Case Name: Frantz's Appeal
Court: Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
Jurisdiction: Pennsylvania
Decision Date: 1866-10-17
Citations: 52 Pa. 367
Docket Number: 
Parties: Frantz’s Appeal.
Judges: 
Reporter: Pennsylvania State Reports
Volume: 52
Pages: 367–368

Head Matter:
Frantz’s Appeal.
An alien inhabitant of the state is liable to taxation for municipal purposes of every description, and the Acts of Assembly warrant no distinction in this respect, between inhabitants who are citizens and those who are not.
Appeal from the decree of the Court of Common Pleas of Luzerne county. In Equity.
This was a bill by Nicholas Frantz to restrain Jacob Robinson, Joseph Platt and Thomas Dickson, commissioners to carry out certain Acts of Assembly authorizing the raising money to pay bounties in the borough of Scranton, from collecting from the complainant the tax assessed for that purpose.
In a case stated, it was agreed that the complainant is an alien, and the only question raised was whether as such he was liable to taxation. The court below (Conyngham, P. J.) decided that he was so liable, and dismissed the bill, which was the error assigned.
E. E. Wright and D. C. Harrington, for appellant,
cited 1 Bl. Com. 309; 2 Kent Com. 64; Opinions of the Judges, 7 Mass. 523; Gardner’s Institutes 64, 74, 446; 2 Vattel Ch. 8, p. 174; 2 Phillimore Int. Law 6 ; 2 Burlamaqui 202; McCulloch v. The State of Maryland, 4 Wheat. 316 ; Sharpless v. Mayor of Philadelphia, 9 Harris 187; The People v. The Commissioners of Taxes et al., 1 Amer. Law Reg. N. S. 93; 1 Story on the Constitution, § 1049; Academy of Fine Arts v. Philadelphia, 10 Harris 496 ; Dobbins v. Commissioners of Erie, 16 Peters 435 ; Stewart v. Foster, 2 Binn. 110 ; Speer v. Blairsville, 14 Wright 150 ; Dwarris on Stat. 711, 750 ; Pitman v. Flint, 11 Pick. 506.
A. J. McClintock, A. Hand and I. J. Post, for appellees,
cited Acts April 1st 1864, P. L. 188 ; March 23d 1865, P. L. 107; Wendell’s R. 140 ; Speer v. Blairsville, 14 Wright 150 ; Stew art v. Foster, 2 Binn. 110 ; 1 Bac. Abr. 208 ; Hood’s Estate, 9 Harris 114; Miller v. Kirkpatrick, 5 Casey 229; Academy of Fine Arts v. Philadelphia, 10 Harris 496; Easton Bridge v. County, 9 Barr 415; Opinion of Judges, 8 Mass. 523; Smith v. Hunter, 7 How. 738 ; Providence Bank v. Billings, 4 Peters 516; Dobbins v. Erie, 16 Id. 435; McCulloch v. Maryland, 4 Wheat. 316; Mager v. Grima, 8 How. 490.

Opinion:
The opinion of the court was delivered, October 17th 1866.
Per Curiam.
That an alien inhabitant of the state is liable to taxation for municipal purposes of every description is too plain for argument, and that the Acts of Assembly warrant no distinction in this respect between inhabitants that are citizens, and those who are not, is equally clear.
The appellant has, therefore, no case. The decree of the court below was abundantly justified by the opinion given by the learned judge of that court.
The decree of the Court of Common Pleas is affirmed with costs.