Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion

OFFICE OF THE AlTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS AUSTIN Honorable mory H. Spenosr County Attorney Aransaa County Rockport, Texas Dear sir: , 8ddr4aaed to tter to r4- or the saa An- ang in Aransaa County 0r ~4~4, snd 8pe~iii04ilJ the ElanAntonlo LOsn arul d 8 lax-4 amount of real es- ounty, Tabs, and they dB0 oottle vhl4h we19 p4xmwmntly these Aratmr8 Cmnt~ lapdr, it being the oustom of the San Antonio Lmn and Trust canpany to retain thla hard in Arumcu (Xmnky and to ship the lnor4a44 to their pro- p4rt14s in m00k6 c0uatr for wupbg. 3m- ing such years, lncrludlngthe yeou 1936, the a Honorable Emory la.Spsnaer, Pew 2 San ANonlo Loan and Tntat Cam- disposed of all of Itr r4al e4tate alt\uted b Aran- 4aa County, T0m4, to th4 FoCeral govenment for a game and Wild vater fowl r6mlgB. but retained J.traattle in tald county, aa a matter of fsat 076the 84m4 lands, having leaa4d th4 84~14fQP $rBSiIIgp~rpOa4l from th4 P6dersl ~ov4rment, and therorftw mtiaed to render said osttle for taxation, t&a th4 poaItlon auatain4d by your plwvIou4 oplnlon in this ratter. A~anaas Countyhaa aontinued to as8484 these osttle for taxation for th4 year4 1937 lo 1941, lnoluaIv4,and the tot41 amount of taxes dua on these aasesamentaat the gm4ent tiae is rpproxiaokely )3,300.00, "Upon the publloatlon OS your 0~191on Ho. O-4202 the CcPiBBiOWPS’ Court of Aran- naa County nqueat4d NV. Hobart Huaon, an attommy OS Refuglo, Texa4, to make further fav4st%g8tlcmof tbs feats uonaeming tk4 aotual oheraoter or the 34n Antonio Loan 4ml Tm4t Capany, 4nd 4ap4al*llyvh4ther it v44 absn\ringoorporationvtthia the aeanlxq of the rtatute mll4d on by you in the pr4vIoua oplnlon. ml8 qu6rtlon vaa not gano lute by you at that time, koauae the hata auImitt4d for your aonalderatlon coweded that ths San Antcmio Loan and Tmsst Capaayvas a bank- aorporatlon. As a ~~ault of Hr. Huaon’a in- vertigatlon of the faata, he haa arrived at a oontrary conolu8Soa ar quite fully appear from a copy of his opinion addr4484d to Jim- orable B. 3. 30x County Judge of Aranaaa Cow- ty, and vhloh la 4ttaohad hereto for your eon- slderatlon. "3 will be appreciatedif you vlll COP- slder this question in the light of'tiw faota above oet out and those given in Xr. %u80n18 OQI~IOZIattroh4d, and 4dvlse ua tither ths areesaments of aattle ovned \;fthe S&a Anton- lo Loan 8rld !mlst comp8ny8lld aatueill.~ altu- .atsd3~ Armsaa County, Texas, for the years 1937-1941, f.noluaiv4,ar4 Valid a844saPant4, and if not, what dlaposltton should be amAe of suoh:so64aaa4nta In order to claar the tax recotia of said oopnty.' BOaOMbl4 IpIoryX. Speaoer, Pa64 3 lt4 have given 08xeSul study to the questions aub- mitted to ua In JCJW lettar of Eov4W4r 19, 1942, vh4mi.n you raqueated us to r4aoaald4r oux oplnloa to. o-4202, r4- lating to the tuatlon of omttle ovmd by th4 S4n Antonio Loan k Txuat CmPMy. Wshave d4ly4d aolongb4Sor4 r4- plying ln oxder to lnv4atlgat4 thorimghly th4 oharter pov- era andnattw4 of thp bualn488 04adwt4d by th4 