HARRY W. NICE, GOVERNOR. 359

title "General Provisions, " as enacted by Chapter 547 of
the Acts of 1922, be and the same is hereby repealed and
re-enacted, with amendments, so as to read as follows:

39. Tax on Premiums. Every insurance company (in-
cluding fidelity, surety, casualty, liability, compensation,
livestock and miscellaneous companies), other than such
as may be chartered under the laws of the State of Mary-
land, and every company of this State writing fidelity,
surety, casualty, liability and compensation insurance, shall
pay annually to the Insurance Commissioner a tax on gross
premiums written in this State during the preceding year,
without deduction for any cause whatever except as here-
in provided, which said tax shall be at the rate of two per
cent, for foreign companies on their fire or marine in-
surance writings, at the rate of one per cent, for all com-
panies, foreign and domestic, on their fidelity, surety, cas-
ualty, liability and compensation insurance writings, and
at the rate of one and one-half per cent, for foreign com-
panies on insurance writings other than those above men-
tioned. A report under oath of the premiums so written
during the preceding year must be made to the Insurance
Commissioner in January of each year by the chief account-
ing officer or officers of such company, and the premium
tax as above on each policy written in this State shall be
due and payable when said policy is written, but for con-
venience of payment, the company may report and pay
same in the month of January following, except in the
case of Companies retiring from the State, either volun-
tarily or involuntarily, in which case the tax shall be re-
ported and paid immediately after so retiring. All pre-
mium taxes due and payable as above that remain unpaid
after March first, or thirty days after a company shall
have voluntarily retired from this State subsequently to
March first of any year, or six months after the date any
company is taken over for liquidation or rehabilitation,
shall be subject to a penalty of five per cent, and interest
at the rate of one per cent, per month from January first,
except that interest shall be computed from the date of re-
tiring in the case of any company voluntarily or involun-
tarily retiring from this state. The Insurance Commis-
sioner, in computing taxes upon premiums written in this
State by insurance companies shall allow credit for return
premiums on cancelled policies and for premiums on rein-
surance effected in companies authorized to do business
in this State.