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OFFICE OF THE AITORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS AUSTIN honorable George H. Shwpard catptroller of public Accounte A-tin, Texse Dear sir: Your letter of Ootober thl8 departusnt aa to the effect HO. 423, 47th Lsglrlature, 1941 ‘Sttm applloatioa fee with balanaes on 31, 1949, 8l-ahe Srcm vhlch the i S the store t to a total OS ~4o,550.00 8alarIe8, postage, tele- -m?r. PrbW@, blndins, 8, mntingent expenses and Store Tax Lov (Artials 11116, V. n ahall be aoocBpanSed by a filI.ng ents for each atore or mercantlls ted or to be opemtsd for the pur- e aoat of admlnietwtion of the gmxwblo Oeorge H. Sheppard, ?age 2 w8tion 4 requlre8 Slling fee8 for reaeval lppliaatlonr. Sectimn g'provlder that the e-n808 of the Captroller in the admlnl8- tntlon of the Act 8hall not exceed the anount reoeived by him .8 applluation fee8 a8 herein provided, and iurther pZWflde8 thatr .~ll monier uolhdX4d by the CoBIptrollerof Publlo Ab3Wt8 wader tb provision8 of thi8 Act 8ball be paid by him into th State ``umu7 d8ily a8 reoelved; one fuurth of ma0 rhall be axwUted to th elo o o unt of tha Anilable Soheol F undla dth o romalader rball be eredlted to,the aacouat of the Wrieral Fmd.' The Chain bton Tax Law beoame lrfeotlve Janua~ 13, 19%. mtht tit-9t0 - p-8.& JOU 8trte that the total filiDg f-8 FUOd.VOd 68OUDt8 t0 @2,221.92, 8d tht th. to-1 Pl@lUlt lsp ea ded in the eaforaaent Of the Aat i8 $131,714.49, 80 that there 18, 8t t&18 tkr, ab8lUlOe Of UU0e.d filh(J fee8 to th0 uouat of ~100,507.43. On &UboS~ 13, 19%. totl FWOiVed 48l Op%l¶%W flXU thi8 dspwtnukt huldlng that the fillrtgreea provided top In Se&ion 2 Of tb &t St% not 8Ubjeat t0 alh8&tiOil UlidOFth@ POVf8iOR8 Of 8ootion 9. We are advi8ed that you hme oomlstent Ey followed 8uah holding, and have deporited rush filing fee8 ln the Oenenl YWd. A8 we underrtead your requert, you tirh cmr advioe a8 to vhether the f%llng fees neeited under the rovi8lons of the chain More Tax Law 8hould k allooated betveon tL Available sohool mu&d aad the Oeneral IlevenueFund or vhether all of mob fee8 shouid be depeslted to the oredit of the Oaneral Fend, md a8 to the meaning to ba given to the phxmet "together vfth balaaces an hand,. as u8ed in the paragraphOS Benet Bill lo. 423, A.ots1911, 47th l&g- i8latUre, above quoted. In the ea8e of Burt ~8. Cooper, 110 8. Y. (ld) 896,the eOWt di8OU88e8the tV0 different lOVie made by the -in StoN 'hx Law in this languager "It 18 8w8tire8 dlffloult t0 deterrrineVhether a 8tatUte give&l rhould ba Ula88ed 8s a regulatory nea8ura or a8 a tex nee8ure. The prinoiple of dir- tin&iOII gewrCrlly recognired 18 that When, irCrra oon8ideration of the 8tatute a8 a vbole, the priury purpo8e of the fear provided thoreln I8 the rebi8&1g sono-ble Qeorh3e xi. f5hqward, nbg44 3 of avenue, then 8ttchSeen ax-8 in faat oaaupatlon taxe8, and thl8 ZWgaFdl4388 Of the nBme w vhloh they "Applrlng this prinolple to the Pot in quertion, ve, experlentreno diffleulty ln reahing the oonol118loa that the 80-called liOe3b8efee8 leVied them&y an ;;z;lly OoaupatiOn tUe8. s acrtnaker tvo reparate One i8 a levy of a fTI%ng ree.or 50 BOAt8 ror