OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
AUSTIN
Hon. Charley Lookhart
State Treasurer
Austin, Texas
Dear Sir!
,
,.,
‘.
The euroitor is a w0-
my understanding that her life expeotanoy aooording
to the Amerioati Experience Table of Morfelity is
approximately sixteen years. Or oourse, ehe may
live 10nger or she may die prior to that 4a.te. The
i315,OOO.OO note beers no lnterest.w
1
i
1 Eon. cberley Lo&hart, page 2.
The statute luvalved In this queetbn lo Artdole
[ 7C47e, Vernon's Annotated Revised Uiril Statutes of Texas,
t2.eRertlnent parts or which read as follows%
t *(a) Exospt es herein ot-herulseprovided there
r is hereby bwlcad end assessed a tax of Ten (lO#) Cent.8
on each One Hundred ($100.00) Dollars or freotlon
thereof, over the first Two Hundred (~eOO.00) Dollars,
on 011 notom.and obllgstlorm 8eoured by ohsttel xort- *
gage, deed of.trnst, mohatio*8 lien oontract, vendor*8 t,
lien, oondltiooal sales ocntraot and all instrumer&soi
6 similar naturewhich are filed or reoorded In the of-
fice of the County Clerk under the Reglstrstlon Laws or
this State; yrorlded that no tax shall be levied on
instrumnts aeouring an mount 0r ho fiundrea ($200.00)
Rollars, or less. Arter the erre0tire date 0r this Aot,
except as hereinafter provide4, no suoh lhstrrment sh.all
be filed or recorded by any Gcuntf Clerk fn this 4tat.e
until there haS'beeu afitied to auoh lnstrusont stamps
In eoccrdsnoe with the prorlnions ot thie seation;pro-
riding fuxther that should the Instrument filed in the
orrio 0r the county Clerk be soourity~oran obligation
that has property plewd as seourity in e state or
3tatos other than Texas, tha tax shall be besod, upon the
reasonable uash~ralue or all property pledged in Texas
in the propcrWm+hat oefd property In Texas bears to
the total value ei the property securing the -obligations
and, protldlne; further that, except as to renewals or
extenalous ot accrued interest., the provisicns of this /
section shell hot.%pRly to iustruuenta gives in re-
newal or extensions of lnstruments~thereto~oxe stamped
under the provisions 0r thls Act or th6, cm aimnded
hereby, an4 shall not apply to instmments eivsn in
the refundfog ore existing bond5 or,obllgations where
the preceding instrummt.ot SeOUrity wss stamped in
aocor4anoewith this Act or the on8 asended hereby;
grovi4e4 further that the tax levied in this kct 'shall
apply to only one lnstrusmnt, the one or the greetest
denoulnatlcn, where several lnatruxente are contempo-
raneously execute4 to seoure one obligationi end pro-
vi484 further that when onoe stamped %sQjrovided
keHin, an instrwooot~raey be reaordsd in any number
or oountlee in this btate without aeain~be* so
atazqed. This motion ehall not apply to Instruments,
notes, Or OthBr Obii@tiOI3S ta.keXIby Or 011 behalf Of
the United States or 0r the state OS Texas, or tiny
uorporate qenoy or lnetrmvmtallty of tke United
states, or of the Stats of Texas in osrrying oat a
mvernmntal purpose eS expressed in any dot of the
Corqres8 or the United Citates or ot the Idglalature
ot the %ate of Texas, nor shall the protialons or
this seotlon spply to obll~ations or lnstrutmnta se-
oured by liens on aropa and tara or agricultural
?roduots, or to livestook or ima laplaaents, or 88
abstraat or judgment.
"Tr the amout mowed by en instrument is not
expreosed tbersia, or Ii any part of the eeourity de-
sorlbed in any auoh instrumoatappears to be, loaatad
without the &ate or Texas, the County Clerk shall
MIC&Iire PrOOf b’p Yritt8B Srfid0Vit~UOf eUG?h hot8 (18
my be neoeeaary to de+m.l.ne the amount or the tax
due.
