f.
OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
AUSTIN
Bonorablo (kcrgo H. Sheppard
Cosptroller OS Fublfe 4icounts
Austin, Tbxas
Dosr Sir!
opinion Ho. o-431
Rat Where the own
, 1948, rubnits for our
apinion tha r0 lcihw8 quote th*rerrall1
lrofl,f.+oQ ahavm
be&i0 aorporatlan.
a new 00rtirht8*to *Mr.
e bnd benefit of the oem-
‘If taxable, in the tax myablo on the on-
tire tranmmtien or on one-haU?m
Seotion 1 or the above-olted Staak TruPsier lU
lax levies and iqmser a 8tated tax on %I.1 a&es, agne-
mnts to nell,,or mmorenda St raleo, and all dellrwies
or tnristers et shares, OF oertltiaatbs 02 stock, or QOP-
tlriaetm ror rfghta to stooek,or oertlileatr8 o# lepoalt
reprwenting an intarest in or npreaentllrg oertifioates
made taxable under this Seation in any domestie Or foreign
r
9. ._,;,
.=, :<;,
&:norable GecrlseY. .>hcc.pard,
Fage 8
assoolatlon, oompany or oorpratlon )-* * whether made upon
or ahown by the booka of tha assoalatlon, acmpany, oorgora-
tion or trustee. or by my a~algnmant in blank or by any
delivery of any paper8 or egreenent or memorandumor other
lvl4anoe of sa leor transfer or order for o r lgroemnt to
buy, whether intermediate or final, an4 whether investing
the holder with tha beneficial lntereat In or lagal title
to suoh *took or other oertlfleate taxable hereunder, * * **
Thla departsant has hold, in our Gplnlons 34r.
O-3%0, G-3113 an4 O-4089, that the intent ef this Aot IS&
the above seotlon thereor was to levy or 16ppoab an exolae
or privilege tar upon the transfer, b aale or girt of
ahana or oertlfieatea or stook, vaat 1ng in the ten&e,
tramieree or donae, either the legal or equitable title
therein and thsrbto. Althowh pur opinion nqusat ia
silent upon the question the legal or equitable title to
the share8 or atoak lnvoired ray have been transrerrea,
or attampted to be transferred, fn two poaslble raf6, via,
(1) by an attempted gift of the husband'8 aeparata estate
In the 8took to the oOmu8itJ eatate Of huaband and alte,
or, (2) b;lthe tran8fW of atook from the separate b8tate
of the huabaml to the ocmmunlty satate of huaband an4 rite,
not as a gift, but 5.n oonalderatlon of the payment to the
husband or oomrmuity run48 or ths donreyanea 0r 44inmnity
property.
Ii, aa It presumptively appoara, the husband at-
tenptad, bp gift, to tmnaicr an4 aeoiga hla adrelbtrdly
separate esteta In thla atcok to ths oamunlty eatate of
hiniaelran4 *Ifs, his purpose and effort to this en4 was
una~alllng, and neither legal nor equltablo title in the
nolety vested in the wife 80 aa to conatltute a taxable
transaction under the opinion8 aaverted to. The nature
or the oommual~y property asat+o in Texas ia luoh that one
spouas cannot donate or give prowrty ot MS kln4 or ohsr-
acter rrom hia or her separate estate In an attempt to
eonatltute the aam the ommunlty property of both. Howevet,
if c-unity funds or roperty are advanoed or exchan@d
in consl4erstlon for tge sale cf aeparate property to the
oornunnityestate, it arpearo that such tranaaotlon Is rau-
wnlzed a8 aocompllahing this purpose. L
*The ccmnunity ratate la a ere8tum Ot law
and not cf oontraot or oonv~nt~on. It UM *Xi&
?ronorable George H. Eheppard,Page b
only as the creature of statute. Not OnlT ean
the estate as auoh exiot only bp law, but the
parties are not perm%tted by agreement between
theawlvcs to ahang the oharaoter ai acquisi-
tions tram sexrats to 0066ualty, or vloe versa,
fron:oormunlty to soparato roporty. Duoh agres-
c.eltts,if pemitted, night i astroy the statute
and, through unorrtainty, work untold 618ohlei
to the rights of purehaaers or aredltora deal-
ing with the husband or the proparty * + *n
&An, In suotalning our a4noluaion that separate
ol either spouse IMAXnot, by girt, beoaaa aaamunit~
of both, although, ooimmlty property may, by &it,
bee&e iepamte property of eaoh apoutse, we point to the fob
ImIng well.-at&c& diotlnctlon batueaa separate and acmwiltf
proportj:
me * * The separate estate Ie a dIatInot
estate 0r atatutor~ origin an4 darlnItIos, wholly
apart iron the estate of tha apouae in the oom-
man propertq. The moiety ouned by eaah epouae
In the aammunity ir?not a lp p a r stc esta te1it is
ooemunlty until In some lawf’ulrey then has beon
a disaolutlon of tha marrlaga or derolutlon of
the title. Thus where the husband and wlfo ao-
quin a ¥ pfaoe of property in auuh way a#
to maks i.tooneunlty property, eaoh 4nn8 a onb-
halr Interest therein, but such title Is in no
aeaae the separate property of the ownor. Ii
ona of tba spowrs should donate to tha other
hIa one-half Interest in the oanmunity, such
donation would undaubte4ly then baO6ma the sep-
arate property Or the dooee. Put the nature et
the oommunlty letate la auah--that la it8 le@l
aerinltion la auoh-- that in nu event can the
8epbrbtb proportg Fe Eonated to the t?ommuDfty.
feparate propert)rmay beoow o4smunltr however
by purchase or exahanRe and the like, pre4laelY
8.8 any other property ne~y be acquired in auoh
way as to leake St part of the oaaaunity eetate.”
1137%~. Jur., pp. W-%3.
mm vi8 foregoing, ~98 conoludt that ;r tha at-
tegted tranefer or the atook in question out of the separate
Homrable George F?.Sheppard, “age 4
estate of the husband into the oomnunlty estate OS husband
and wlfe,waa by way of gift OS donation, muse was of no
fores and effeot to transfer either the legal or equitable
titlr oontamplated by the Stock Transfer Tax Aot, and thare-
fore no tax aooruee. If, on the other hand, the transfer
or the 6tOok from the separate to the Oommunity batatc war
ia aoluldsratfon CZ oommnft fund6 or ooamualt9 proprrty,
then a tax would aocrue on tg e truufer to the wife of thr
moi4ty. Although the wife would not prerently own or here
the legal or equltab1.rt1tJ.eto BOO ahares of thim stool
as would be the ease %f the trensfsr wa8 Zor hor reparate
eetats and lnterent, but would hold the equitable title In
one half of eaoh share of the total 1,000 sharor during
aoverture, we oonolude that the tax rhould be ocmputrd on
the quanta of sharer or value uhioh mhe aotually and ul-
tlmtely raoelvoa, to-tit, 500 shares, rather than on tha
oatate which rxirta in the total1000 aharm under the ooa-
mmitp propert s9#tem during mlrrrloge.
Trusting the toregaing fully aatiafle~ your ln-
qulrf, w4 $2-4
Tour8 very tnal9
ATpOR?l!YOmTRAL GF TEXAS