ACT. 23. ] CORPORATIONS. 53

Taxation.

SEC. 70. Every foreign corporation, except railroad compa-
nies, telegraph or cable companies, express or transportation
companies, oil or pipe line companies, title insurance compa-
nies, electric light or gas companies, guano, phosphate or fer-
tilizer companies, electric construction companies, telephone
companies, parlor-car or sleeping-car companies, safe deposit
companies, trust companies, national banks, life, fire, marine,
casualty and other insurance companies, and guarantee and
fidelity companies, or any corporation paying a gross receipts
tax which maintains an office and regularly exercises its fran-
chises in this State, shall at the time of filing its annual cer-
tificate, to wit, before the first day of April in every year, pay
to the State Treasurer for the use of the State a franchise tax
for such year at the following rate, that is to say, the sum of
twenty-five dollars for every full fifty thousand dollars of capi-
tal employed by it in this State up to five hundred thousand
dollars—but in no case less than twenty-five dollars; if the
amount of such capital is more than five hundred thousand
dollars, and not more than five million dollars, then an addi-
tional amount equal to one-fortieth of one per cent, on the
excess; and if more than five million dollars, then an addi-
tional amount at the rate of thirty dollars for every million
dollars of such last named excess.

SEC. 71. If the annual certificate and tax shall not be filed
and paid as required by the preceding sections, then on the
first day of November following, the Comptroller shall place
the tax bill in the hands of the Attorney General for collec-
tion by suit; and the officers and agents shall be liable to the
penalty imposed by Section 69 of this Article.

SEC. 72.. Every foreign corporation doing business in this
State, shall pay such taxes, fees and charges as are now or may
hereafter be prescribed by law; every foreign corporation, what-
ever the nature of its business, shall be subject to taxation upon
its real and personal property situated in this State, as if the
same belonged to a natural person; and nothing herein shall
exempt from taxation the shares of a foreign corporation
owned by residents of this State.

Miscellaneous Provisions.

SEC. 73. Whenever it shall happen in the case of any corpora-
tion having a definite number of members and no capital
stock, that by death or resignation the membership shall be
reduced below a majority of the prescribed number, the cor-
poration shall not on that account be dissolved; but it shall