OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
AUSTIN
Eonoreble YC.D. BalL
county Attorney
Rsiuglo county
Refuglo, Texas
tuxnb&e under Azrtiole
We received f6&.Jv&‘$atc;j,Aprll
rV 14, 3.943,whioh
is self-vxplonatory aid rte& as fo~ows~:
” ix
*The Tod;o~~Svfti&o~“is Cta ‘dear
Fuildin~ aonUrsin%nge laqee ‘%udltoriuinin the second story.
~*Cco~eion~lly’
dances &ejglven for the purpose of
whioh were issued to build
of~‘iW&io raqcired to pay tia A&h+
im@ksed ,wder Article 70478-19 cl the Revised
s-ion’?Jex
Citil Ftstutek of STeras, eapaalally pihenthe charges for
adn$saloq are o:orethen 516 per person?’
.&slole 7047a-19, V. A. C. T.) reads, in pert, as
follows :
/
( ( ” _
Honoratile IC. IL Hall, Pago 2.
in theaters, motion pioture tboaters, opera balla, and
inoluding harm raoing, bog raolpg, notoroyole raoing, .
sutoatobtieraoing, and like oontests and exhibltloo8,
and fnoludlng dsnoo halla, night olubs, akrting rlnkiY,
and any and all other pleaem of amuasmants not p?ohlbi-
tad by law, shall flie with the .State Comptroller (I
quartwly report on the 25th day of January, April,
July, end Odtober for the quartor ending on the la&
day of the preoedlng mm&h; raid repoti @ha11 abow the
gromiiamountrsoeived and the prioo or roe tar admlssfon;
provided.however. 80 tax shall be levied undar thla Aot
on any sdm~ssion oolleeted tar dame*, moving pietur48,
operaa, play*, and ausioal
oerds o f wh io hinur alx o lu8ite e”‘~;t~~~~‘~;*~;e,
religioue. sduoational. or oharitsble institutiona. ao-
oiatler. or oranlaationq - ii no part ot the net earniugs
thereof inures to the benerit of any prl*die stookholdar
or ladlridual: end provldad further, that theaters, raotlon
2laQ&rs theaters, operas, plays. and othar like amrsemsntr
whmrc, the adaslsaion oharge ia less than tlrty-ona (51) oents
per person, end where no tax is due heraundor, shall be re-
llered frcm the illing of a report and the poynent of a tax
levied mder the provieidna of this Feotion. r?aldperson,
firm, assooiatlon of persons, or oorporetlons, otthe tinta
or making suoh P4QOPt shall pay to the Treasurer of thie
Ftato B tax in reteq ana amounts a8 ~follows:
” . . .*
It is to be noted that the tax provided by Artlola ?w?a-
19, aupra, is impoeed on every varson. flra. assooiation of Deraom,
or aomoratloa. (Vhdttrsoorlng
Ta. Term Boployers Ins. hsa*a.
Appeals of Tazas, meairing through Judga Rpaar, had this to say
oonoaming the question OS whether Incorporated oities and towns
in this StCftqte were wlthln ths terms of ths ~orkmn*a Compensation
*ot a
*Ordinari?y warda are used in their aommn aooeptetion
and shoulil be 31~411 that meaning unless a oontrary 1ntrPtlon
appears. The ordinary meaning of the yord.,*oorporetion~ir
private corpomtion, and the use by thenXcgfalature of the
word loorpor~tionP b the sot under consideration should
be held to refer only to private corporations, uniea# it oan
be aald 5im lsrecr use of the word ware intended. Thla rule
of omstruotion Sinds ab:;nCunt authority in ths lklted pow-
ers of munlolpai corporsticms. They poaoeas only suoh powsm
‘. (,,i i ( c
Zonorabl4 X. D. Zall, ?age 3.
