Honorable Robert S. Calvert Opinion No. W-630
Comptrol~lerof Public Accounts
Capitol Station Re: Whether corpus of trust
Austin, Texas consisting of intangible
property.held in Louisi-
ana by Louisiana trustee
is subject to Texas in-
Dear Mr. Calvert: heritance tax'
.~Inconnection .with.y-ourrequestfor an 'opinionon the
"'above captioned matter you have~supplied us with the following
facts. Ida Mitchell Looney, hereafter referred to as Decedent,
was a resident of Dallas County, Texas, both at the time of her
death and~at the time she executed an irrevocable trust agree-
ment with Tulane 'University.'.Pursuant to.the agreement, .'
certain stocks and a check for $3000 were turned over to Tulane~
University which was to pay the income to the Decedent during
her lifetime~and upon the Decedent's death, to .distribute said
income to her cousin for life. Upon the death of the Decedent's
cousin,.TLilaneagreed to use such income for the support of the
Thomas GreenProfessorship~of Education.
The agreement is clearly a taxable transfer under that
portion of particle '7117,Vernon's Civil Statutes, which imposes
a tax upon transfers made '. . .by deed, grant, sale or gift
made or intended to take effect in pos;ession or enjoyment after
the death of the grantor or donor. if the property is
"within the jurisdiction of this State... ."'.for inheritance tax
-purposes The attorneys for the estate submit that since the
property ,whichpassed at Decedent's death by virtue of the trust
Instrument was intangible personal property which had acquired
a fixed business situs in Louisiana, it is not within the jur-
isdiction of this State for inheritance tax purposes.
In the fclloiringcases the Supreme Court of the United
States limited the right to tax intangibles (reserving the ques-
tion of a decision in the.event such intangibles had acquired a
business situs) to the decedent's domiciliars state. Farmer's
Loan and Trust-Co. v. Minnesota, 2% U.S. 2014 (193G); Baldwin v.
Missouri, 26i U.S. 503 1330 ; BeAdler v. South Carolina Tax
Commission, 282.U.S. 1' 193d ; First National Ban;