Case Information

*1 OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS AUSTIN

Hon. Charley Lookhart

State Treasurer

Austin, Texas

Dear Sir!

, ,., ‘.

The euroitor is a w0- my understanding that her life expeotanoy aooording to the Amerioati Experience Table of Morfelity is approximately sixteen years. Or oourse, ehe may live 10nger or she may die prior to that 4a.te. The i315,OOO.OO note beers no lnterest.w *2 1 i

1 Eon . cberley Lo&hart, page 2.

The statute luvalved In this queetbn lo Artdole [ 7C47e, Vernon's Annotated Revised Uiril Statutes of Texas,

t2.e Rertlnent parts or which read as follows% t *(a) Exospt es herein ot-herulse provided there r is hereby bwlcad end assessed a tax of Ten (lO#) Cent.8

on each One Hundred ($100.00) Dollars or freotlon

thereof, over the first Two Hundred (~eOO.00) Dollars, on 011 notom.and obllgstlorm 8eoured by ohsttel xort- * gage, deed of.trnst, mohatio*8 lien oontract, vendor*8 t, lien, oondltiooal sales ocntraot and all instrumer&s oi 6 similar nature which are filed reoorded In the of- fice of the County Clerk under the Reglstrstlon Laws or this State; yrorlded that no tax shall be levied on instrumnts aeouring an mount 0r ho fiundrea ($200.00) Rollars, or less. Arter the erre0tire date 0r this Aot, except as hereinafter provide4, no suoh lhstrrment sh.all be filed or recorded by any Gcuntf Clerk fn this 4tat.e until there haS'beeu afitied to auoh lnstrusont stamps In eoccrdsnoe with the prorlnions ot thie seation; pro- riding fuxther that should the Instrument filed in the orrio 0r the county Clerk be soourity~or an obligation that has property plewd as seourity in e state or 3tatos other than Texas, tha tax shall be besod, upon the reasonable uash~ralue or all property pledged in Texas oefd property In Texas bears to in the propcrWm+hat the total value ei the property securing the -obligations and, protldlne; further that, except as renewals / extenalous ot accrued interest., the provisicns of this section shell hot.%pRly to iustruuenta gives in re- newal or extensions of lnstruments~thereto~oxe stamped under the provisions 0r thls Act or th6, cm aimnded

hereby, an4 shall not apply to instmments eivsn in the refundfog ore existing bond5 or,obllgations where the preceding instrummt.ot SeOUrity wss stamped in aocor4anoe with this Act or the on8 asended hereby; grovi4e4 further that the tax levied in this kct 'shall apply to only one lnstrusmnt, the one or the greetest denoulnatlcn, where several lnatruxente are contempo- raneously execute4 to seoure one obligationi end pro- vi484 further that when onoe stamped %sQjrovided

keHin, an instrwooot~raey be reaordsd in any number

or oountlee in this btate without aeain~be* so

atazqed. This motion ehall not apply to Instruments,

notes, Or OthBr Obii@tiOI3S ta.keXI by Or 011 behalf Of

the United States or 0r the state OS Texas, or tiny

uorporate qenoy or lnetrmvmtallty of tke United

states, or of the Stats of Texas in osrrying oat a

mvernmntal purpose eS expressed in any dot of the

Corqres8 or the United Citates or ot the Idglalature ot the %ate of Texas, nor shall the protialons or this seotlon spply to obll~ations or lnstrutmnta se-

oured by liens on aropa and tara or agricultural

?roduots, or to livestook or ima laplaaents, or 88 or judgment.

abstraat

"Tr the amout mowed by en instrument is not

expreosed tbersia, Ii any part of the eeourity de- sorlbed in any auoh instrumoat appears to be, loaatad

without the &ate or Texas, the County Clerk shall

MIC&Iire PrOOf b’p Yritt8B Srfid0Vit~U Of eUG?h hot8 (18 my be neoeeaary to de+m.l.ne the amount the tax

due.

