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PRICE DANIEL
ATTORNEY GENERAL
September 12, 1947
Hon. George X .
Elhemard Opinion X0. V-373
Comptroller of Pubtic Accounts -
Austin, Texas Re: Whether I.4covered
hopper cem belong-
ing to H~ellibu&m
011 Well Ceaentlng
Co. are sub cot to
ad valorem I(ixea
and if so, the tax-
able sltus under
facts stated
Deer Mr. SheppardP
You Fequest our oplnloa %.a*eferenoe to 6h*
~~aboveoeptioned umtter, baaed on the facts 68 out&
“pLiburton OL1 Well-Cc-
lined in .lettersto you from 8s
mentlng C,ompeny,whloh iacts are aa follows:
“The Ralllburton Oil Well Cementing
CompatUria primarily engaged In-the ser-
vlcing-ot oil and gas wella end In counec-
tlon, therewlth, sells some 011 field aup-
plfea. One of the item8 which~we sell is
cement. Thla Company haa reoently purchee-
ed severe1 LO covered hopper cara which ere
opeclflcallydesigned to haul dry bulk
cement over or on rallroad tracks. The
c8rs are hauled on the railroad tr@oks by
the rellroad compaELb.#and the railroad oom-
psnias ey us on a mileage barie for the
use Or ehe care. The aara which we own el%
used exclusivelyto heul cement for ua.
"At the presetit time, this Compeng es-
slgw rellroed cards to a aertala.lwetlon
In muoh tb a.118saner as we eralgn our
. As on exeII)p10,
trualrr ve hove a bulk see
rdbntabomge plant at Xwklns, !Fex86,end
there are no%?two rlatlroad Carl aaalgned to
that planta By the em3 of the yee~~,however,
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Hon. G4orge Ii.Sheppard - P4ge 2 (Ho. V-373)
there may be uone or e4 sang 08 five or allx
osrs ssslgned to thls pl4nt depending up&u
the amount of business in that psrtioulsr
areso If the cement bualtiesaincreases st
Eavklna, It la poasfble that on4 or mom
railroad a4ra whfah sr4 now aaaigtiedto oti
Odesss.plantmay be trmuiarred to llrwkins,.
and by the 44m4 token aue or more 02 the
cam nov ssrigaed to the~Havklm~pl4nt rsy
be trsiasferredto our Lev4llmd plant in
case the aement busiaeas facreesss st Lerel-
lrnd and decreases at Hawkfns.
'We use these rall~oad c,araas storage
bins to a 14rggeextent. I do not belleve
that ve have 4ny, rsilrsad cam whioh sre not
in tie unless, of eourae, they am in aeid
of repsir. Zisllroadoars which sro ststloaed
er hesdquartersdat Hawkins are loaded with
oeaont at Dsllaa, Ft. Worth, Houston, Ada,
Oklshoma, end la the State of Arkrneaa. Xn
the paat it hss beea lmpoaaibleto get emnagh
aement at Xbllrs and Irt;~.Worth to supply QOJ?
bulk ceaent.plantain the Dal188 and Ft; Worh ‘. ,.
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area. Rsllroad cars saalgned to our Odessa
. plant sro leaded with cement St ltlPs~o end
Sm Aatonio r'hdat 40~4 loaatlona in Kswss
and Ilebraska. A8 4 ritter of pr4atlce, the
comeat is purahSSed et the most aontenlent
cement ranufsaturlngplant If thst plant asa
rupply ua.
"In cam4 our bualneaa should fill oii to
ruch sn extent that prrt of our rsllraad asrs
would beoom Idle, I bellevs It would be ssfe
to say that the idle csrs would be kept .st the
loostioa whe2-0~they are 4srignea. I aQ not be-
.,. .
. lle+re.that the7 vould be brought into our bore
oflioe here .stDunmn, ualesa oimmmst4~cces
ohsage In the future.
"When you submit this quoatiou to the At-
toruq Qeaersl, ve shall appreaiate it IS you
will sdvlse him th4t we are required to ~47
mileage tsxos In the St&es of Konsrs, Okls-
home and Hew Mexico, on cars nhich travel
ttiough thoae atatea. These aileege taxes are
la lieu of property taxea 4nd rpply to sll
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Hon. George H. Sheppard - Page 3 (No. V-373)
miles traveled regardless of the location
to vhioh the co??8heve been permanently or
temporerllg aaslgned. Property taxea are
levied In the States of Arksnsa8, Colorado,
Loulsiene,M.fsslasippi, etc., on 8 mileage
baaia and the permanent or temporary lcoa:
tlon of the car Ii not taken Into conalder-
atian In errlvlw Bt the ad valorem tax.
The mlles traveled in those states ELIcom-
pared with the a&lea traveled wergwhare is
thb ordinary basis wetI for arriving at the
valuation upon vhioh the ad velorw tax is
levled. You will race11 our letter of Aug-
ust 15 in wh&ch rerstated that the cara whiah
are esaigned to our vartoue locationa or
let&s in Texas are used snd travel lo the
x t&es of Arkansea, Kawaa., Oklahoma, Ae-
bradka, LouIslens,low Mexloo end Texas."
