In re the Transfer Tax Upon the Estate of Cory

Appeal from an order of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court in the first judicial department, entered May 4, 1917, which reversed an order of the New York County Surrogate’s Court assessing a transfer tax upon the estate of Charles Cory, deceased. The question raised by the appeal has to do with the valuation to be placed upon five hundred shares of stock in the corporation of Chas. Cory & Son, Inc., which were owned by the testator at his death, and which were transferred by his executor to the appellant John M. Cory at an arbitrary valuation agreed upon by said decedent and said John M. Cory during the lifetime of the former. The appraiser-reported that the fair market value of said shares was $103,400, which valuation is not questioned on this appeal. The surrogate, however, on appeal, reduced the value to $30,000, the sum fixed by the agreement. The Appellate Division held that the stock should be appraised for the purpose of the transfer tax at its fair market value at the time of testator’s death.