Columbia Savings Bank v. County of Los Angeles

HAYNES, C.

Action to recover from defendant certain taxes paid under protest, pursuant to the provisions of section 3819 of the Political Code. The plaintiff had judgment, and the defendant appeals upon the judgment-roll, which contains a bill of exceptions setting out the evidence..

About the middle of February, 1899, plaintiff bought United States interest-bearing bonds of the value of $59,206, and afterwards, about April 21, 1899, sold the same at a profit. In due time the plaintiff made and returned to the assessor what purported to be a statement of all the taxable property owned by it on the first Monday of March, 1899, and which included the sum of $9,374 of “solvent credits.” In June,

[468]

1899, the city assessor called upon the officers of the bank and was informed of the purchase and sale of said United States bonds, and claiming, .as the result of his investigation, that the bonds were purchased for the purpose of evading taxation of the solvent credits used in their purchase, added to the solvent credits returned in its assessment list $59,210, that being the amount used in the purchase of said bonds, thus, making the total of the solvent credits $68,850, upon which sum the bank paid the taxes assessed, but as to the tax upon the added sum of $59,210, amounting to $828.90, the payment was made under protest, and this action was brought to recover back said last-named sum.

Appellant’s first point is thus stated: “The fundamental question as to whether a purchase of government bonds,

made ivith intent to evade taxation,

can be ignored and the moneys used in the purchase assessed under section 3648 of the Political Code, is the one we are most anxious to have determined in this case, as the matter is of considerable importance and is involved in a number of other cases against this same defendant.”

The question stated by appellant does not arise in this case. The question whether the plaintiff purchased said United States bonds with intent to evade taxation was made in the pleadings, evidence was given upon that issue, and the court found thereon, “that the plaintiff did not willfully or otherwise conceal, remove, transfer, or misrepresent said property, to wit, the said sum of $59,206, or any property whatever, to evade taxation, and particularly that it did not purchase said bonds of the United States for the purpose of evading taxation upon the money used in their purchase”; and counsel in their brief say that this finding, being based upon conflicting evidence, is not attacked. If the court had found that the bonds were purchased “with intent to evade taxation,” and concluded, as matter of law,.that the solvent credits used .in their purchase were not taxable, appellant’s question would have been pertinent. The distinction between the case of