Barnett—Taxation in Wisconsin . 
175 
3. The Inheritance Tax. 1 
The central authorities have a strong control of the counties 
in securing the payment of the state’s share of the inheritance 
tax established in 1903, and to some extent even in the collec¬ 
tion of the tax in the first instance. 
The tax is paid to the county treasurer, 2 who reports to 
the secretary of state the amount of tax received, and pays over 
the state’s share to the state treasurer. The receipt given by 
the county treasurer on the payment of the tax must be coun¬ 
tersigned by the secretary of state to be valid in the final ac¬ 
counting of the estate, and holders of securities belonging to the 
decedent are prohibited from delivering them to the executors 
without prior notice to the secretary. The county judge reports 
to the secretary the name of every decedent whose estate is liable 
for such a tax and upon whose estate an application has been 
made for letters of administration, and also the valuation of the 
legacy, etc., and the secretary may apply to the county court for 
an appraisal of the estate. Composition of expectant estates 
may be effected under certain circumstances by the county 
treasurer, but only with the consent of the secretary of state and 
attorney general. As the last instance of central control, the 
commissioner of insurance, upon the application of the county 
court, determines the value of future and contingent estates. 3 
4. The Suit Tax. 
The tax on suits in the circuit court was created by the con¬ 
stitution in 1848. 4 Its most noteworthy feature is the dif- 
ficulty with which it has been collected. 
At first the tax was paid directly by the clerk of the circuit 
court to the state treasurer, 5 but a law of the next year re¬ 
quired the clerk to report to the secretary of state the amount of 
1 The inheritance tax law of 1899, L. 1899, c. 355, was declared un¬ 
constitutional in Black v. State, 113 Wis. 205 (1902). 
2 In certain cases it may be paid either to the county treasurer or to 
the secretary of state. 
3L. 1903, c. 44. 
4 Const. Art. 7, s. 18. 
5 L. June 1848, p. 19, s. 17. 
