Tax

A tax is not an assessment of benefits. It is, as we have said, a means of distributing the burden of the cost of government. The only benefit to which the taxpayer is constitutionally entitled is that derived from his enjoyment of the privileges of living in an organized society, established and safeguarded by the devotion of taxes to public purposes.

A contribution Imposed by government on individuals for the service of the state. 13 Pa. St. 104; 115 111. 109. It is distinguished from a subsidy, as being certain and orderly. Jacob. A sum of money assessed under the authority of the state on the personal property of an individual for the use of the state. 60 Me. 124. It is distinguished from a local assessment, as being imposed without reference to peculiar benefits to particular individuals or property. 84 N. Y. 108; 22 Minn. 494. See "Special Assessment." "Excise" and "impost" are sometimes used as synonymous with "tax," but in strictness apply only to taxes upon production or consumption, and upon imports, respectively. Taxes are either: (1) Direct or indirect, direct being those assessed on the property, person, business, etc., of those who are to pay them, and indirect being a tax levied on commodities before they reach the consumer. Cooley, Tax'n, 6. and specific those consisting of a fixed sum imposed upon an article or thing by name. (3) General or local, general being those imposed on property throughout the state, and local being those imposed on the locality specially benefitted. Taxes are also classified according to the nature of the property on which they are imposed, as income taxes, inheritance taxes, personal property taxes, etc.

A pecuniary burden imposed for the support of the government. U. S. v. R. Co., 17 Wall. (U. S.) 322, 21 L. Ed. 597. The enforced proportional contribution of persons and property, levied by the authority of the state for the support of government, and for all public needs. Opinion of the Justices, 58 Me. 591; Cooley, Tax. 1. Burdens or charges imposed by the legislative power of a state upon persons or property, to raise money for public purposes. Perry v. Washburn, 20 Cal. 318. A sum or rate imposed by governmental authority for a public object or purpose. Pettibone v. Smith, 150 Pa. 118, 24 Atl. 693, 17 L. R. A. 423; Deal v. Mississippi County, 107 Mo. 464, 18 S. W. 24, 14 L. R. A. 622. A pecuniary burden laid upon individuals or property to support the government. New Jersey v. Anderson, 203 U. S. 4S3, 27 Sup. Ct. 137, 51 L. Ed. 284. See the opinion by Miller, J., in Citizens S. & L. Ass n v. Topeka, 20 Wall. (U. S.) 655, 22 L. Ed. 455. A tax is a demand of sovereignty; a toll is a demand of proprietorship; State Freight Tax Case, 15 Wall. (U. S.) 278, 21 L. Ed. 146. Taxes are not “debts”; Perry v. Washburn, 20 Cal. 318; Mc Keesport v. Fuller, 147 Pa. 532, 23 Atl. 799; City Council of Charleston v. Phosphate Co., 34 S. C. 511, 13 S. E. 845; do not embrace local assessments; New Jersey v. Anderson, 203 U. S. 483, 27 Sup. Ct. 137, 51 L. Ed. 284; Zable v. Orphans’ Home, 92 Ky. 89, 17 S. W. 212, 13 L. R. A. 668; New London v. Miller, 60 Conn. 112, 22 Atl. 499; Austin v. Seattle, 2 Wash. 667, 27 Pac. 557; nor are fees required by a statute for filing articles of incorporation a tax; Ashley v. Ryan, 49 Ohio St. 504, 31 N. E. 721. The word “tax” is not infrequently used in a general sense as denoting a burden or charge, and not in the strict legal sense of a charge or burden imposed by the state for the purpose of revenue for its support; New York v. A tax is not a debt; Camden v. Allen, 26

n. Taxes are a ratable portion of the produce of the property and labor of the individual citizens, taken by the nation, in the exercise of its sovereign rights, for the support of government, for the administration of the laws, and as the means for continuing in operation the various legitimate functions of the sinte. Black, Tax Titles, § 2; New London v. Miller, 60 Conn. 112, 22 Atl. 499; Graham v. St. Joseph Tp., 67 Mich. 652, 35 N. W. 808; Gibbons v. Ogden, 9 Wheat. 1, 6 L. Ed. 23. Taxes are the enforced proportional contribution of persons and property, levied by the authority of the state for the support of the government, and for all publlc needs; portions of the property of the citizen, demanded and received by the government, to be disposed of to enable it to discharge its functions. Opinion of Justices, 58 Me, 590; Moog v. Randolph, 77 Ala. 597; Palmer v. Way, 6 Co.lo. 106; Wagner v. Rock Island, 146 III. 139, 34 N. E. 545, 21 In R. A. 519; In re Hun, 144 N. Y. 472, 39 N. E. 376; Taylor v. Boyd, 63 Tex. 533; Morgan's Co. . State Board of Health, 118 U. S. 455, 6 Sup. Ct. 1114,30 I Ed. 237; Dranga v. Rowe, 127 Cal. 506, 59 Pan. 944; McClelland v. Sinte, 138 Ind. 321, 37 N. E. 1089; Hanson v. Vernon, 27 Iowa, 28, 1 Am. Rep. 215; Bonaparte v. State, 63 Md. 465; Pittsburgh, etc., R. Co. v. State, 49 Ohio St. 189, 30 N. E. 435, 16 L. R. A. 380; Illinois Cent. R. Co. v. Decatur, 147 U. S. 190, 13 Sup. Ct. 293, 37 In Ed. 132.

