Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion ( 1940 )

OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL bF TEXAS AUSTIN -o.- -- ., Honorable Chnrley Loakhcrrt Stats Treonurer Austin, Texelii Seer Sir: u submit to ua that the, long. Vernon*e Clvi d now aesireir to file B 8Uj?plCWXIt~l whloh has been acquired s?nb ?art of this property i6 i wition scour rtgege dosa not contain a dee- p described in the first mort- nab you request our opinion 88 to the prop- the amount of stamps whfah muet be indenture ta entitle tha sense Section (a) of said Article 7047e reeda sa follows.: "(a) ixcept as herein othsrwiae provided there is hreby levied snd aaoessed e tsx of Ten (105) Cecta on each One Fundred (@lOO.OO) Dollars or Prsatfon therao~, ever the flrat Two lfundrsd (.~2OC.O0) LOllWlt, an all sotao ocd oblifietio:is secured by chattel mortgage, dead of trust, m- chenic'a lion contraat, vendor's lien, cor;bitlonel Honorable Charlay Lockhart, Paf3a e aales aontraot end all lnetrumanta of a aImIlar nature _.. which _ 81% flied GF recorded in the orflor or tiie county Clark under the Regl8tretion Lews o? this Stat&; protlde4 thet no tax ahall be le- vied on lnatmmante eeourln~ an emount ot Two Hundred ``200.00) ~ollara, or less. kikr the affeotlre data of this hot, axoapt as haraln- after prorldad, no auoh instrument shall be file4 or reoorded by any County Clerk in this Sate WI- tll there hae bean affixed to such lnatrument rtemps in accordance with the Droll8 ion0 of this aaetlori~ provldlnn further thai should the l& ; XI the osr 108 o e aunt be security :i an obllg rtiQll that hfI8 DMIDOl’tJ ple4p.ad as aaourlty In a Zitata or $tatae other than Texas. the tax ahell be baaed UDOll the reaaonabla oarrh value OS all moDarty pledged In Tfbxaa In the proportion that mid woperty In Texaa beare to the total rslue @ th propartZ aaourfnn the ObliRetiOll; and providing &th‘r that. lxaelrt a8 to renew618 or axtenaIons or BO- orud intereat, the prorialona of tbla aaotlon ahall not apply to Inatrumenta &Iran in renewal Or OxtenriQna ot inetrunantr theretofore atampud under the provIalona OS thla Act or the one amand- ad hereby, and ahall not a!:plr to lnstmmanta given in the raZundlng of exlatlng r,onda or obll- gatlone where t&a praoedlng Instrument of l eo ur ity ma atamped in aooor4anoe with taie Act or tbe one amen4ab horaby; provlbed further thet the tu levied in thie Aot shall apply to only ‘one ln- etrunant, the one of the greateat 4enomlnatIon, where several lastrumnta are aentempormeoualy exeouted to aeoure one obligation; an4 provldqd further that when on08 stamp84 as provlae4 herein an Instrument may be moordad in any nuabar a? courtles In this State wlthout egafn being SO 2stampeb. Thla aeotlon ahall not apply to lnetru- umnte, notea, or other obligations taken by or on behalf of the United States or of the State O? Teiae, or any corporate lgenoy or in8trumentalltY or the United State8, or the State of ‘bra8 in oarryiag out a governmental purpoae as exweesaied in my kot of the Congraar of the UnIt8d States or of the Lgglslature OS the Gtate of Texafi, nor I i Honorable Charley Lookhart, Pa&e 3 ah*11 the xwovlrlonrr of thir reotion apply to obligation8 OS ln8truments oeoured by lien8 On OroP8 (llldf8W Or a@OUltUT81 9rOdUOt8, or TV liVestOOk Or farm implementa, or un ab8traot of judlyeent. “If IAm amount eeoureb by an instrument is not 8lQWe88ed therein, or ii sly part Of th, 8e0Wity deeoribed ia any 8Uoh instrument appear8 t0 be loosted without the State of Tela0, the County Clerk shall require proof by written affl- dwt8 of aaoh faOts a8 may be neoe8sery to d0ter- alas the amoUnt of the tex due.