Home Savings Bank v. City of Des Moines’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

19 federal appellate · 8 district · 75 state decisions

Most-quoted passages

The sentences later courts lift from this opinion, ranked by how many decisions quote each — the parts of the opinion doing the work. These counts are smaller than the citation total above because most of the 193 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““The state cannot, by any form of taxation, impose any burden upon any part of the national public debt. The Constitution has conferred upon the government power to borrow money on the credit of the United States, and that power cannot-be burdened or impeded, or in any way affected, by the action of any state.” Home Savings Bank v. Des Moines, 205 U. S. 503 , 27 Sup. Ct. 571 , 51 L. Ed. 901 .”

   3 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Iowa Loan & Trust Co. v. Fairweather · Doneski v. Comptroller of Treasury

2. ““Shares of stock of national banks shall be assessed, to the individual stockholders at the place where the bank is located. Shares of stock of state and savings banks and ioan and trust companies shall be assessed to such banks and loan and trust companies and not to the individual stockholders. At the time the assessment is made, the officers of national banks shall furnish the assessor-with a list of all the stockholders and the number of shares owned by each, and he shall list to each stockholder under the head of corporation stock the total value of such shares. To aid the assessor in fixing the_yalue of such shares, the corporations shall furnish him a verified statement of all the matters provided in the preceding section, which shall also show, separately, the amount of capital stock, and the surplus and undivided earnings, and the assessor, from such statement and other information he can obtain, including any statement furnished to and information obtained by the auditor' of state, which shall be furnished him on request, shall fix the value of such stock, taking into account the capital, surplus and undivided earnings. In arriving at the total valuó of the shares of stock of such corporations, the amount of their capital actually invested in real estate owned by them. ' * * shall be assessed as other real estate, and the property of such corporations shall not be otherwise assessed.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Hannan v. First Nat. Bank

3. ““The. first step useful in the solution of this question is to ascertain with precision the nature of the tax in controversy, and upon what property it was levied, and that step must be taken by an examination of the taxing, law as interpreted by the Supreme Court of the state. A superficial reading of the law would lead to the conclusion that the tax authorized by it is a tax upon the shares of stock. The assessment is expressed to be upon ‘shares of stock of state and savings banks and loan and trust companies.’ But the true interpretation of the law cannot rest upon a single phrase in it All its parts must be considered in the manner pursued by this court in New Orleans v. Houston, 119 U. S. 265 , 278 [ 7 Sup. Ct. 198 , 30 L. Ed. 411 ], and Home Insurance Co. v. New York, 134 U. S. 594 [ 10 Sup. Ct. 593 , 33 L. Ed. 1025 ], with the view of determining the end accomplished by the taxation, and its actual and substantial purpose and effect. We must inquire whether the law really imposes a tax upon the shares of stock as the property of their owners, or merely adopts the value of those shares as the measure of valuation of the property of the corporation, and by that standard taxes that property itself.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Iowa Loan & Trust Co. v. Fairweather