Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1943-03-18

Ruling Asked on
Maryland Tax
Four Protest Levies
On Income Earned
Outside the State

In case whose outcome will az
feet thousands of employees of the
Federal and District governments
and members of the military and
naval establishments stationed in
Washington and resident in Mary
land, the Supreme Court has been
asked to rule on the right of Mary
land to assess income taxes against
compensation paid for services rem
dered outside the state.
Four petitioners representing ap-
proximately 10 persons whose pro-
tests against the tax were overruled
by the Court of Appeals of Mary
land, seek the high court review
They are: 10 V. Morgan of Edge
moor, the one-man Board of Tax
Appeals for the District; Henry G
Wood of Yorktown Village, legisla-
tive counsel for the Senate. Alex
ander Tucker of Silver Spring, a
former special assistant to the At
torney General, who now is on mill
tary leave. and Brig. Gen. Joseph
H. Lewis of the Michigan National
Guard, who, like the others lived
in Montgomery County in the tax
year of 1889 for which the levy was
made.
Common Ground.
The appeal takes one common
ground for the four protestants-
that the Maryland statute violates
the doctrine of implied intergovern-
mental immunity under the Con-
stitution, the Fourteenth (due pro-
cess Amendment, and the Public
Salary Tax Act of 1899, in that il
discriminates against officers ano
employees of the Federal and Dis
trict governments by exemptine
public officers of Maryland from the
tax.
In addition, these contentious are
advanced:
Mr.. Wood argues the tax is invalid
because it applies to income earned
in 1889 before he was a resident of
the State. He lived in the District
part OF the year. He also contends
1t sets up arbitrary and unreason-
able" standards by dividing income
into two classifications, taxing 'in-
vestment income" 6 per cent and
ordinary income" az per cent.
Mr.. Tucker advances a domicili-
airy argument, contending that his
1899 domicile was in New JERSEY
and that he was merely tempora
rily" residing in Maryland.
Gen. Lewis, who has since beer
sent away on a secret mission, ar
CUES the same question, claiming
domicile in Michigan. He further
contends that his salary as an Of
f1cer of the National Guard was ex-
empt from the tax.
Embody Principal Issues.
The four cases were chosen for
appeal because they were believed to
embody the principal issues raised
by all the complaints. Action was
started in the Circuit Court OF
Montgomery County after adverse
rulings by the State Tax Commits
sion.
In urging Supreme Court review
tue peIltlCOerS say: -
The tax here involved was not q
non discriminatory tax laid on all
the income of all members of the
community, rs was upheld in Hell
vering VS.. Gerhardt, nor a 'non-dis-
criminatory general tax upon en-
ployes of the Government held con-
stitutional in the O'Keefe case. In
those cases the tax was imposed on
the income of all the members OF
the community, including the pub
lie officers of the particular taxing
authorities. 1t is rather that
character of tax to which Mr.. JUS
tice Frankfurter adverted in his
separate concurring opionion in the
OKeefe case when he observed that
State and Federal governments
must avoid exactions which dis
criminate against each other"