File No. 811.5124/8.]
The Danish Legation to the Department of State .
The final report to the District Court of the State of Iowa, in and for Plymouth County, from the Administrator of the Estate of Metta K. Peterson, deceased, a resident of Le Mars, Plymouth County, Iowa, was subscribed and sworn to by the Administrator, Frank Spiecker, on the 26th day of December, 1911, before Nelson Miller, Notary Public in and for said Plymouth County, Iowa.
The Administrator’s report states in part:
That all of said estate passes collaterally. That the inheritance tax levied by the State of Iowa in such cases has been paid to the Treasurer of the State of Iowa at Des Moines, and the Treasurer’s receipt for the same is filed in the office of the Clerk of this Court.
The report furthermore states:
That one of the heirs of said estate, viz: Karoline Krag, lives in Copenhagen, Denmark. That the rate of inheritance tax upon that portion of said estate inherited by her is 10%, and the total amount of said tax was, on her share, $711.06. That another of the heirs is Marie Johanson, lives in Germany, and by virtue of treaty covenants with the German Empire the tax on her portion is 5%, and the total sum $355.53. That the remaining heir, P. H. Schmidt, lives in Iowa, and the amount of tax on his portion is $355.53.
The reason for the higher taxation of the heir living in Copenhagen, Denmark, is not given in the Administrator’s report, whereas a letter from Nelson Miller, lawyer, First National Bank Building, Le Mars, Iowa, dated January 19th, 1912, and addressed to M. [Page 326] Godskesen, attorney, Copenhagen, Denmark, on the same matter says in part:
The tax on the share going to Germany and on that remaining in Iowa is only 5%, and therefore you wall see from the papers that Mrs. Krag gets $355.53 less than either one of the other two heirs. The reason for this is that the treaty between Germany and the United States forbids this country from taxing German citizens any larger sum than it does its own citizens, whereas the treaty with Denmark makes no such provisions.
If the higher taxation as used against the Danish heir is based on the view as expressed by Mr. Miller, it rests on an error. Renewing his protest contained in the memorandum of this Legation of January 27th, 1912, in regard to the estate of the late Ane Margrethe Andersen, now before the District Court of Iowa, in and for Mitchell County, and referring to the subsequent memorandum of February 2nd, 1912, the Danish Minister has the honor to submit the case of Karoline Krag to the consideration of the Department of State with the respectful request that such action as can properly be taken by the Federal authorities, be taken, in order to obtain the reimbursement of the sum of $355.53 to said Karoline Krag, this amount having been levied in excess of what can lawfully be levied in accordance with Article 7 of the Convention of Commerce and Navigation concluded between Denmark and the United States on April 26th, 1826, and which reads as follows: [Article 7 of the treaty is here quoted, as in the first foregoing memorandum.]
Washington , April 17, 1912 .