Missouri v. Gehner, 281 U.S. 313 (1930)

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Missouri v. Gehner

No. 222

Argued February 26, 1930
Decided April 14, 1930
281 U.S. 313

APPEAL FROM THE SUPREME COURT OF MISSOURI

1. A judgment of a state supreme court so construing a state statute as to cause it to infringe federal rights is reviewable in this Court even though the federal question was first presented to the state court by a petition for rehearing which was denied without referring to the federal question, if the construction was one that the party affected could not have anticipated and the federal question was presented by him at the first opportunity. P. 320.

2. Property taxable by a state may not be taxed more heavily because the owner owns also tax-exempt bonds of the United States. P. 320.

3. A state statute providing generally that, in taxing the assets of insurance companies, the amounts of their legal reserves and unpaid policy claims shall first be deducted is unconstitutional in its application to an insurance company owning nontaxable United States bonds if it require that the deduction in such case shall be reduced by the proportion that the value of such bonds bears to total assets, thus inflicting upon the company a heavier tax burden than it would have borne had it not owned the bonds. P. 321.

322 Mo. 339 reversed.

Appeal from a judgment of the Supreme Court of Missouri sustaining on certiorari a property tax assessed against the relator insurance company by the city board of equalization.