[1] Taxation—Assessment and Taxation of Corporate Franchises —Construction of Constitution.—When the constitution in article XIII, section 14, subdivision (d), provides for the assessment and taxation of corporate franchises, it means the so-called corporate excess, although such, is not- the usual, nor, strictly speaking, a proper, use of the word “franchise.”

[2] Id.—Assessment of -Corporate Franchises—Exclusion of Goodwill—Act of 1911 Unconstitutional.—The goodwill of a corporation is a part of its franchise- for the purposes of assessment and taxation under article XIII, section 14, subdivision (d), of the constitution, and the provision of section 5 of the act of 1911 (Stats. 1911, p. 530), providing that certain corporate franchises shall be assessed at their actual cash value, after making deduction for goodwill, violates such constitutional provision.

[3] Id.—Excessive and Arbitrary Assessment—Extent of Jurisdiction of 'Courts.—Courts cannot, except where there is fraud or mistake, go into the matter of an assessment being excessive and arbitrary, -provided the method pursued in making the assessment is that prescribed by law, and the thing assessed is the thing which is required to be assessed.

1. Taxation of franchises generally, notes, 131 Am. St. Rep. 867-882, 57 L. R. A. 34; of franchises of foreign corporations, note, 131 Am. St. Rep. 883.

[4] Action to Recover Taxes—Alleged Excessive and Arbitrary Assessment—Insufficient Allegation of Fraud.—In an action to recover taxes paid under protest upon an alleged illegal and arbitrary assessment of a corporate franchise, the allegation that the assessment is excessive and arbitrary does not amount to an allegation of such conscious failure to exercise that fair and impartial judgment which the law requires of the assessing official, and is not the equivalent of an allegation that the assessment was imposed fraudulently.

[5] Id.—Act of 1911-—Report from Corporations—Fixing Values —Discretion.—The provision of the act of 1911 (Stats. 1911, p. 530), requiring a report from corporations subject to tax setting forth the items from which the value of their corporate excesses may be deducted, does not bind the board to accept or follow the figures submitted, but leaves the matter of fixing values entirely to the best discretion of the board.

4. Recovery of illegal tax paid “under protest," note, Ann. Cas. 1915A, 495.

Necessity and sufficiency of statement of grounds in notice of protest required as condition precedent to recovering back payment of an unlawful tax, note, 36 L. R. A. (N, S.) 476.