United States Supreme Court Cases & Opinions

U.S. Supreme Court

Petersen v. Iowa, 245 U.S. 170 (1917)

Petersen v. Iowa

No. 74

Argued November 21, 1917

Decided December lo, 1917

245 U.S. 170

Syllabus

Article 7 of the treaty with Denmark of April 26, 1826, 8 Stat. 340, (renewed April 11, 1857, 11 Stat. 719) places no limitation upon the right of either government to deal with its own citizens and their property within its dominion.

Therefore, where a native of Denmark, who became a naturalized citizen of the United States, died a resident and property owner in the Iowa, and in the settlement there of his estate, inheritance taxes were imposed in respect of legacies to subjects and residents of Denmark, the treaty affords the legatees no basis for complaining of the discrimination of the Iowa law (1907 Supp.Code,

Page 245 U. S. 171

§ 1467), which taxes legacies to nonresident aliens higher than those given under similar conditions to residents of the state without regard to the residence or nationality of the testator.

The favored nation clause in Article 1 of the above cited treaty with Denmark is applicable only "in respect of commerce and navigation;" it does not apply where the discrimination complained of is in the rates of state inheritance taxes.

166 Ia. 617 affirmed.

The case is stated in the opinion.