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Keywords

corporation

Related Cases

City of St. Louis v. Wiggins Ferry Co., 78 U.S. 423, 1870 WL 12776, 20 L.Ed. 192, 11 Wall. 423

Facts

The Wiggins Ferry Company, incorporated in Illinois, operated ferry-boats that transported passengers and cargo across the Mississippi River between St. Louis and East St. Louis. The company had its principal office in St. Louis, where its main officers resided, but the ferry-boats were laid up on the Illinois shore when not in use. The city of St. Louis assessed a tax on the ferry-boats, arguing they were taxable property within the city, despite the fact that the boats were primarily based in Illinois and the company paid taxes there as well.

The company has an office in Illinois. Its minor officers, such as engineers and pilots, lived in Illinois, where its real estate, including a warehouse, was situated. The company had also an office in St. Louis. Its president and vice-president and other principal officers lived in the city, and there the ordinary business meetings of the directors were held, and the corporate seal was kept.

Issue

Were the ferry-boats of the Wiggins Ferry Company 'within the city' of St. Louis for the purposes of taxation?

Were these boats ‘within the city’ of St. Louis? That is the only question in the case.

Rule

The court determined that the situs of the property for tax purposes is where the owner resides and where the property is physically located, not merely where it touches or operates.

A corporation actually and permanently resides within the State by whose law it is created; and there has the legal status of a citizen and inhabitant of such State, where only its stockholders can assemble and act as one body.

Analysis

The court analyzed the relationship between the ferry-boats and the city of St. Louis, noting that the boats were primarily based in Illinois and only briefly docked in St. Louis. The court emphasized that the ferry company's operations, including its principal office and the residence of its key officers, were in St. Louis, but the actual location of the ferry-boats when not in use was in Illinois. This led to the conclusion that the boats did not meet the criteria for being considered 'within the city' for tax purposes.

The payment of the tax in Illinois neither proves nor tends to prove that the situs of the property was in that State. Nor does the payment of a ferry-license to the city of St. Louis and of a wharfage tax on the wharf-boats of the company show anything contrary to our view. These are matters foreign to the question.

Conclusion

The court affirmed the lower court's judgment that the ferry-boats were not taxable by the city of St. Louis, as they were not 'within the city' under the applicable laws.

The boats were not ‘within the city.’

Who won?

Wiggins Ferry Company prevailed in the case because the court found that the ferry-boats were not subject to taxation by the city of St. Louis, as they were primarily based in Illinois.

The court found that the boats, ‘when not in actual use, were laid up by the Illinois shore, and were forbidden, by a general ordinance of the city of St. Louis regulating ferries and ferry-boats, to remain at the St. Louis wharf or landing longer than ten minutes at a time.’

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Keywords

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