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Alabama State v. Forrester, 419 So.3d 231 (Ala. App. 1982). The court held that §40‐14‐56,
which establishes liability of corporate receiver for franchise taxes, takes
precedence over Insurance Code §27‐32‐26, which governs receivership debts
in general.
Georgia
Smith v. Farm & Home Life Ins. Co., 269 Ga. 709, 506 S.E.2d 104 (1998). An
insurer, which owned and held security interests on properties in Georgia,
was placed into receivership in Arizona. The receivership order enjoined
actions against the insurer’s assets. The county taxing authorities in Georgia
sought to levy upon the insurer’s properties for taxes. The trial court ruled
in favor of the receiver, and the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed. The Court
held that the Georgia and Arizona statutes were sufficiently similar to make
them reciprocal states. As a reciprocal state, Georgia was obligated to defer
to the Arizona proceeding, particularly since Georgia had not instituted an
ancillary proceeding.
Iowa State ex rel. Mitchell v. National Life Ins. Co. of U.S., 275 N.W. 26, 223 Iowa 1301
(1937). An insolvent Illinois company had done business in Iowa and paid
Iowa's premium tax each year. When the insurer was liquidated in Illinois, Iowa
attempted to secure the insurer's assets in Iowa as a claim against premium
taxes owed. The Illinois liquidator objected to paying the tax on several
grounds, the chief being that the tax was payable in advance for the privilege
of doing business in the following year and since the insurer had paid through
the year in which it became insolvent, no additional tax was due. Iowa
contended the tax was imposed for the privilege of doing business
prospectively in the nature of a renewal of its license. The court upheld Iowa's
claim because the tax is not imposed for the privilege of continuing in business,
but for the privilege of engaging in business. Therefore the state's claim was a
sufficient basis to support a claim against the receivership and the property
and assets of the insolvent insurer in Iowa.
Missouri
Ohio
Texas
In re Life Association of American, 12 Mo. App. 40 (1882). The petition of the
St. Louis tax collector to intervene in the insolvency proceedings was upheld
such that the tax collector could present a claim for real estate taxes on
property which had been sold, regardless of the fact that the tax collector had
a lien on the real estate itself which could be enforced instead of pursuing a
claim in the estate, and regardless of the equities which may exist between the
subsequent purchaser of the real estate and the creditors against the insolvent
insurance company. It was also noted that under the priority of distribution
statute, taxes were a preferred claim over the policyholders and general
creditors.
State ex rel. Bricker v. American Insurance Union, 27 O.L.A. 53 (1938). Where
the state appeals court, and not the trial court, appointed receivers for an
insurance company in quo warranto proceedings, and the receivers brought to
the attention of the court an alleged illegality of tax claims, the appeals court
had jurisdiction to pass upon the legality of such claims.
Langdeau v. United States, 363 S.W.2d 327 (Tex. Civ. App. 1962). The United
States sued for priority for its tax claims against an insolvent insurer. The trial
court gave priority to its tax claims with interest and the Court of Civil Appeals
affirmed, stating that the provisions in the insurance code giving priority to
wage claims of employees and disallowing interest on claims after delinquency
proceedings are instituted are not the regulation of insurance business
reserved to the states by the McCarran‐Ferguson Act. The court found that
the debts due to the United States must be satisfied first, and provisions in the
insurance code creating a lien for taxes and interest, prevail over the priority
sections of the insurance code.