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§ 200

person or persons, body politic or corporate, not a party or parties to the suit or suits, action or actions, in which the aforesaid decree or decrees was or were made, nor of the said party or parties, except so far forth* as determined by said decree or decrees; and provided also, that when any trustee or trustees shall be made a party or parties to such suit or suits, action or actions, and their cestuis que trust, for any reason or reasons satisfactory to the court in which suit or suits, action or actions, may be, shall not be made a party or parties thereto, the rights and interests of such cestuis que trust shall be concluded by such decree or decrees.

8. This act shall take effect immediately.

This applies in terms to all corporations except steam-railroad, canal, turnpike and plank-road companies. The act is not of great public value.

Since the passage of the act there has been only one reorganization pursuant to its provisions. This was by the South Jersey Traction Company. (For forms under this act see papers filed in the office of the Secretary of State by that company.)

200.

Franchise Taxes.

Certain corporations to pay annual license tax.

["An act to provide for the imposition of State taxes upon certain corporations and for the collection thereof,” approved April 18, 1884, Section 1, as amended by Act of March 17, 1892. P. L. 1892, p. 136.] Every telegraph, telephone, cable or electric light company, every express company, not owned by a railroad company and otherwise taxed, every gas company, palace or parlor or sleeping car company, every oil or pipe line company, every life insurance company incorporated under the laws of this state, and every fire, marine, live stock, casualty or accident insurance company, doing business in this state, except mutual fire insurance companies, which do not issue policies on the stock plan, shall pay an annual tax, for the use of the state, by way of a license for its corporate franchise as hereinafter mentioned; provided, however, that no company or society shall be construed to be a life insurance company doing business in this state within the purview of this act, which, by its act or certificate of incorporation, shall have for its object the assistance of sick, needy or disabled members, the defraying funeral expenses of deceased members, and to provide for the wants of the widows and families of members after death.

* So in original.

201. Officers to make annual report to state board of assessors. § 201-3 On or before the first Tuesday of May next, and annually thereafter, it shall be the duty of the president, treasurer or other proper officer of every corporation of the character specified in the preceding section, to make report to the state board of assessors, appointed and to be appointed under the act entitled "An "act for the taxation of railroad and canal property," stating specifically the following particulars, namely: each telegraph, telephone, cable and express company, not owned by a railroad company and otherwise taxed, shall state the gross amount of its receipts from business done in this state for the year preceding the first day of January prior to the making of such report; each gas company and electric light company shall state the amount of its receipts for light or power supplied within this state for the year preceding the first day of February prior to the making of such report, and the amount of dividends declared or paid during the same time; each parlor, palace or sleeping car company shall state the gross amount of its receipts for fare or tolls for transportation of passengers within this state during the same time; each oil or pipe line company engaged in the transportation of oil or crude petroleum shall state the gross amount of its receipts from the transportation of oil or petroleum through its pipes or in and by its tanks or cars in this state during the same time; each fire, marine, live stock, casualty or accident insurance company shall state the total amount of premiums received by it for insurance upon the lives of persons resident or property located within this state, during the same time.

[Section 2, as amended by Act of March 17, 1892. P. L. 1892, p. 136.] 202. Penalties for false statement, or failure to make statement. If any officer of any company required by this act to make a return, shall, in such return, make a false statement, he shall be deemed guilty of perjury; if any such company shall neglect or refuse to make such return within the time limited as aforesaid, the state board of assessors shall ascertain and fix the amount of the annual license fee or franchise tax, and the basis upon which the same is determined, in such manner as may be deemed by them most practicable, and the amount fixed by them shall stand as such basis of taxation under this act.

[Section 3, as amended by Act of March 17, 1892. P. L. 1892, p. 137.] 203. Amount of tax to be paid by corporations.

Each telegraph, telephone, cable and express company shall

§ 203 pay to the state an annual license fee or franchise tax at the rate of two per centum upon the gross amount of its receipts so returned or ascertained; that each gas company and electric light company shall pay to the state an annual license fee or franchise tax at the rate of one-half of one per centum upon the gross amount of its receipts so returned or ascertained, and five per centum upon the dividends in excess of four per centum so paid or declared by said company; that each oil or pipe line company shall pay to the state an annual license fee or franchise tax at the rate of eight-tenths of one per centum upon the gross amount of its receipts so returned or ascertained; that each insurance company other than life shall pay to the state an annual license fee or franchise tax at the rate of one per centum upon the gross amount of its premiums so returned or ascertained; that each life insurance company incorporated under the laws of this state shall pay to the state an annual license fee or franchise tax of one per centum upon the amount of its surplus on the thirty-first day of December next preceding the time of such payment, as fixed in Section 5, and in addition thereto a further annual license fee or franchise tax of thirty-five onehundredths of one per centum upon the total gross insurance premiums collected by such companies of this state during the year ending December thirty-first next preceding; provided, that any taxes, or charges in lieu of taxes, that may hereafter be collected by this state from life insurance companies of other states shall be credited in rebate of the taxes hereby imposed on companies of this state, in proportion to the several amounts payable by the several companies of this state under this act: the commissioner of banking and insurance shall ascertain and report to the state board of assessors all facts necessary to enable the said board to ascertain and fix the amount of taxation to be paid by life insurance companies under this act, and shall ascertain and report to said board the amount of rebate to be allowed to said companies as herein provided, and shall also certify to each of said companies the amount of such taxation and the rebate allowed under this act; that each parlor, palace or sleeping car company shall pay to the state an annual license fee or franchise tax at the rate of two per centum upon the gross amount of its receipts so returned or ascertained; if any oil or pipe line company has part of its transportation line in this state and part thereof in another state or states, such company shall return a statement of its gross receipts for transportation of oil or petro

