Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1914-12-17
TO TEST vERMONT's FOREIGN TAX

/ II any uouot remained concerning the
much discussed forthcoming test Of Yer
mont's legislation taxing and regulating
foreign corporations doing business in
Vermont. that doubt has beer removed
by the statements made by the American
Express company in the documents filed
with the state treasurer in connection
with the payment of taxes under protest
after action for the collection f the same
had been begun by the state to the eff
feet that the state will he sued for the
recovery of tho taxes paid on grounds of
unconstitutionality and illeraity.
1t is to he noted in the first place that
the increase in the amount Of the tax
on mileage is not the ground of contest
but simply the occasion or cause OF the
contest The same objections were raised
before when compromise was effected
by the express companies with repre-
the amount Of taxes for four years In
effect tho express companies claimed
that they could not be forced legally to
pay taxes but they took the ground
that they would continue to pay as long
as they We're satisfied with the amount of
the tax imposed
Manifestly the people of Vermont can
not afford to have their taxation system
rest on any such insecure and uncertain
basis as that. II we have no right to
tax foreign corporations for the privilege
Of doing business in Vermont, despite the
decision of the Supreme Court of the
United States in a case recently quoted
I'm these columns indicating that Massa-
chusetts could exercise that right. then
we should know wherein our legislation
is faulty and remedy it.
| Our statutes under which the express
companies are taxed and regulated are
claimed to be Illegal and void on the
ground that they are contrary to the
constitutions of both the United States
and of Vermont and the rights guarnn-
teed by those fundamental laws violated
1t is claimed specifically among other
things, that the express companies are
deprived of property without due process
Of law; that the companies are engaged in
interstate commerce and therefore are
subject to federal instead OF State iuris-
diction and that they are not corpora
lions but associations of individuals or
ganized under the principles of common
law. by private contract, and therefore.
do not come under the operation of YER
mont's law which deals with corporations
/ In the face Of this warning from the
express companies themselves 1t will
hardly do for the people of Vermont to
shut their eyes to the crisis which con-
fronts the commonwealth, particularly
as other corporations than the express
companies are also involved. If the peo-
pie OF Vermont can not tax and regulate
foreign express companies doing business
/ In Vermont on the ground that interstate
commerce considerations alone eliminate
that right then manifestly the same
principle would apply to foreign railroad
'oHlPdHlcS anu foreign telegraph COM
panies and in fact all foreign corpora
tons engaged in interstate commerce.
I II the Massachusetts case In which the
decision was rendered by Justice Holmes
is sufficiently parallel to that of our
own State so that the same principles are
involved. then there would seem to be
little doubt concerning the validity OF
Vermont's statute taxing foreign cor
porations for the privilege OF doing busi-
ness In Vermont, and the question wheth-
er the law would apply to concerns not
corporations would remain to be deter
mined, although the fact that the ex-
/ press companies have shares listed on the
them under the Vermont statute, 1t
ought to be a very easy matter, how
ever, to eliminate any such minor de-
/ feet in our legislation, II one exists, for
manlfestly there would be no good rea-
son why other foreign concerns should
be taxed for the privilege of doing bust
ness in Vermont, while express compan-
les enjoyed the privilege of doing a
carrying business without taxation.
THE ANXIOUS GIRLS.
(From tho Paverlv Timcs1