Case Information
*1 OFFICE OF THE Al-l-ORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
AUSTIN
xonorablo Llnton s. Batage
oounty Attorney
"The indentma aeourlng tbew obligntionr dU eon- try oortain oil and gee leases and UoIpb roe property in tbo States~Qf Kansas and OIslehow and, as wall, mm. 011 and gae leaSee in the Oounties oi Flueow an4 San PatrlOi0, Tezas.
wThsm 1s also pledged a oontraot ooverlng purohase 0f gas rr00 oertaln lease in sari mtriofo County, Texas, and oontraote ooverlng sale gas produoed rr00 all three atatw.
"All of thebonds oi SerIssAwlll bq ppohaeed tram the mortgagor by Metropolitan Life ilheuranae Company, a oorporatlon or Ifew York. All of the bonds of Series B will be purohasod from the mortgagor by The Rational city &Ink or wm York.',
You mention an 0 by 8n Asslatant Attorney General tratlon, dated Fobrunry 1.5, 1957, under the preoo6Ing a addremed to the Ootmty Attorney of Potter Oounty, to thm l i- rO0t that a trust indentw ulthout the State of Texas in favor of and dellrered to non- on propedee wlthln a8 we&l am reeldontm of the State w exempt rrom the tax, and you further mention an oplnlon by t&o prior adminfstratlon at thir offloe, addrwied to thr Cwnty Attorney OS WI@dta Oounty, dated Way 27, 1938, see to hold that obligationa by nqtlonal
You rrqueat our oplalon a8 to banks are aoqtfrorawhtu. wholib~ or not thr indo!ature of mortgage to be axoouted by Republlo Batural CaOk+mpeny, before beIn reoordod, anst.bo lltempe6 la aooordinao with the pr0Y1010nrr or Arti 70470, B.C.&, u auadod by 8.B. Xo. S4 by the 44th Logislafiure.
8aId S.B:Mo. $34, 46th Logialaturr, made In part as roll.rrrrer
*boept aa bmln othenI80 provldod there Is bbro- lotied end awmew6 a tax of Ten (lC#) Cents on oaoh One Hpodmd (#lCC,OO~ Dollar8 or Sraotion theroof, over the fir& W Thmdnd ((eW.00) Dollara, on all not.8
d obll&atlons mow6 by ohattolmortgags deed of til. t uahanl~*r 1108~ oentmot vendor'@ lien oonbitlon- al l ai~a6ontxa~tandallln&ntants of a slmLrnatw W&Oh a%% illed or reoorbl In the orfloe of the County Clerk under the Eegl#tratIon Law6 of thI# State; protided that no tu aball be l&vied on Inrtxuments seourlng an amount of Tro Bundm6 0NO.00) Dollam, or.1~~8. After .Mo l tfeotly e date of tai8 Act, uoept aa hereInaftor provided, no wah instrument ehall be tiled or reworded Olerklnthls St~tauutlltWre harbeen byanyCounty affllrsd to mah Inatwnt stamp@ in aooordanae ~i$h the pmtIrrIo~ oi thlr meetion; providing further that nhould th* Instntnunt f’I1.d In .tho ofi'ior ot the Oounty Clerk bo 8eourity of an obligation that baa property pledge6 •~ 8aaurIfy In a State or States other than Texan, the tu #hall bo baaed upon the raaronnblo oa8h value of all property pledged in Texas in the proportl6n *3 Ton. Llnton S. Savage, Page 3.
that said property in Texas benrs to the total vcluo of the pmgerty aoa~~lng the obligation; . . . and pMVided further that when onoo str:mpod as provided herein, an instrument may be recorded In any number of countioa In thie State without again being 80 stamped. . . . *If the amount aooured by a instnunent Is not ox- proseed therein or if any part of the soourlty dosorlb- od In any suoh lnstnrmsnt appears to be looatod wIthout the State of Texas the County Clerk shall require proof by written affidavits of suoh feots as may be nooossary to determine the amount of the.tax duo.* Tho provision with reforenoe to proratlng,the tax, wbsro a pert only OS tho aeourlty Ir, looatod In the State of Texas, was not la tho original Artiolo 70470, R.C.S., a8 the semo erieted et the tlmo of the oplnfon to the County Attorney of Potter County. Furthermore, we might obaene that on April 29, 193S, the proood- lng edmInlstratlon of the Attorney Goneral's Department ln an opinion wr$tten by H. L. rcllllford, Aseietant Attorney Gonoral, addroeeod to Ron. C+rley Lookhart, State Treasurer, Nled uon- trery to the opinion or February 15, 1937.
In our oonferenoo opinion MO. 3061, dated June 17, 1939, addressed to Ron. Charlay Loolchert, State Treasurer, we expressed the via that'tho tax levied 8.8. No. 24 1s a tax upon the Pertloulerly In vlow 0s the lnoluslon in rwordIru3. prirllogo the amended Aot oi the prov%slons requiring the proration of the tax whore a pert or the eaourlty 1s looatod outside tha State of Texas, we bslloro thnt the instrument in quo&Man muat beer atampa ae provided in the emended Aot, and dotormlnod as therein provided.
In opinion Ro, O-267, dated February 25, 1939, add&sod to the State Troamurer, es well a8 lo our opinion No. O-874, rsomtly given to the Banking Commis~loner of Toxea, we oxpnrsed tho rlow thet lion instruments talc- by national banks and by them are not subjoot to tho tax. However, it wIl1 be noted that In the iaota submitted to ua by you none of the bond6 aooured by this ln- denture of mortgage Is now owned by tho Rational City Bank of Now York, but apparently that bank simply plans to puroheeo SerIoa B If wo understand the instant situation of the bonda ao eeoured. oorrootly, the Matlonal City Bank of Now York would not be paying this tex. Henoo no exanptlon would be afforded the Indenture of mortgage In question.
The tax #hould be oaloulatod aa eot forth In S.B. No. 24 and oollootod eooordlngly.
YOWS VOlF$' tNu ATlDlU?EIGENEIULOlr~i!XAS GRL-W APP~WVED SEP 7, ,lQSQ . Gerald C. Mann (signed1
AT’IDRNJIY GENERhL Op‘ TEUS