leum over its whole line, together with a statement of the whole § 204 length of its line and the length of its line in this state; such company shall pay an annual license fee or franchise tax to the state at the aforesaid rate upon such proportion of its said gross receipts as the length of its line in this state bears to the whole length of its line; that all other corporations incorporated under the laws of this state, and not hereinbefore provided for, shall make annual return to the state board of assessors of such information as may be required by said board to carry out the provisions of this act, and shall pay an annual license fee or franchise tax of one-tenth of one per centum on all amounts of capital stock issued and outstanding up to and including the sum of three million dollars; on all sums of capital stock issued and outstanding in excess of three million dollars and not exceeding five million dollars, an annual license fee or franchise tax of one-twentieth of one per centum, and the further sum of fifty dollars per annum per one million dollars, or any part thereof, on all amounts of capital stock issued and outstanding in excess of five million dollars; provided, that this act shall not apply to railway, canal or banking corporations, or to savings banks, cemeteries or religious corpcrations, or to purely charitable or educational associations, or manufacturing or mining corporations, at least fifty per centum of whose capital stock issued and outstanding is invested in mining or manufacturing carried on within this state; if any manufacturing or mining company, carrying on business in this state shall have less than fifty per centum of its capital stock, issued and outstanding, invested in business carried on within this state, such company shall pay the annual license fee or franchise tax herein provided for companies not carrying on business in this state, but shall be entitled, in the computation of such tax, to a deduction from the amount of its capital stock issued and outstanding of the assessed value of its real and personal estate so used in manufacturing or mining.

[Section 4, as amended by the Act of March 16, 1891 (P. L., p. 150) and further amended by Act of March 17, 1892. P. L. 1892, p. 137.]

Trust companies are exempt from this tax. ("An Act concerning trust companies [Revision of 1899],"$ 29, P. L., 1899, p. 467.)

Manufacturing and mining corporations, even if exempt from payment of the tax, should annually report to the state board of assessors. 204. Duties and powers of state board of assessors.

SEC. 5. The state board of assessors shall certify and report to the comptroller of the state, on or before the first Monday of

§ 205-6 June in each year, a statement of the basis of the annual license fee or franchise tax as returned by each company to, or ascertained by, the said board, and the amount of tax due thereon respectively, at the rates fixed by this act; such tax shall thereupon become due and payable, and it shall be the duty of the state treasurer to receive the same; if the tax of any company remains unpaid on the first day of July, after the same becomes due, the same shall thenceforth bear interest at the rate of one per centum for each month until paid; the state board of assessors shall have power to require of any corporation subject to tax under this act such information or reports touching the affairs of such company as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this act; and may require the production of the books of such company, and may swear and examine witnesses in relation thereto; the comptroller shall receive as compensation for his services under this act and under the act entitled "An act for the taxation of railroad and canal property," approved April tenth, one thousand eight hundred and eighty-four, the sum of five hundred dollars annually.

[Section 5, as amended by Act of March 17, 1892. P. L. 1892, p. 140.] 205. Tax is to be a debt; how collected; preferred debt in case of insolvency.

SEC. 6. Such tax, when determined, shall be a debt due from such company to the State, for which an action at law may be maintained after the same shall have been in arrears for the period of one month; such tax shall also be a preferred debt in case of insolvency.

206. Injunction against company in arrears for three months. SEC. 7 In addition to other remedies for the collection of such tax, it shall be lawful for the attorney-general, either of his own motion, or upon request of the state comptroller, whenever any tax due under this act from any company shall have remained in arrears for a period of three months after the same shall have become payable, to apply to the court of chancery, by petition in the name of the state, on five days' notice to such corporation, which notice may be served in such manner as the chancellor may direct, for an injunction to restrain such corporation from the exercise of any franchise, or the transaction of any business within this state until the payment of such tax and interest due thereon, and the costs of such application, to be fixed by the chancellor; the said court is hereby authorized to grant such injunction, if a proper case appears, and upon the granting

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