The aommon low maxim of "mobilie aequinttw pep-
uowa” (rcmbles iollov the pereoa), that la, that per-
So0rl pswpwty h*s Ita Jeaetlsitu8 for taxatl,onpurposes
*t t&e p&roe of the ovaezw domicile, la the general @e
Althou@ the Owzstitutlca of Texas (Art. !IZII,
"012 property, uhether avned by
pb2wbna or i3tmwretLoaa.ahaU be essesaed for taxation,
(lndfaxes pa -$0’the oount~ "it 'hasbeen
held write IL rfme c0urt of provision
i# no i$oPs~t&~~r,ddolersthm of the oomwa lew rule in
&hat %bUs LC h8d aef’erbwoeta Cke tixltag power, it evl*
dant aaent property Vhwe !!jituated for the purposss of
~~~tia$br the geaexal gringlplba of law as then
city of Fort. erth v. Southland Greyhound
Warr 67 i. W. (26) 361; #, C. & 8. Fb my. CO. v. City
rb B&r, 16 8. W. (2d) 292; Great Southern Life Ins:
Co. v. Olty of Austin, 243,.8.W. 778; Cltr of Galvestoa-
0. Haden, t?lb 8. li. 7663 Fbrrls v. mable, 12 S.W. 689.
Ibid itiwprbtetlon Is lraldrl8.0to apply to Artiole
‘7lS3, Xbvl8bd Cl.vLl8t@tut'b(l of Toxaa, aa amended, ea-
rated p wr a b ntto tbb llrovbooartltutlonalprovision (See
OWbU rwl'b), t?i!&toh ~o*idba:
"All pmperty, Foul and personal, except
rush es ir ra@rbd to be listed and rasessed
othezwlss, ahell ba llmted rid assessed In the
ooklatgwhere it $9 8itUdadI sad all personal
property, subject to taxation and temporarily
raaovcrtl, trou the Stete OF aounty, shell be
llutad aad asae’tmd tn &he oounty of the reair
ez-81’8Oplnlon Ilo.O-3702 it vsa held that where resd
-1w. alpmbat wus situ&ad la 8 aooatf other thsn that
“f.
deuce of the maer on’8 pbmsmllt ~)Dlsls
bf the redo, la be-
l8tlon to the taxing f4iarIn question, it was taxable in
tb oouatf where rotuall3 situated.
The Sact that
ilCtOl’8f#te
28Ot 8ti th8t
A- elowdo, Iti~rluslgpf~8a4
16vied l
ga inst:th e m boifs dobs
@a 6 mfl~(~o I& affect
tbrir, :tUX+bility IO TbXSS. It haa 1~ be98 settled by the
Y..
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BOIL oeolyp H. Bh8pp.3rd- Page 5 (Ho. v-373)
U. S. Supreme Court that prop8rty having its sltus with-
in the tsX%ilg3tbt8S IS QOt 8X8Prptfl'OtU
8 QOQdi8Ul'i3fQ8-
toPy Property tax merely beceuse the moperty is used 1~
interstate commerct. Virglnle v. Imperia.1Coal Bales Co.,
InC., 293 0. 9. 15, 55 aup. ct. 12. The supreme colmt
of the United States in First Bank Stock Corp. v. 8tet8
of Minnesota, 301 U. 9. 234, 57 S. Ct. 677, held that
propelrtpowned by a Delaware corporation doing bwluesa
in #lmesote, seld property being loceted end used in
Hlnnesota in connectionwith the corporation'sbueinesa
ectlvities,acquired 8 "commercialdaulclle" end tsxeble
situa In Bbnesotr. The court further wl;d it WBB lm-
meteriel thet such property was 8180 subject to taxation
la another 3t8te.
Based upon the f8ctaas glvea us,,it aeoma clear,
aads* the euthorltiercited, that i%hs~82-8itaquestlou
lrferubject to ad vslomla tsxetloala Tex88, sad that they
hav8 8 bWia888 situs for taxation p14rposesia the county
to which they ara raslgued. It clppetimthat these car8
Y8Pe %?cently purohesed"by Helliburton CoDp&ng, Of
course if th8y Wp8 not Wn8d by Ihll%bUrta~8nd located
in %x88 oa lrrt iF=uer) lat.thersvou1d.M QO CaXes due
there& fop thicrjeer. The cbusrtyto whloh the cam umg
be esdgnwt end located on Jeaaem &, 1948, de%emiaes
their trxeble sltaa far next ~y-eer.~Thef'sctt&& the ok
or car8 8by be temporsrily oat of the,coantf of its aittas
on Jehurrf lat 0% refilling or other pua?pose;rwould mot
sffeot either it8 ,texabllityor Cax6ble 8ltu8.
I& cov8red hopper tieflroedcera owned
by B8lliburton Oir.well COQleatl, CO., Snd
888lgned to varloum count188 la7 exaa and
there wed 88 8tc+8gp blor SOP oeaenti,rln-
bez-the facto 8trtad,,ore aubjaot to ld vrlor-
68 t;uetierl in Teame; ad the taxable ritlu
of 08ob oar 18 la the county to whioh i* is
lraigned. Art. 7153 V.C.8.3 0it.g of Ft.
worth v. I)oathlend
We@muad Llneu, 67 8. If.
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Ron. CfeO~~ B. llheposrd - Pegs 6 MO. v-373)
24) %36r;tiPgild@ V. 1 Ol'181CO.1 S8188 CO.,
tic.,293 0. 8. 15; Fire?I beak 8tcck Carp., W.
301v. 8. 234.
8ttrtOoi llilrn.,
V8Z7t3'UlytOW
ATTOWRY OlNBHAL OF t’BU$
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