In a general sense, a tax is any contribution imposed by government upon individuals, for the use and service of the state, whether under the name of toll, tribute, tallage, gabel, impost, duty, custom, excise, subsidy, aid, supply, or other name. Story, Const. § 950. Synonyms.

In a broad sense, taxes undoubtedly include assessments, and the right to Impose assessments has its foundation in the taxing power of the government; and yet, in practice and as generally understood, there is a broad distinction betwcen the two terms. "Taxes," as the term is generally used, are publlc burdens imposed generally upon the inhabitants of the whole sinte, or upon some civil division thereof, for governmental purposes, without reference to peculiar benefits to particniar individuals or property. "Assessments" have reference to impositions for Improvements which are specially beneficial to particular individuals or property, and which are imposed in proportion to the particular benefits supposed to be conferred. They are justified only because the improvements confer special benefits, and are just only when they are divided in proportion to such benefits. Roosevelt Hospital v. New York, 84 N. Y. 112. As distinguished from other kinds of taxation, "assessments" are those special and local impositions upon property in the immediate vicinity of municipal improvements which are necessary to pay for the improvement, and are laid with reference to the special benefit which the property is supposed to have derived therefrom. Hale v. Kenosha, 29 Wis. 599; Ridenour v. Saffin, 1 Handy (Ohio) 464; King v. Portland, 2 Or. 146; Williams v. Corcoran, 46 Cal. 553. Taxes differ from subsidies, in being certain and orderly, and from forced contributions, eta, in that they are levied by authority of law, and by some rule of proportion which is intended to insure uniformity of contribution, and a just apportionment of the burdens of government Cooley, Tax'n, 2. The words "tax" and "excise," although often used as synonymous, are to be considered as having entirely distinct and separate significations. The former is a charge apportioned either among the whole people of the sinte, or those residing within certain districts, muuicipalities, or sections. It is required to be imposed, as we shall more fully explain hereafter, se that, if levied for the public charges of government, it shall be shared according to the estate, real and personal, which each person may possess; or, if raised to defray the cost of some local government of a public nature, it shall be borne by those who will receive some special and peculiar benefit or advantage which an expenditure of money for a public object may cause to those on whom the tax is assessed. An' excise, on the other hand, is of a different character. It is based on no rule of apportionment or equality whatever. It is a fixed, absolute, and direct charge Inid on merchandise, products, or commodities, without any regard to the amount of property belonging to those on whom it may fall, or to any supposed relation between money expended for a public object and a special benefit occasioned to those by whom the charge is to be paid. Oliver v. Washington Mills, 11 Allen (Mass.) 274.

— Ad valorem tax. See Ad Valorem.

— Capitation tax. See that title.

— Collateral inheritance tax. See Collateral Inheritance.

— Direct tax. A direct tax is one which is demanded from the very persons who, it is intended .or desired, shmild pay it. Indirect taxes are those which are demanded from one person, in the expectation and intention that he shnil indemnify himself at the expense of another. Mill, Pol. Eicon. Taxes are divided into "direct," under which designation would be included those which are assessed upon the property, person, business, income, etc., of those who are to pay them, and "indirect," or those which are levied on commodities before they reach the consumer, and are paid by those upon whom they ultimately fall, not as taxes, but as part of the market price of the commodity. Cooley, Tax'n, 6. Historical evidence shows that personui property, contracts, occupations, and the like, have never been regarded as the subjects of direct tax. The phrase is understood to be limited to taxes on land and its appurtenances, and on polis. Veazie Bank v. Fenno, 8 Wall. 533, 19 In Ed. 482. See Hvlton v. U. S., 3 Dall. 171. 1 L. Ed. 556; Pacific Ins. Co. v. Soule, 7 Wall. 445, 19 L. Ed. 95: Scholey v. R?w, 90 U. S. 347, 23 L. Ed. 99; Springer v. U. S„ 102 U. S. 602, 26 In Ed. 253; Veazie Bank v. Fenno, 8 Wall. 533, 19 L. Ed. 482; Pollock v. Farmers' It. & T. Co., i57 U. S. 429, 15 Sup. Ct. 673, 39 L. Ed. 759; Railroad Co., v. Morrow, 87 Tenn. 406. 11 S. W. 348, 2 L. R. A. 853; People v. Knight, 174 N. Y. 475, 67 N. E. 65, 63 L. R. A. 87.

— Franchise tax. See Franchise.

— Income tax. See Income.

