G. L. c. 132, §§ 26-29 inc.]

leopard moth, elm beetle and gypsy and brown tail moths shall not exceed the maximum provided by said sections.

SECTION 27. To assist in exterminating gypsy and brown tail moths, the local moth superintendent in any city or town may furnish, at cost, to any owner of real estate situated within such city or town arsenate of lead. It shall be used only for the suppression of gypsy and brown tail moths and only upon land of the purchaser.

SECTION 28. The amounts due for material furnished under the preceding section shall be charged by the local moth superintendent to the owners of private estates, and shall be collected in the same way as amounts assessed for private work, and shall be a lien on said estates in the same manner as said assessments. The amount thus charged shall be deducted from the total amount expended in each city or town in the suppression of the gypsy and brown tail moths as provided in section fifteen.

SECTION 29. To assist in exterminating insect pests the city forester, local moth superintendent or tree warden in any city or town. may obtain from the forester, at cost, arsenate of lead. It shall be used only for the suppression of gypsy and brown tail moths, the tent caterpillar, leopard moth and elm beetle, and only upon lands owned or controlled by the city or town. The cost of said material shall be certified by the forester to the state treasurer, and shall be collected by him as an additional state tax upon the city or town making such purchase.

IT WAS provided in 1902 that a city or town should be liable for damage to land caused by entry of its employees engaged in destroying the specified insect pests, but that the benefit to the land from the destruction of the pests might be set off from the damage. In 1905 provision for assessment was made and the statute then enacted is with certain amendments still in force. The provisions in regard to abatement by local assessors were added in 1911.

CHAPTER 143

INSPECTION, REGULATION AND LICENSES FOR

BUILDINGS

Notice to Assessors of Building Permits

SECTION 61. The inspector of buildings in every city and town having such an officer shall give written notice to the assessors thereof of the granting by him of permits for the construction of any building therein or for any substantial alteration therein or addition thereto. Such notice shall be given within seven days after the granting of each permit, and shall state the name of the person to whom the permit was granted and the location of the building to be constructed or altered or to which an addition is to be made.

CHAPTER 147

STATE AND OTHER POLICE

Tax on Gross Receipts of Boxing Matches

SECTION 40. Every licensee holding or conducting any such boxing or sparring match or exhibition shall, within seventy-two hours after its conclusion, pay to the state treasurer a sum equal to five per cent of the total gross receipts from the sale of tickets or from admission fees; provided, that if such match or exhibition is conducted as an incidental feature in an event or entertainment of a different character, such portion of the total receipts shall be paid to the commonwealth as the commission may determine or as may be fixed by rule adopted under section forty-six. Within said time the licensee shall furnish to the commission a report, duly verified by the treasurer and secretary, showing the exact number of tickets sold and admission fees collected for the contest, and the gross receipts thereof, and such other data as the commission may require.

SECTION 47. The remainder of the sums received under section forty, after paying the expense to the commonwealth of administering sections thirty-two to forty-seven, inclusive, shall, annually on or before November first, be distributed by the state treasurer to the several towns in proportion to the amounts collected from licensees acting therein under said sections.

CHAPTER 156

BUSINESS CORPORATIONS

Organization and Filing Fees

SECTION 53. The fee for filing and recording the articles of organization required by section ten, including the issuing by the state secretary of the certificate of incorporation, shall be one twentieth of one per cent of the total amount of the authorized capital stock with par value, and five cents a share for all authorized shares without par value, as fixed by the articles of organization, but not in any case less than fifty dollars.

SECTION 54. The fee for filing and recording the certificate required by section forty-three providing for an increase of capital stock shall be one twentieth of one per cent of the amount of stock with par value and five cents a share for all shares without par value, by which the capital is increased, but not in any case less than twenty dollars.

SECTION 55. The fees for filing all other certificates, statements or reports required by law of corporations shall be ten dollars for each certificate, statement or report, but no fee shall be paid for filing the certificate of change of officers or of annual meeting required by section twenty-four or twenty-nine or the annual tax return required by sections thirty-five and forty of chapter sixty-three.

IT IS not entirely clear whether the charges imposed by the foregoing sections constitute excises levied under the power of taxation or fees no larger in amount than may be regarded as necessary to bear the expenses of maintaining and caring for the record. As originally imposed they were doubtless intended merely as fees, but they have been increased in amount in recent years so as to yield a substantial revenue.1 If merely fees there is no provision of law which authorizes a proceeding In Lever Bros. Co. v. Commonwealth, 232 Mass. 22 (1919), it was held that a fee of five dollars for filing a certificate of condition was not a tax but a filing fee; but in Hood Rubber Co. v. Commonwealth, 238 Mass. 369 (1921), the fee for an increase in capital stock was, by agreement of the parties, treated as an excise.

1

G. L. c. 156, §§ 53-55] against the commonwealth to recover back such a charge if wrongfully exacted.2

3

4

When a corporation, at a single meeting and as part of one transaction, reduces the value of its outstanding capital stock and authorizes the issue of new stock but not in excess of the amount by which the existing stock was reduced, it is not obliged to pay a fee on the new issue of stock, since there is no increase in capital. In 1920, provision was made for imposing a fee on the issue of stock without par value. Such a law is not unconstitutional in imposing a charge on stock without par value equal to that on stock having a par value of one hundred dollars for each share, although the actual value of stock without par value may be less; but the tax is imposed only when the capital is increased and the substitution of shares without par value for those with par value is not taxable even if the number of shares is increased, provided the surplus of the corporation is not capitalized."

2 Lever Bros. Co. v. Commonwealth, 232 Mass. 22 (1919).

Commonwealth v. United States Worsted Co., 220 Mass. 183 (1915). 'St. 1920, c. 349, §§8, 9.

5 See American Uniform Co. v. Commonwealth, 237 Mass. 42 (1921).

• Hood Rubber Co. v. Commonwealth, 238 Mass. 369 (1921). As to filing fees for other classes of corporations, see G. L. c. 158, §43; c. 164, §33; c. 181, §23. If there is an increase in capital the filing fee is payable. Olympia Theatres, Inc.

v. Commonwealth, 238 Mass. 374 (1921).