1 243
THEA~TORNEY GENERAL
~IFTEXA~
Aven~. TEXAR
pRIa.xs DAN-
l-“m--=
August 5, 1948
Hon. Geo. H. Sheppard ‘~ Opinion No. V-648
Comptroller of Public Accounts
Austin, Texas Re: Taxable ata@~~ of certain
types of stock transfers
to and from ‘Szustodians.’
Dear Mr, Sheppard:
. .
You-r~qu@?ur.opinion as tp what+ th?, stock t+~s-
fer tax levied under .Article 15 ,of H. B. N6. 8; 47th L~gislatnrq, -as
amended by S. 8.. 141; SOtkLigislaturc, would acckne in the fqU.ow-
ing types’of transfers:
,: .:. ~.
.%. From ihe ~iarne of-an owner tq the name~,of
a i&nine~ of a ‘custodian.
“2. From ,thg aame.of a nomin+ of a custqdian
! back to the name of w owner +r whom. tba
-nomixiTe b+d held the sba+vzs. .. ‘~ .’
.~~.Z..
.t$. ~From.tbe +me.of one’nominee ef..a cust+
dian to the x+me of another nominq of the
name custodian.
“4.. From ihe~name of a nominee of a curtpdi~~~
: tomthe name’ .&fa, nominee oJ a ~7 cw t&an
.foctha sauiq~gtier,m
‘The Texas-Stqck Transfer Tax~Act is eodvisd’rs Arti-
cle 7047xi and ieads,.:in past, as ‘f~llonsr
., .,T~.,.
%+ctlon L ,,8There is hj?reby,ixn&sed and~l&ied
a tak as .hereilufter provided. eonall,sal+j agreoriqbts
to sell1 or ti6moranda of sales: and all deliveriis im
. transfers of sharesi or.certificates of stock; or cer-
tificates:for.i$jlhts to atock; or certificates of deposit
. rsprssenting +x8iatetcst ia ar reprisen%ing~~crtJficat~s
made taxable uixd+r this~sectio~ in any dauytic or for-
eign.issociation, Citipany, or corporatfon; or’cartiff-
cates of interest in any~basiaass:conducted by trustee
or trustees made ‘after the affective date hereof,‘wheth-
cr made upon or shown by the books of the association,
company. corporation, or trustee, or by any assignment
244 Hon. Ceo. H. Sheppard, Page 2 (v-648)
in blank or by any delivery of any papers or agree-
ment or memorandum or other evidence of sale or
transfer or order for or agreement to buy, whether
intermediate or final, and whether investing the
holder with the beneficial interest in or legal title
to such stock or other certificate taxable hereun-
der, or with the possession or use thereof for any
purpose, or to secure the future payment of money
or the future transfer of any such stock, or certif-
icate, on each hundred dollars~ of face value or frac-
tion thereof. Three (3) Cents; except in cases’ where
the shares or certificates are issued without dcsig-
nated monetary value, in which case the tax shall
be at the rate of Three (3) Cents for each and every
share.. . . It is not intended by this Article~to im-
pose a tax upon an agreement evidencing the depos-
it of certificates as collateral security for money
loaned thereon, which certificates are not actually
sold, nor upon such certificates so deposited, nor
upon transfers of such certificates to the lender or
to a nominee of the lender or from one nominee of
the lender to another, provided the same continue
to be held by such lender or nominee or nominees
as collateral security as aforesaid: nor upon the re-
transfer of such certificates to the borrower; nor
upon transfers of certificates from a fiduciary to
a nominee of such fiduciary, or from one nominee
of such fiduciary to another, provided the same COP-
tinue to be held by such nominee or nominees for
the same purpose for which they would be held if
retained by such fiduciary, or from the.nominee to
such fiduciary; nor upon mere loans of stock or cer-
tificates, or the return thereof; nor upon deliver&s
or transfers to a broker for sale; nor upon deliveries
or transfer by a broker to a customer for whom and
upon whose order he has purchased the same. but
transfers to the lender, or to a nominee or nominees
as aforesaid, or retransfers to the borrower or fidu-
ciary: and deliveries or transfers to a broker for
sale, or by a broker to a customer for whom and up-
on whose order he has purchased the same shall be
accompanied by a certificate setting forth the fact;
nor upon transfers or deliveries made pursuant to
an order of the Federal Securities and Exchaage
Commission which specifies and itemizes the se-
curities ordered by it to be delivered or transferred
(provided that this exemption shall not apply to such
transfers or deliveries made before the passage of
this Act)) nor upon record transfers following such
Hon. Geo. H. Sheppard. Page 1, (v-648) 245
transfers or deliveries; nor in respect to share.6
or certificates of stock or certificates of rights
to stocks, or certificates of depos.it representing
certificates of the character taxcd.by this Article,
in any domestic association, company, or corpora-
tion. if neither the sale, nor the order. for. nor a-
greement to buy, nor the, agreement to sell, asar
the memorandum of sale. nor the delivery is made
in this state and when no act necessary to effect
the sale or transfer is done in this .state.. . .*
Construing the entire act’as a whole, its seems clear
to us that a tax is not imposed upon a transfer which does not in-
volve a change of title or ownership, either legal or equitable.
This taxing act is similar to the stock transfer tax acts of New
York and Pennsylvania. ‘Both the New York and Pennsylvania
acts have been construed to impose a tax only on tho~se transkrs
which involve~a change of title. either legal or equitable. Iu prior
Opinion No. O-3765 of this office we held:
‘We therefore submit that a taxable traas-
action or eventuality is created, under the Stock
Transfer Tax Act, by either a~‘sale. agreement to
sell, delivery or transfer upon thc~books and rec-
ords, of shares or certificates of stock, or cartif-
icates for rights to stock, or certificates of depos-
it representing au interest iu stock, whether vest-
ing in the transferee merely the legal title, or
merely the equitable .trtle or beneficial interest, or,
as m t.+ Fsuat msstance, both the legal and eqm ble
right, title and interest.*
WA ‘nominee’ is syaoaymous with an agent . . .
and is one who represents and acts for his principal.”
B. F. Avery & SOBS Co. v. Glenn. 16 F. Supp. 544.
It is therefore bur opinion. if neither the legal nor
equitable title is transferred in the four types of traaskrs iu-
quired about by you, and the transferee in each instance continues
to hold the shares or certificates for the same purpose for which
they were held by the transferor, that such transfers are not tax-
able.
SUMMARY
A transfer of shares or certificates from
the name of an owner to the name of a custodian,
or from the name of an ovmer to the name of a nom-
inee of a custodian, or from the name of a nominee
246 Hon. Csob H. Sheppard, Page 4 (V-648)
of a custodia%back tic the name’ of ths owner for
whom the ti&nineb had hgld the shuts, or from
the aanie ojl dniG&iiiea of a custcidi+~ to tae’
name of (Laotb& ~-tie of tbti,s&6 custodian,
or fr&m th&,diti:.of ti nominee of,a custodian te
the. name’df, h~i&iiiioe ‘of a i+w ‘c%stpdian’foi+b&
sami. oivaer ‘ii’ p&:.$ax@l~ under thy Tees Stock
Transfei Ta~~Aitf,~‘if ‘&dt&ei tbq legal nor ~eqoftable
title, is transfii~dii and.th6 transferee in each’ini
stance continues to,hold the shares or. certificates .
for the same purpose for wbi+ they war? “ld by
t.h&tmasfqor: “: ’ ‘.
.
;: h’ ~Ycnus very truly
ATTORNEY &NEIUL OF TEXAS
.
BY
W., V. Cieppert
Assistant
WVG/JCP
APPROVED
.
. .