COMPTROLLER OF THE TREASURY. xiii

FOREIGN INSURANCE COMPANIES.

The revenue from licenses to agents of Foreign Insurance Com-
panies doing business in this State, is given in detail in Table No.
13, amounting to $23,999 61.

The revenue from this source during the fiscal year, has been
dwarfed by the passage of the Act of 1876, chapter 248, reducing
the price of the license from $300.00 to $100.00 per annum, and
mating the licenses to expire on the first day of January, instead of
the first day of May, as heretofore, and by making the tax payable
on the net receipts instead of the gross receipts, as formerly, This
change in the law will not affect the revenue for the current fiscal
year quite so disastrously, as the licenses issued in January, 1877,
will be For the whole year, whereas, those issued in May last, were
by the Act made to expire on the first of January succeeding.
The change ia the law was recommended by the late Insurance
Commissioner, but I did not agree with him as to its expediency,
and if I had been copsulted by the Legislature, should certainly
have opposed the passage of the Act, and I think it should be re-
pealed at the next Session. The argument used in advocacy of the
change was, that the tax was too large, and fell entirely upon the
persons insured in this State, but from the extreme anxiety mani-
fested by the Insurance Companies to procure the passage of the
Act, I am satisfied that their profits on business done in this State
were to be very materially enhanced by the change. If the benefits
from the alteration of the law, were to accrue entirely to the people
of this State requiring insurance, and not to the Companies them-
selves, I am satisfied they would not have labored so industriously

to procure the passage of the Act of 1876.

I herewith .transmit to your Excellency, a copy of the Report of

the Insurance Commissioner for the past year. . ..
BALANCES OF STATE TAXES DUE AND UNPAID.

Table No. 14 shows in detail, the balances of State taxes due
from Collectors therein named, for the year 1876, at the end of the
fiscal year, amounting in the whole to the sum of $441,130.21.

Table No. 15 exhibits a list of balances due the Treasury from
Collectors in the several counties, and from the City of Baltimore,
for a series of years, from 1843 to 1875, inclusive, amounting in the
aggregate to $640,740.01, of which the sum of $378,308.28 is due
from the City of Baltimore. It will be noticed, that the balances
due from the City of Baltimore for the years from 1868 to 1874, are
very small, and clearly demonstrate the diligence and fidelity of the