Southern Bell Telephone & Telegraph Co. v. City of Aiken

Lewis, Chief Justice:

Southern Bell Telephone and Telegraph Company appeals from a judgment enforcing the license tax ordinance enacted by the City of Aiken. We conclude that the ordinance as applied to the appellant offends the Equal Protection Clauses of the South Carolina and United States Constitutions. Constitution of South Carolina, Article I, Section 3; Constitution of the United States, Amendment XIV; United States Fidelity and Guaranty Company v. City of Newberry, 257 S. C. 433, 186 S. E. (2d) 239. Cross appeal by the respondent City of Aiken is denied, for reasons set out below. We…