The Tax Law Said Exempt. The Attorney General Said Assess It Anyway.
Washington's attorney general advised county assessors to tax money and credits in 1908, betting the legislature's 1907 exemption would be struck down.
In spite of the law passed by the legislature of 1907, exempting money and credits from taxation, Attorney General Atkinson has advised the state tax commission to direct all county assessors in the state to list for taxation this year all moneys and credits, as a measure of self-protection in the event of the exemption law being declared unconstitutional.
“Attorney General Atkinson has advised the state tax commission to direct all county assessors in the state to list for taxation this year all moneys and credits.”
Tax fights over what counts as taxable wealth are old. Then it was money and credits; today it is everything from intangibles to corporate exemptions. The episode shows how officials often hedge against laws they expect courts to overturn, leaving taxpayers to sort out the confusion.
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