Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion ( 1945 )

OFFICE OF THE AmORNEY GENERAL OF T- AUSTIN i .’ .’ 682 "A tax sh4ll ba paid by esoh produoer on the ammmt of gss produced and savegwithin t&s Stnto equivalent to five and two-tenths (5.2) per cent of t&e mrket value thy-eof DII EWi When FrCdUCUCl;. . . *In cslculatingtne tax herein levied them rhall be exaluded: (at g8s injected inte the earth in this State. ualeas oold for euoh .. 683 ) wnor&le tiorgoIt.shoppar&,Faga 4 gas will.reesonebl bring if prodwed *nd aold’, eta. This definitT on, re~sd as a ubole, md mm- &rued fron its four corners, means that the total sale price ie the amount on whim the tox levlod by t;zisAct must be computcrd. Any ,othercysuo- tion of enis definitionwould destroy it. wst be true, because t;lcver)~statutory dafini- tion adda t3 the rclue of the gnr the vtlue of everything that the producer may get for it in addition to auah w&w. Evidently it was not the intontfon of the lagialatureDO hrve mote than om rrtmdard of v~lua, and such would be the aase lf :I. it ware held that in mate lnatascce8 %arket valmei in the twdinary waning of th6t tern is maxat, wLile in other inetmwes the aale price ie m-8 is tbc oduaer sella for more tbtm the *ma&e8 valw'. R" lie tcmiinmlogyto be 8pplied to the eddib$smul. psytbsnt, ‘such as whetner it i8 Wit be d*swn8in~to4 a Mm* .u 8 pmi~, would appear to bo M litt&LIIrbmant. 'Ckrb3ial.y it'uaa a pure of ths.cou~ideratlonfor th elle aS the gas that uaisaOtu&lly produaod and sold. PresuaaI.il.y the.prtb- d\rcer was unGilll.ng to sell pas below a crrtei:intw vtlty, and I.4the cerbou blmk plent doo%r*d 8imllsr quantities OS gas, it #LO at111 nquLred ,to'par'W rir Saw aiuountfor sach &US as it dld,taka. Su8hW%&t&~l papaat W8 e pax% of +Ae tow1 gross reaeipts raa8iWti by the prodrloef-for the ea.&e of its .gas. In the light of tue language of ttce194.ldot rad of the Suprene Court 6pkni0n aootruing.the 8-0, we ue of the spiaion tbrt the .t&xab.ble vrlua of thr @a w&r th0 19&A act was the total WLOIALI~of money roe&rod W&F -0 aeatraot by the produuorP~ Fcrurs Vkly yuiT Gi%XX~L OF TUA3 ~'fT~Rt;'iE-f