* 03nder800rfng OUf8) Prior to th0 8memlment of. thlr st0tut0 by the 46th Leglal8ture, it OOUtalnrd no prOri8lon whet8oet*r for an ap- portiomnt of tha tax in c(Lae8 where the obligation 18 8+ OUTed by lieu UpOn pX'Op0rty OUtsid. Of this 8t@t8. Thf8 lea to roee rery hard re8ultr and to lltlgrtion. cLtie8 30rvi0e 011 Company soqht to reoora a deed of trust 8eouriq a bona ieN O? 0pprQXilEMtely $43,000,000. Only about lO$ Of tb8 property aesorlbea in the indenture wa6 located in tiXa8. ?qment of the Mqufnd tar Of 8bout $43,000 warn made undrr protest end suit filed for ite return by Cltie6 @enioe 011 Company ita the Ye6eral I;r&trtet Court 8t Austin. The ea8e was tri8d ana Judge Lcob41118nanraea the plaintlfr reoovery, holding that in 0fSeot tbr tsx wa8 beln& llsrisd upon property looat8d OUt8ide Of Teur. kn epppealwa8 perfeoteb but by th18 time the 46th Legi8letum had made the men&aent. Cltle8 Sertfoe oil Company proporea to 8temp th0 lnrrtrument, errlv- lng 8t the amount by e~portionnmt ee provided in the new stetute, end agein present the mune for reoord if the State wx%ld dlroli8a it8 appeal, and this we8 done. Hence, there W08 no deolsion of the oa0e by en 8ppellete Oourt. It 18 IUanffeSt tbst #is 98rticUlar prt ,of the ' amendm0nt to the kot 1188 intenaed to cur8 tilla possible ae- tect in the Old 8tatUte e8 pointed Out in the Cftie8 SW- vice 011 m!qmrIy 011ae. '31th further TeferenOe to the feat8 iU8tently OOXI- @emed we unQ0r0tend thrrt the bond i80rrs Of 18Pl W08 for $80,000,000. Three rourthe Of the property besorlbed ln th0 fir0t mortgege we8 looatea in Taxes ant tbo otb0r on0 fourth in brkanoas. TAO property dosoribaa la ths 0000na mortgage 1s porth only 0bout i$800,000, of whiab three fourths or ~150,~ worth thereoi 1s in Texm, the relrteinaerln Ark-- 8e8. To hold that the amount Of the tax w3tm be a8aer- Eonornble Chtirley Iookhrrrt, Page 4 talncd by taklnq the proportion which the Texss property dee- cribed In both mortgeceee beere to all the property doeoribsd in both, thus attezrtlng to exeet a tax of $45,000 would not be getting amy frownsuch oritiolen of the old stetute. This would heve one of two effecta, that le, of making it l tax on the note ltsolf (and we hr;ve heretofore held thet It 18 a tax upon the prlvlloge of using the recorde), or it would be levy- ing the tax upon the rzortgage which wau legally recorded many yetiraago. In our opinion auoh a oonetruction is not required end ahou7d not be given. Nor oan the mount of the tex be eeoertaincd by tak- ing the proportion whioh the Texas property in the second mort- gage bears to all the property in that mortgage. Tar, th8 8te- tute quite plainly requires the consideration of the property in the foreign etate, e8 a redUOing feotor, regardlese of whet mortgage it F;aybe deaarlbed la. We will again quote the pertinent part of the 8tetUte, making perenthetloel lnsertlons to olnrlfy our thought (~6 to it8 meanly, a8 applied to a 8ituatlon of this kind. aTh tax ah&l1 be based upon the rea8onable cash value of all property .pledged in Texae (in the tendered mortgage) in the proportion thnt said property in Texa8 (In the tendered mortgege) bears to the total vcllueof the property seourlw the obllgetlon." In the instant oafie,the 8Um upon wbloh the tax is to be caloulcted ie arrived et as follower take the proportion which the Texae property in the seoond mortgage beers to all of the property In both nortgtlgesand eul,tiplythe frvatlon into the mount of the bond8 eeourea. Your8 very truly AFPRoy$ JUL 12, lg4' ATTO?ZV.YG?lrZ_RiJOF TEX,',S GR1:l-W