Goodwin v. Citizens & Southern National Bank

Duckworth, Chief Justice.

Whether the assessment here is against the bank or against its shareholders, the bank is entitled to maintain a suit in equity in its own name to prevent an unlawful assessment. Pelton v. National Bank, 101 U. S. 143 (25 L. ed. 901); Hills v. Exchange Bank, 105 U. S. 319 (26 L. ed. 1052). Since a national bank is an instrumentality of the Federal government, the States are without power to tax such banks in the absence of consent of the Congress. Owensboro National Bank v. Owensboro, 173 U. S. 664 (19 Sup. Ct. 537, 43 L. ed. 850). Such congressional consent is given…