Chap. 77.—An ACT to amend and re-enact sections 23, 24 and 26 of an act
entitled an act to raise revenue for the support of the government and
public free schools, and to pay the interest on the public debt, and to
provide a special tax for pensions as authorized by section 189 of the
Constitution, approved April 16, 1903, and acts amendatory thereof.

(H. B. 33)
Approved March 11, 1915.

1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia, That sections
twenty-three, twenty-four and twenty-six of an act, entitled an act to
raise revenue for the support of the government and public free schools,
and to pay the interest on the public debt, and to provide a special tax
for pensions as authorized by section one hundred and eighty-nine of
the Constitution, approved April sixteenth, nineteen hundred and three,
and acts amendatory thereof, be amended and re-enacted so as to read
as follows:

Sec. 23. Every person, partnership, company or corporation, which
contracts on his, their or its account to issue policies or contracts for or
agreements for life, fire, marine, surety, guaranty, fidelity, employer’s
liability, liability, credit, health, accident, live stock, plate glass, tornado,
automatic sprinkler, burglary, steam boiler, and all like insurance, shall
pay an annual license tax based on the gross premium income derived
from business in this State during each year ending the thirty-first day
of December prior to the year for which such license tax is to be paid
for the privilege of doing business in this State.

The license year shall expire on the thirtieth day of April of each
year. No license shall be issued for less than a year, except to a person,
partnership, company or corporation, when he, they, or it first commenced
business in this State, in which case the license shall be issued for that
part of the year from the date of the issuance of the license to the thir-
tieth of April following, and the tax thereon shall be two hundred dollars
if the said license period be one year, otherwise the first year’s license
tax shall be such proportion of the two hundred dollars license tax as
the space of time between the issuance of the license and the thirtieth
of April following bears to the whole year. The license tax herein pro-
vided shall be paid into the State treasury on or before the first day of
April of each year, but the auditor of public accounts shall not receive
the same until the commissioner of insurance has notified him in writing,
showing the amount due, which information the commissioner of in-
surance shall furnish to the auditor of public accounts on or before the
fifteenth day of March of each year, but said commissioner shall for the
purposes of the immediate collection of the license tax for the current
year furnish the information herein required to the auditor of public
accounts within five days after the passage of this act. ,

Every such person, partnership, company or corporation which con-
tracts on his, their or its account to issue policies or contracts for or
agreements for fire, marine, surety, guaranty, fidelity, employer’s liability,
liability, credit, health, accident, live stock, plate glass, tornado, auto-
matic sprinkler, burglary and steam boiler, and all like insurance, shall
pay into the State treasury, as hereinabove provided, a license tax of
two and three-fourths per centum upon the gross amount of all premiums,
assessments, dues and fees collected, received or derived, or obligations
taken therefor, from business in this State during each year ending
the thirty-first day of December, without any deduction for dividends
paid, or deduction on any other account, except for premiums returned
upon cancelled policies, and premiums paid for re-insurance upon busi-
hess in this State in companies duly authorized to do business in this
State ; and every such person, partnership, company or corporation which
contracts on his, their, or its account to issue policies or contracts for or
agreements for life insurance, and all like insurance, shall pay into the
State treasury, as hereinabove provided, a license tax of two and one-
fourth per centum upon the gross amount of all premiums, assessments,
dues and fees collected, received or derived, or obligations taken therefor,
from business in this State during each year ending the thirty-first day
of December, without any deduction for dividends paid or deduction on
any other account, except for premiums returned upon cancelled policies,
and premiums paid for re-insurance upon business in this State in
companies duly authorized to do business in this State. Provided, that
any such insurance companies chartered by and doing business solely
in this State which are purely mutual and have no capital stock, and
are not designed to accumulate profits for the benefit of, or pay dividends
to, the members thereof, or any insurance company chartered by and
doing business solely in this State, with a capital stock not exceeding
twenty-five thousand dollars and which pays losses from assessments
against its policy holders or members, shall pay a license tax of one per
centum upon the gross amount of all premiums, assessments, dues and
fees collected, received or derived, or obligations taken therefor, from
kusiness in this State during the year ending the thirty-first day of
December, without any deduction for dividends paid, or deduction on any
other account, except for premiums returned upon cancelled policies, and
premiums paid for re-insurance upon business in this State in companies
duly authorized to do business in this State. Provided, further, that
nothing herein shall be construed to apply to mutual fire insurance com-
panies chartered in this State and doing a local business in this State,
as defined by an act approved March seventh, nineteen hundred and four,
nor to industrial sick benefit companies, as defined by an act approved
March sixteenth, nineteen hundred and ten, nor to fraternal beneficiary
associations, as defined by chapter five of the act concerning the bureau
of insurance, approved March ninth, nineteen hundred and six, as
amended by an act approved March twenty-fourth, nineteen hundred and
fourteen. And provided, further, that nothing herein shall be construed
to apply to section twenty-eight of chapter one, and section fourteen of
chapter two, of an act concerning the bureau of insurance approved March
ninth, nineteen hundred and six, providing that the expenses of main-
taining the bureau of insurance shall be paid by the insurance companies
doing business in this State, and providing that the expense of keeping
the bonds deposited with the treasurer of the State shall be paid by the
insurance company depositing same; provided, however, that the license
tax to be paid by each of the above described persons, partnerships, com-
panies or corporations for the license year commencing May first, nine-
teen hundred and fifteen and ending April thirtieth, nineteen hundred
and sixteen, shall be based upon the gross amount of all premiums, assess-
ments, dues and fees collected, received or derived, or obligations taken
therefor, from business in this State during the year beginning January
first, nineteen hundred and fourteen and ending December thirty-first,
nineteen hundred and fourteen, both dates inclusive without any de-
duction for dividends payed or deduction on any other account except
for premiums returned upon cancelled policies, and premiums paid for
re-insurance upon business in this State in companies duly authorized
to do business in this State, which State license tax shall be paid into
the State treasury on or before the first day of April, nineteen hundred
and fifteen.