— Indirect taxes. those demanded in the first instance from one person in the expectation and intention that he shall indemnify himself at the expense of another. "Ordinarily all taxes paid primarily by persons who can shift the burden upon some one else, or who are under no legal compulsion to pay them, are considered indirect taxea" Pollock v. Farmers' It. & T. Co., l57 U. S. 429, 15 Sup. Ct. 673, 39 L. Ed. 759; Springer v. U. S„ 107 U. S. 602, 26 L. Ed. 253; Thomasson v. State, 15 Ind. '451.

— Inheritance tax. See Inheritance.

— License tax. See License.

— Local taxes. Those assessments which are limited to certain districts, as poor-rates, parochial taxes, county rates, municipal taxes, etc.

— Occupation tax. See Occupation.

— Parliamentary taxes. Such taxes as are imposed directly by act of parliament, i. e., by the legislature itself, as distinguished from those which are imposed by private individuals or bodies under the authority of an act of parliament Thus, a sewers rate, not being imposed directly by act of parliament. but by certain persons termed "commissioners of sewers," is not a parliamentary tax; whereas the income tax, which is directly imposed, and the amount also fixed, by act of parliament, is a parliamentary tax. Brown.

— Personal tax. This term may mean either a tax imposed on the person without reference to property, as, a capitation or poll tax, or a tax imposed on personal property, as distinguished from one laid on real property. See Jack v. Walker (C. C.) 79 Fed. 141; Potter v. Ross, 23 N. J. Law, 517; Bates' Ann. St. Ohio, 1904, § 2860,

— Poll tax. See that title.

— Publio tax. A tax levied for some general public purpose or for the purposes of the genera] public revenue, as distinguished from local municipal taxes and assessments. Morgan v. Cree, 46 Vt. 783, 14 Am. Rep. 640; Buffalo City Cemetery v. Buffalo, 46 N. Y. 509

— Specific tax. A tax imposed as a fixed sum on each article or item of property of a given class or kind, without regard to its value; opposed to ad vaiprem tax.

— Succession tax. See Succession.'

— Tax certificate. A certificate of the purchase of land at a tax sale thereof, given by the officer making the sale, and which is evidence of the holder's right to receive a deed of the land if it is not redeemed within the time limited by law. See Eaton v. Manitowoc County, 44 Wis. 492; Nelson v. Central Land Co.. 35 Minn. 408, 29 N. W. 121.

— Tax-deed. The conveyance given upon a sale of lands made for non-payment of taxes; the deed whereby the officer of the law undertakes to convey the title of the proprietor to the purchaser at the tax-sale.

— Tax lease. The instrument (or estate) given to the purchaser of land at a tax sale, where the law does not permit the sale of the estate in fee for non-payment of taxes, but instead thereof directs the sale of an estate for years.

— Tax levy. The total sum to be raised by a tax. Also the bill, enactment, or measure of legislation by which an annual or general tax is imposed.

— Tax-lien. A statutory lien, existing in favor of the state or municipality, upon the lands of a person charged with taxes, binding the same either for the taxes assessed upon the specific tract of land or (in some jurisdictions) for all the taxes due from the individual, and which may be foreclosed for non-payment, by judgment of a court or sale of the land.

— Tax-payer. A person chargeable with a tax; one from whom government demands a pecuniary contribution towards its support.

— Tax-payers' lists. Written exhibits required to be made out by the tax-payers resident in a district, enumerating ali the property owned by them and subject to taxation, to be handed to the assessors, at a specified date or at regular periods, as a basis for assessment and valuation.

— Tax purchaser. A person who buys land at a tax-sale; the person to whom land, at a tax-sale thereof, is struck down.

— Tax roll. See Roll.

— Tax sale. See Sale.

— Tax-title. The title by which one holds land which he purchased at a tax-sale. That species of title which is inaugurated by a successful bid for land at a collector's sale of the same for non-payment of taxes, completed by the failure of those entitled to redeem within the specified time, and evidenced by the deed executed to the tax purchaser, or his assignee, by the proper officer.

— Taxing district. The district throughout which a particular tax or assessment is ratably apportioned and levied upon the inhabitants; it may comprise the whole state, one county, a city, a ward, or part of a street.

— Tonnage tax. See Tonnage Duty.

— Wheel tax. A tax on wheeled vehicles of some or all kinds and bicycles.

— Window tax. See Window.

v. To impose a tax; to enact or declare that a pecuniary contribution shall be made by the persons liable, for the support of government. Spoken of an individual, to be taxed is to be included In an assessment made for purposes of taxation. In practice. To assess or determine; to liquidate, adjust, or settle. Spoken particularly of taxing costs, (q. v.)

To assess, fix or determine judicially; to adjust, adapt or proportion; to lay, impose or assess upon citizens or subjects a certain

V. 1. In public law, to assess or impose upon citizens or subjects a pecuniary contribution towards support of government. 2. In practice of courts, to assess, determine, or fix, as respects amount; to adjust; to scale or settle. Applied particularly to the costs of an action.