*1 OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL bF TEXAS
AUSTIN
-o.- --
.,
Honorable Chnrley Loakhcrrt
Stats Treonurer Austin, Texelii
Seer Sir:
u submit to ua long. that the,
Vernon*e Clvi d now aesireir to file B whloh has been 8Uj?plCWXIt~l acquired s?nb ?art of this 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.: ixcept as herein othsrwiae provided "(a) 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 *2 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 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- no auoh instrument shall be file4 after prorldad, 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 :i an obllg rtiQll that hfI8 DMIDOl’tJ be security 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 proportion that mid woperty In Texaa beare to the total rslue @ th propartZ aaourfnn the ObliRetiOll; and providing &th‘r that. l xaelrt a8 to renew618 or axtenaIons or BO- the prorialona of tbla aaotlon orud intereat, 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 a!:plr to lnstmmanta given in the raZundlng of exlatlng r,onda or obll- gatlone where t&a praoedlng Instrument of l eourity ma atamped in aooor4anoe with taie Act or tbe one amen4ab horaby; provlbed further thet 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 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 or on behalf of the United States or of the State O? Teiae, or any corporate genoy or in8trumentalltY or the United State8, or 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 thir reotion apply to obligation8 OS ln8truments oeoured by lien8 On OroP8 (llld f8W 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, deeoribed ia any 8Uoh instrument appear8 8e0Wity t0 be loosted without the State of Tela0, the County Clerk shall require proof written affl- of aaoh faOts a8 may be neoe8sery to d0ter- dwt8 alas 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 reoovery, was tri8d ana Judge Lcob41118n anraea the plaintlfr holding that in 0fSeot tbr tsx wa8 beln& llsrisd upon property kn epppeal wa8 perfeoteb but by looat8d OUt8ide Of Teur. 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 Three rourthe Of the property besorlbed ln th0 $80,000,000. fir0t mortgege we8 looatea 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 worth thereoi 1s in Texm, the relrteinaer ln Ark-- ~150,~ 8e8. To hold that the amount Of the tax w3tm be a8aer- *4 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 $45,000 would not be getting amy frown such oritiolen of the old stetute. This would heve one of two effecta, that le, of making it tax on (and we hr;ve heretofore held thet It 18 a tax the note ltsolf upon the prlvlloge of using the recorde), or it would be levy- ing the tax upon the rzortgage which wau legally recorded many yetira ago. In our opinion auoh a oonetruction is not required be given. end ahou7d
Nor oan the mount of the tex be eeoertaincd by tak- ing the proportion whioh the Texas property in the second mort- gage bears to all the property in that mortgage. Tar, th8 8te- tute quite plainly requires consideration in the foreign etate, e8 a redUOing feotor, regardlese of whet mortgage it F;ay deaarlbed la.
We will again quote the pertinent part of the 8tetUte, making perenthetloel lnsertlons to olnrlfy our thought (~6 to it8 meanly, a8 applied to a 8ituatlon of this kind. aTh tax ah&l1 be based upon the rea8onable cash value of all property .pledged in Texae (in the tendered mortgage) in the proportion thnt said property in Texa8 (In the tendered mortgege) bears to total vcllue of the property seourlw the obllgetlon."
In the instant oafie, the 8Um upon wbloh the tax is to be caloulcted ie arrived et as follower take the proportion which the Texae property in the seoond mortgage beers to all of the property In both nortgtlges and eul,tiply the frvatlon into the mount of the bond8 eeourea.
Your8 very truly AFPRoy$ JUL 12, lg4' ATTO?ZV.Y G?lrZ_RiJ OF TEX,',S GR1:l-W