"(b) Bsymemt of the tax eu hereby levIed ahall be

erldenoed by sfilxlng the stamps herain provided Sor,

to ell lnntrwnents 1nuUaded within the provlo5ons ot

the ;tot, and It shall be the duty of the,Stats Trees-

uror at all times to keep a supply 0r suoh stelEps on

heed for sale to any person u~oa dezmad end payment

therefar, and the St&to Treasurer ehall at the request

or any County Clerk or the State oi Texas aoaoigz3 sold

stamps to the dimr8nt County Clerm. . . . . *

This statute wos aolwtruad in the a880 of City of

lene v. Fryar, ~143 3. Xc (End) tXi4, im -ahl(rh the Court

dr

*... Zn our opinion, the tax 10 not b property

tax, but one uot InappFogriately daslgnated 6s a grivi-

lege tsx; that it la Sot levied upon thu %aker al notes

or other oblig.stiona nor u;on the owners thereof izorely aa auoh, but upon the privilege of Such &rkerS to hsve

the sl;eoifiod lieno fllod and/or reaorded under

ragistratlon law. 36 tax, 3ie thtik, i5 poprly to

be clsasirled wltb those dsslpnstod by Corpus Juris, sa

a ,'.aorfgage recordin& tax+ or in alailzr trcrti. 61 C. J.

seas. ze70-23c3, inclusive.'

n . . . .

"-;'hIle thsre is Is;l%u.ci~ 1% mid :rt. ?04?e which isports tSa levy of the tex *on all notes zti oblige- tiow* ( seze being further desoribed 3s *seoured by ohsttel nort@@, deed of trust, nechario~s lien con- trsot, vendor~s lien, cosditIom1 sales aontmct end all Inetrumnts OS s sirollar mture rhirrh cre filed or reoorded in ths 0iriea or the .Countp Clerk under the ~egintr~tlon Lews of t~;tis Statel, nevertheless, ve think, the statute Is properly to be ooustrtied as levying the tex not ugmi debts or evidences oi debts, but upon the privilege or the lien holder to eoquire the benefits of the ro~lst.ratI~oa 1~s. .:n essentlel to the llbbillty of r,nyone for g;Ymeut of the tax Ia t&it the 11~ be *illed or raoorded In tbe orride the County Clerk.*. . . . t&o mfemnoe to *notes and other ebll3atiann* In term 8% tlmugli the levy us6 made thereon uea only for the purpais4 of'sdopting the xteasur% 0r the t%x levied upo% the privilege ounsre OS suoh no8sa and other obl,ligetlone to have the apeolried seooritder tikerer@x Piled and moor&d under the regletration 1mm.*

It is apparent froze the word% or the statute end the holding in the o%%e of 'Jity of Abllene Y. Pryar, aupm,~ that the tax i% umasured by the enoant of the obligation sea&mod by the Men Instrument on ahioh the atrmpps mast be plsoed b&ore it ir, reoorded.

‘r;e believe t&it ojLy that amount of the obligation that ia oertcin, - the amount that will ianquestIonably booom d-e - is 811 thet em be Wed In oaloulatirng the amount of Btsmps that mot be plaoed on the in%truf#ut% scouring the 8arie. In Attorney Cenerel'-6 Opinion Xo. O-333, dated Maroh Z7, 1939, oonstruinp &Male 7047e, V. A. C. S., (which reed prsatlcelly the eem on this feature 8% the present statute) the question ~8s a%ked whether ox not tex 6telps should be required on reoorded lien Instruments seaurlng 'Ml debts owing by the nortgtqror the norteegee and any future ad- vanceaw , snd It was held Veturn advsnoemants refit be die- regerded In %rrIv:q at the amount of the tar, %ueh odvemm- ltiants being indefinite end lncageble of s%oertatiz!entW.

m. Charlay Lookhart, page 5.

Thg mna holdin8 wee neds In Attorney Oeneral*s Opinion No.

0~1787, dated January 2.3, 1940, owstrulnq the I;reaent

&,stute.

In tb.ls case tLa o&y amount OS the okllgetlon thet is oertein, - the only ?imoant that will unquestionably weoae due, - Is the $15,000.00 peymfmt thet will kecxme

due when t&s survl.ving bsneflolnry dies. The ottsr payments ~7 never beemae due. They xl.11 never beccme dne if the stsr- vfqw benefielary die% immediately, that is, whather or not may beoome due depend% upon said person lirim, and that ~queatlonably 1% *indefinite and incapsble o? ascertslnacnt".

~8 was 60 well %tated in that early sohool book, the New

g&and Trimerr

"Our days beeIn with trouble here, Cur life Is but a #pan,

And eras1 death, la always mar, 90 Smil a thh is men.- Our aamer to your inquity Is that the fixed final

pymont of $15,OOO.O0 is all that oen ba used In aaloulating the atamp tar due under Artlole 7047e on the recording o? in,strment 1~ pu%8tiOn, and that the obllgetlons th0 papsent oi which depend upon the life of a abrtaln perhon sre too in- derinite be used In aalouleting the tax.

Tour% very truly