Of the tax board, has
announced that Mrs. Kennedy's assess
ments of $6,000,000 has been stricken
from the list because Mrs, Kennedy
has received only the special bequest of
&l,000,0 900, and it consisted almost en-
tirely of city bonds and stocks Under
the 1910 assessment Mrs. Kennedy was
la 10 70 ~