City of Little Rock v. Arkansas Corp. Commission

The question presented, say appellants, “is to determine whether in passing Act 129 of 1941 the Legislature elected to employ an income tax on national hank stock dividends as a substitute for the ad valorem tax on national bank shares. In other words, did Act 129 relieve national banks of the payment of an act valorem tax on their shares'?”

It is conceded that a state may tax the shares of stock in national banks located within its limits" only as Congress may direct.

Title 12, § 548, U. S. C. A., provides: “The Legislature of each state may determine,and direct, subject to the provisions of…