San Antao Lofm b Txuat Ccq4ny for th4 puqtoas of a4oert4ialngvheth- er it be a "bank or 'bank oorpor4tl4n"vlwa th4 mean- lng OS Artlalea 7165 ma& n 72 , R.C.S., 1925, w&d otbr atat- utea. We thmk you for 4aoloslng in y4ur letter 4 oopy of the oplnlon on this aubjeat d&ml J@y 16, 191)2,by Hr. Hobart Busan, vhl4h ha4 km roat helpful. lf4 also viah to 4rpmas our appnolatlon to the amb4ra of th4 State Bmklng Depart- meat ud to Nr. Loroy 0. Derars, Attorney for tba San Aataa- lo Loaa & Txuat Capmay, for their osop4rrtlan uuI eaalatane4 in 4ur lnv4atlgatl4n0s th4 Seats 4nd 18~ nlatiag to th4 qwatlona Imululainvolwd. R4?4r4no4 to th4 noorda in th4 Ssaratary of State*8 off104 lhov that the San Aatoalo L0aa & Trust Ca- pmy vaa -tend CQ Warah 1, 1891, v%th the follwlng pur- pose olauaer "Th4 purpua48 of the oorposatl4n4r4 th4 44- amuletian sad loaa of awey, to set a8 truat44 or aaa~ee or ~4041~4s vhea dea&nated by say pa~on, oorporatlm or oourt to so de, and to do a gen4r41 flduola~ amd dqwaltow business aml to sat 48 ueuutor 4nd katm4ntary gruudlaa vh4n dealgnrrt4d as auoh by a deeeased." By erendwnt filed Febmary 8, 1897, tk4 purpose 018ua4 of the 6heirtervaa ahaq4d so aa to nad 4a follwa: "The purposes of the corporationaxe the eoaumulatioasad lopn of m4Uey~ to sot 48 txuaks or maaignu or r404lnr t&an dealgaated by may permon, oorpoFstlonor uouxt to do BOJ and to do 4 goner41 Slduoly and depository buala48aJ sad to eat es ueoutor or gkmrdW3 vh4a dealgnat4d es auoh by a d4oouedJ and for prumotlng urd taking hook %!I MnufsoturWg oa~i4nl44 or oorperaklonaJsad for the 4~409 tloa or wpalr of any building or irpX0Vmott aad for ths 404umulat10n sod 10ur of m4Xi4y fo'or add purpore; and for th4 puxah880, sale od aubdlvlalonof nal property ln totma, oltl48 and villages 4nd their auburba, not 4Xt4Mw Banorsbla Ewory H. sp4aoer, Fqe 4 MOM than two mile8 b4ycmd th4ir llmlta, and sop the a4aauletlon 8nd lout 0s ucm4y Sor thnt purpou.* The pr484nt purpose 4leua4 0s th4 5m Antonio Loan Q Trust Capany vu adopted by charter mmdmsnt rim txnRoveadt6r4, 1911, and reads u rol1ova~ "The purpose 0s the oorporatlonla a~& shell oontinue to ba to aot w truat40 or assignee or nooiver wlwa dealgnebd by sly poracm, oorporatlonOP otmrt to do so, arxl to do 4 g4neml flduoiclr7 and depoalk~ bualwaa~ and to aot aa executor and testa- mentaq gurdl~ vhea designated as auah w a deoeeaed." The only other -t t0 thm bt4r 0s tb San Antonio Loan b Trust Capauy vu 0n4 tiled Ootokr 26, 1937, for th4 8014 pwp484 OS 4xt4nding its aorporet.4 4x18- tea44 ?or fifty ~442-4. Astor a 0anN 04naid4mticnr0s th4 purpose olauar 0s the darter 0s th4 son Anton20 mm a Tru8t collpurr~ in 00n- neotlan vlth th4 lppll4eble ltatutu, v4 ban mnalud4d tbet said oarporetlonla lultbr e %enk* Por e 4beuMng oorpom- tion", a nd,Uwvfo r ela M t luth4riz4d to do 8 bank&q bua- lwaa. In raot, it d44s not olelr to hair4auah authority. Artlale '~65, R.C.S. 1925, expressly wpllos to m4v4ry benk, vhekher of lamaa or deg4alt, bamkbr broker, dealer In exohange, or atookJobbar. APtlob 7166 applies to "every banking oorporatloa, atete or netlfmel." It la obrlow that as the S8n Antonio Loan B TrU4t Coupany la not a bank, eltblr of laatw or drpoalt, cad la not a knk- er, broker. dealer in uruJ!uage or stooljobberor banking aorporatloa,atets or netlonal, It do4a not ocm4 wlthla eny of the oetegorlesmentlosud ln 4ith4r of these statutes. Artlole 7166 vea osl&%nally 4nuMd ln 1885 la the ldentlaal larrgupgees it nov neda u Seatlolr28 of IL B. Ro. 439, Seotlon 131, Page 105, Aota 1885, 19th L4glal4turr Reg- ular Seaalon. ALrtiOlb 7165 vu origbml3j enacted in 3895, ia the ld4atloel languge u it xmv reads, as put 0s 9.B. lo. 68, Chapter 33, Page 37, Aota 1895, 24th krgia~atatre, RegUlu S4aalon. At the time 0s the or&&ml 4naatoent 0s t&es0 lava the womb %nk” and @buWng oorporatlaa” oould not bar4 z-e- rermd to aa~ oorpofcrtlcma organizedunder the lr.vaof Texan, Honorable Emory 1. speneer, ?age 5 slnae Artlale XVI, Seotiim 16, of the Constitution,as it then red expressly forbed tha orlmtume of m state oorpart%tlon%ith baakIng or dlroount prl+lloges'. ma80 tvo acts, vhen passed, could b8vs referred only to nation61 banks, private banks md Individualsor portnershlps. Under the mmendment to Arti XYS, Section 16 of the Constitution in 1904, the reremnoe to 'stat. benking oorporation'aumt hsve been treated a0 surplusage. SiMe the s8n lntonio Loan lkTrust Caspany is, by vlrtuo of its ohwter powers, ndthar a bsnk, a bsnking corporation,nor a state aorporatlon with banking or disoount privllegos, e national bank, 8 prlvrte bank, au lndivldualor por+.nershAp engaged ln the bsnking ~lness, neither Artlale 7165 nor Artiole 7166 applies to . The Constttutionof S!exasin Artiole 8, Seation 11 thereof, provides as tolPovsr lse tho pqaaitt of ta+s of non-resldants-ofooua- ties to bs made at the oiflm ot the CaPrptroller of F-ublioAaoounts. And all lands andotherpro- perty not rendwad for taxation by the ovner them- o f sh a ll b elsessa d a tits t8ir v8lue b y th ep r o - per oiiicer .* Artlale 7153 of Yaman Annotated Civil Statutes of 1925 provides ea follovsr or oounty shall be iisted -~~assom6d in the o&?i- ty OS the resldenoe of the mer thenot, 03 In the eowaty where the prI.&tclpal of'f'lee ot sueh om- er is situated. As M int8rprOt the frets sot out In your letter, the cattle belonging to the San Antonio Losn & Trust Company had acquired a situs ln Arensas oowtr on January 1st of the Honorable ~BsoryM. spenoor, tagto 6 respectivepars thay vers us~ss~d for t&u bJ the ooun- tY* YOU are ttlenfon nsp~otfull~ advised it Is the opin- ion of’ this departrent that odd oattle vera properly sub- ject to taxation by Aransu oountx. Our oonolusion 18 supported by the lathoritl~s cited belov. Clampitt v. Johnson, 42 S.Y. 8661 Wwgonor v. Uhaley, 50 S.U. 153, vrit of error refused; 0uarmnt.y USe Ins. 00. of Houston v. Oity of Austin, 108 Tex. 209, 190 8.~. 189. our opinion Ilo.O-4202 vu based um the ustmp- tiollthat the San Antonio Loan b Trust CapuQ- was 0 bulk- lrq oorporatlon; slnoe that usumptlan was erroneous, said oplnlon is vlthdravll.