The proceeds of the said license tax to be paid into the State treasury
by every person, partnership, company or corporation doing an insurance
business in this State as herein provided, shall be retained for the ex-
penses of the State government.

Sec. 24. Every such person, partnership, company or corporation
‘shall, on or before the first of March of each year, report, under oath, to
the commissioner of insurance, upon forms to be furnished by him, the
gross amount of all premiums, assessments, dues and fees collected, re-
ceived or derived, or obligations taken therefor, from business in this
State during the preceding year ending the thirty-first day of December,
without any deduction for dividends paid, or deduction on any other
account, except for premiums returned upon cancelled policies, and
premiums paid for re-insurance upon business in this State in companies
duly authorized to do business in this State. The said annual report
shall be examined into by the commissioner of insurance in order to as-
certain as to its correctness, and it shall be his duty to file said report,
or a copy thereof, when approved by him, with the auditor of public
accounts.

Every such person, partnership, company or corporation which shall
fail to make the report of premium, assessments, dues and fees as herein
required shall be fined fifty dollars for each day’s failure to make such
report, said fine to be imposed in the discretion of the circuit court of the
city of Richmond, upon the motion of the attorney general, after ten days’
notice, made at the suggestion of the commissioner of insurance.

The commissioner of insurance shall, upon notification from the
auditor of public accounts, that the license tax on premiums, assessments,
dues and fees, has not been paid, revoke the license issued the person,
partnership, company or corporation.

The auditor of public accounts shall, upon the failure of any such
person, partnership, company or corporation to make the payment of the
license tax on premiums, assessments, dues and fees, within the time
required by law, add a penalty of ten per centum of the amount of said
license tax to the same, and proceed to recover the penalty and the license
tax by suit in the circuit court of the city of Richmond on the bond given
by any such person, partnership, company or corporation to secure the
payment of said tax.

Sec. 26. The real estate and tangible personal property, situated or
located in this State, of every person, partnership, company or cor-
poration, whether organized by the laws of another State or country, or
organized under the laws of this State, and doing an insurance business
in this State, shall be listed and assessed on the land and property books
of the commissioners of the revenue in the same manner as other real
estate and tangible personal property is assessed, and shall be taxed at
the same rate as other like property is taxed in this State.

The license tax on gross premiums as provided in section twenty-three
and the tax on real estate and tangible personal property herein pro-
vided to be paid by every person, partnership, company or corporation
doing such an insurance business in this State, shall be in lieu of all
other license fees, taxes or levies whatsoever for State, county, municipal
or local purposes, which shall be construed to include their agents, except
that the certificate fee of one dollar required to be paid by all such agents
to the bureau of insurance shall be paid by them as heretofore.

2. The collection of the public revenue being affected hereby, an
emergency is declared to exist, and this act shall be in force from its
passage.