G5zi%om, and a8 to?m8 levy it 18 provided tut 1k The other la 8 levy or a llaea8e fee ior e&eh 8tore fro8 Vhloh muah revenue Vm be re8flred. %%ieaot ap- thm %&able 8crhoo1fWid is eY$%teL rtated for the exirtenoe 0r an eme2-genw 18 thpt the rtate 18 bully in need of additional revenue." (Bpba8ls otw8) St i8 a oazd¶.nalrule of 8tatl%tOrJwnrtruQtloa that all part8 of a 8tatate mu8t be given effedt, lf lyo8uible. Seotlan 2 of th8 Chain store Tax Lav deolare8 the purpo8i of f&o tlllng fee to be lt0 dsfrq the ao8t’ of admini8terfag the Aat. Su8h fees rere not ngarded by the Legirleture a8 "revenue" to be pmduoed by the lot. Seotlon 9, hoverer, provide8 that gellmarrie8* ool- leoted by the CQlptr&ier under the prOvi8iOn8 Of the Act 8h11 be apportioned between the Avallrble Sehoel Fund and the Oeneral Reve- nue Fund. The Ccmmlr8lon of Appealr, however, in the oaae of Hurt 18. Cooper, 8upzu, in 8n opinion adcpted by the Supme Court,by infecenbo, aom:prreG th8 pbmme "all money8" to meau all the ll- sea88 fees oolleoted under the provlrlonr of the Act. Thlm drprt- Ieat, ln an opinion by Rcmoreble Jane8 R. Reir, dated Janubr~ 13, ;;32,9" addlW88Od t0 YOU, phbOed a 8ipihC OO&l8tPUO&iOll On SeC-’ . We tElnk that rush a aonstmotloa la aorreot. To hold othervise end ray that 8uch flllng fee8 are to be allocated to the Available Sahool pzrndand the General Revenue Bund, er provided for the other aollectlon8 in Seotion 9, mould render section 2 of the Act meaningleer. The provirion that the expemes of adaini8- tmtlon of the Act shall not exaeed the mount of filing fee8 a I 432 s0wmble O-wte x. shewd, p-0 4 e~lle~t~ straply provide8 a 1ipitPtion or wimtm umt# beyond 4 aoh the Canptroller may not go in the enforament of the Aot. Cog&8eqwntly ve hold that the filing fee8 uolleoted under Sea- ts- 2 and 4 Of the chain atom Tu WV ab0 IhOt 8UbjeOt to al- l-tlon under the provisions of Section 9. Artlale 8, Seotion 6, of Our Coa8tltutlgn provlde8, in part, that: *Ro a0ney &all be dravn fror the Tree8ury but In pursuance of 8peolflo sppropriatl0+8 mbde by &vt nap 8hell any 8ppropriatlon of meaey,be mule foor0 longer period t&m tvo year8. l l l B vfev of thir ComtitntioM1 proviriou, ther8 aodd be x&o %al- alI008on hand" in thi ordipe~ 8en8e of th,'vorda. He m ooa- rinQed that the "balanoe8 0a hand," referred to in senete Bill so. &a, tit8 1941, 47th Legl8htun, Ieaa the dlfferanoe ktwen the kul mount8 of flll8g 'hu oollected w the &mptroller, aad paid late the General Pund, and the total emmat expended by the oarp- Weller fn the enforaement of the Aat,at Augtmt 31, 1941, 8nd AugWt ,31, 19% re8peotlre4, and thet the dlfferencNbetveen th8 tOtbl WOWit bf filfIl8 fOO8 80 eolleoted and the tOti Uo\rat 80 expended, a8 Of ARgUet 31, 1941, VI8 a pri@rbted $'Oruse in &O enforauent of the Aot for the year 191 2, and that the di$femnoe bOtVOen the total reepective Paounts oolleoted es&expended a8 of A-t 31, 1942, v88 expropriatedfor u8b in the •ddd#t~tf~ of th8 Act durin@ the fir081 ye8r 1943. 'P-St* tbatwhave fully ba8vendpus lnquiry,ve me
Document Info
Docket Number: O-4900
Judges: Gerald Mann
Filed Date: 7/2/1942
Precedential Status: Precedential
Modified Date: 2/18/2017