"(b) Bsymemt of the tax eu hereby levIed ahall be
erldenoed by sfilxlng the stamps herain provided Sor,
to ell lnntrwnents 1nuUaded within the provlo5ons ot
the ;tot,and It shall be the duty of the,Stats Trees-
uror at all times to keep a supply 0r suoh stelEps on
heed for sale to any person u~oa dezmad end payment
therefar, and the St&to Treasurer ehall at the request
or any County Clerk or the State oi Texas aoaoigz3 sold
stamps to the dimr8nt County Clerm. . . . . *
This statute wos aolwtruad in the a880 of City of
lene v. Fryar,~143 3. Xc (End) tXi4,im -ahl(rhthe Court
dr
*... Zn our opinion, the tax 10 not b property
tax, but one uot InappFogriately daslgnated 6s a grivi-
lege tsx; that it la Sot levied upon thu %aker al notes
or other oblig.stiona nor u;on the owners thereof izorely
aa auoh, but upon the privilege of Such &rkerS to hsve
the sl;eoifiod lieno fllod and/or reaorded under the
ragistratlon law. 36 tax, 3ie thtik, i5 poprly to
be clsasirled wltb those dsslpnstod by Corpus Juris, sa
a ,'.aorfgagerecordin& tax+ or in alailzr trcrti. 61 C. J.
seas. ze70-23c3, inclusive.'
n. . . .
"-;'hIlethsre is Is;l%u.ci~1% mid :rt. ?04?e which
isports tSa levy of the tex *on all notes zti oblige-
tiow* ( seze being further desoribed 3s *seoured by
ohsttel nort@@, deed of trust, nechario~s lien con-
trsot, vendor~s lien, cosditIom1 sales aontmct end
all Inetrumnts OS s sirollar mture rhirrh cre filed
or reoorded in ths 0iriea or the .Countp Clerk under
the ~egintr~tlon Lews of t~;tisStatel, nevertheless,
ve think, the statute Is properly to be ooustrtied as
levying the tex not ugmi debts or evidences oi debts,
but upon the privilege or the lien holder to eoquire
the benefits of the ro~lst.ratI~oa1~s. .:nessentlel
to the llbbillty of r,nyone for g;Ymeut of the tax Ia
t&it the 11~ be *illed or raoorded In tbe orride or
the County Clerk.*. . . . t&o mfemnoe to *notes and
other ebll3atiann* In term 8% tlmugli the levy us6
made thereon uea only for the purpais4of'sdopting the
xteasur% 0r the t%x levied upo% the privilege or the
ounsre OS suoh no8sa and other obl,ligetlone to have
the apeolried seooritder tikerer@xPiled and moor&d
under the regletration 1mm.*
It is apparent froze the word% or the statute end the
holding in the o%%e of 'Jity of Abllene Y. Pryar, aupm,~ that
the tax i% umasured by the enoant of the obligation sea&mod by
the Men Instrument on ahioh the atrmpps mast be plsoed b&ore
it ir,reoorded.
‘r;ebelieve t&it ojLy that amount of the obligation
that ia oertcin, - the amount that will ianquestIonably booom
d-e - is 811 thet em be Wed In oaloulatirngthe amount of
Btsmps that mot be plaoed on the in%truf#ut% scouring the
8arie. In Attorney Cenerel'-6 Opinion Xo. O-333, dated Maroh
Z7, 1939, oonstruinp &Male 7047e, V. A. C. S., (which reed
prsatlcelly the eem on this feature 8% the present statute)
the question ~8s a%ked whether ox not tex 6telps should be
required on reoorded lien Instruments seaurlng 'Ml debts
owing by the nortgtqror to the norteegee and any future ad-
vanceaw , snd It was held Veturn advsnoemants refit be die-
regerded In %rrIv:q at the amount of the tar, %ueh odvemm-
ltiantsbeing indefinite end lncageble of s%oertatiz!entW.
m. Charlay Lookhart, page 5.
Thg mna holdin8 wee neds In Attorney Oeneral*s Opinion No.
0~1787, dated January 2.3, 1940, owstrulnq the I;reaent
&,stute.
In tb.lscase tLa o&y amount OS the okllgetlon
thet is oertein, - the only ?imoantthat will unquestionably
weoae due, - Is the $15,000.00 peymfmt thet will kecxme
due when t&s survl.ving bsneflolnry dies. The ottsr payments
~7 never beemae due. They xl.11 never beccme dne if the stsr-
vfqw benefielary die% immediately, that is, whather or not
may beoome due depend% upon said person lirim, and that
~queatlonably 1% *indefinite and incapsble o? ascertslnacnt".
~8 was 60 well %tated in that early sohool book, the New
g&and Trimerr
"Our days beeIn with trouble here,
Cur life Is but a #pan,
And eras1 death, la always mar,
90 Smil a thh is men.-
Our aamer to your inquity Is that the fixed final
pymont of $15,OOO.O0 is all that oen ba used In aaloulating
the atamp tar due under Artlole 7047e on the recording o? the
in,strment 1~pu%8tiOn, and that the obllgetlons th0 papsent
oi which depend upon the life of a abrtaln perhon sre too in-
derinite to be used In aalouleting the tax.
Tour% very truly