In the Matter of the Appraisal Under the Transfer Tax Act of a Certain Trust Fund Held by Charles T. Harbeck, as…

Summary

The New York Court of Appeals held that the trust fund created by John H. Harbeck's 1877 will is not subject to the Transfer Tax Act because the beneficiaries' title derives from the original will, which predates the tax law, and the Act is not applied retroactively. The Court reversed the lower court's order and affirmed that the tax is a levy on a right of succession, not on property.