~18 two expwsaly oonferred or neoessarlly implied In their
ohartor. The Lugislet& too haa c&own a dlaposltlan to
treat privet4 oorporationa and mun101pa.l.oorpomttons u
separate things.*
In this oonneatlon, a41 XoCeleSt VB. Continental Cla~alty,
132 Texas 65, 11.6 3; W. (2&t 679.
%4 quote from the cake of Ulty o? El ?aso vs. YXate, 135
2. W. (26) 763 (aourt of 01~11 Appeala) a8 iollowar
"(3) B8vIng ther4toforq apeoItIoally exonpted munlol-
pal aorp0ratlOriS ZrOm all forms Of propbrty taxes, and at
least three sps~iilo forms of exolse taxes, ikeen ba a+
guad with aound reason that the frenen of the oonstftution
intarnded to eatabllsh a policy or prinoiple that ths .-ate
should mver Impoaa any eort a? taxer upon it6 nuniolpal
oorporatlcn8. A deolelon In the instant oas4, bowevcr, noed
not go that far, bsoauae under the &lo of statutory eon-
struotion appllaable, it muet be held that alnae the tax
statute did not by olsertlet words lnoludo munloipal aorpi
orationa, or i.mpoae tha tax upon thsn, ths legialatur4 did
not intend to impo84 t&a tax upon them. This rule Is stated
in Vol. 1, Chap. 2, So. 91, p. 217, Cooloy on Taxation,
as follow8: *Gonrrs~ tax statutes of a state art) n4v4*,
without the olsamat worda, oonstrued to laoludo Its own
property or that 31 its munlolpal oorporationr, although
not In tema 4~4mptod rrom taxation. 'Phi* rul4 is somoth '.
rsfernd to aa an InplIed restriction on the, powor to tax;
although in r4nlIt.y it would ae4n1 that Ia Is not 4 llmitr- ,::
tlon at all but rerolg a rul6 or aonatruotlon 09 tax *t4tut4s.i~.'
i:
The $%apr&o Court or Tours grtinted, 4 writ or error In
t&e City or n Paso 08~4 and lte opinion by Juatloo CrIte,. 135
Teras 359, 143 3. 3. (2d) 366, had thla to eey:
*:74 are awere 0r the taut that it Is 4 ganoral rule of
1 statutory construction that e tax imposed by law upon oorp-
orations, will !iOt be held t0 b4 Im?OSed UpQO.RdOiD4l OOW-
o.ztic;~~~nlese theintent to do 80 crlaerlyappaara, OS?,
7 statad In another way, ii ire4 iron doubt."
I
:%Ile it is true thnt the opinion of the Suprcmo Court
imposed the tax on th4 City ot Cl ?:;a~,the prob&em presented in
I
Honorable K. IL Rail, ?ago 4
that 44~4 Is somawhnt different frim th4 on4 prosontod hero.. In
the Xl. i’aao osa4, the Ceuzt ~4s of tbe oylnlon thnt tba rroult
whloh would have bean caused by axeBlptIng the City of Xl Paso
rr0n th4 motor rtlei tax w4a not S&ends& by the L4gIal4tur4.
W4 quote rurther from the opinion by Justlos Crlta.
qo hold that a olty oan purohaas motor fuel out-
side the State end eaoap4 the uaor tax, wculd bo to hold
that the Lsglsloture has doliberetoly onaotod a law whloh
would, ror 411 practiool purgos44, pmwont deel4ra within
the State from a%llIng motor fuel to cltloa and other gov-
orrnneotal sgsnei4a. 3% do not balievo thut the lta tuto o
,ovidenoe any auob intont."
Exoludlng lnoorporatad oltlae and tounafrom the admla-
elan tax atetut will not 04~84 au4h~dlacrlmInetlng results as 5
would have ooeurr4d in the El P440 oaw, aupra. MO h4v4 0~ruliy
oxominod Art1010 70478-19, aupra, and nowhon therein do ~4 f Ind
any language evldenalng the oloar intention of the IsgIslat&ra
to inolllde Inoor$oratad oltlea or tome within the group subject to
the t4x. oa ths basis af the assumption that the Town of Rotuglo
1s an Inoorpomttd oity or town and that it aotuolly 5ivoa tbr
d4nwa In quaation, ‘~4 13~4 of the oplnlon that It Ia r&tat liable
ror bha papment of the mimlnaioa tos 48 I4 protlded by mIoIa
7047a-19, aupta.
Se 4ppreolata r4ooIring your brI4t on this quoatlon in
whI4h you point out that th4 sdmIasIon tax law might b4 as oooopa-
tioa tax and, b44aua4 of that root, the Town of BofugIo Ia lxomp-
tad thsrorrom by .%otIon 1, ArtI 8 or ta4ConstItutIon 0r Toxaa.
~4 tSr~ 8~~vh0t doubtrul of this position due to tho faot that th4
only ooae th4t we -rmro able to rind 011 this quoation, RInglIng Broa.’
VS. sb4pp4rd, 123 y4d (26) 773 by the firth Clroult Court or
Appeels, lndlcstsd that the admission tax statute in qneatfoa 18
neither an ad reloram nor an ogoupation t4x.
34 enoloet a oopy of our Opinion flo. O-2064 lhioh la ior
your Information.
W4 trust that we have satlaraotorily snaver4d pour Inquiry.
Yours v4ry t rulg
AZ’t’ROVTDKAY 20. 1943
(RI Cerlla C. Xann XrTOFIAEY
GER?zRALOF T!!?zAS
A’proRNm cipsdm.fJ, OF m:xA7
Leo Shoptaw
Aaaistant
APPRovm
Oplnlon Cosrittw
By \B. W.B., ChaIrman