Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion

OFFICE OF l-NE ATTORNEY OENERAL OF TEXAS AUSTIN Honorable onill. 8. Carpenter Chairman and Xxaautlre Direotor Taxaa U~Omplopmsnt Oompensation Cod~aion Austin, Tour mmber 88, 1939, re- qurrtlng our opill (1) aad (4), Seat 011Ofsub-motion8mw 2lb-17, Vernoa' tlard Clrll sta+ Wb quote from y frot rltuatlon l whloh oyment during oquirer owner- the twentp-eeoond has twu persona irot twenty-iire week8 Nerapaper Z ia valued g the twenty-fifth mek of 1938, artnerahip interest in Nene- ing the twenty-sixth week and erks 5~ 1938, Newspaper 2 ha6 sir employmentr The partnerahlp agror- writing and there ir no ~agreemenb a8 to gontrol or management or ita operationar oD~~a Seotlon 19 (r) (4) apply to this Saab eituatloa to rrnder both N and 2 WplOyW8 m&or the Tbxa8 Onemployment 0omprnrrtion Aott* Honorable Orville, 9. Carptnter, Page e Sub-ssotlons (1) and (4) of Sootion (r) roads as follows: w ‘Employer’ means ” 1) My emplo Ing unit whIoh for some por- tlon o1 a day but no z neoessarlly simultaneously, In eaoh of twenty (20) different weeks, whether or not suoh weeks are or were oonseoutlvs, wlth- In either the ourrsnt or the Dreoedlnn ialendar pear, has or had In employmeni eight (8) or more IndIvIduala (Irrsspeotlre or whether ths ssms Indlrlduals are or were employ06 In saoh suoh da)r) I w* * * “(4) Any emPloYing Unit which together with ens or mo e.other amp10 ing units, Is owns& or oontrolled 1 by legally en $ oyoeable msans or otherwIs8) dlreotly or Indlrsotlp bp the sams Interest, or whloh owns or controls one or more other smploying unIt8 (by legally snforosabls means or otherwlss), and which, Ii treated as a single unit with such othsr smploping unit, would be an employer under paragraph (1) of this subsaotlon~ a* * **n Ths factual situation oontainsd id your letter raises ths question whether or not the owner of a six-sevenths (a/7) partnership Interest In a newspaper owns or oontrols said partnership buelness within meaning of sub-ssotion (4) of Seotlon (f) oi Artiole 522lb-17, supra, In the absenos ot an agreement as to the oontrol and managsment o? said partner- ehip. It Is generally held that eaoh partner, In the absenoe of tm agrsemsnt to the oontrary, has an equal right to oontrol and manage the buslnese. 49 Corpus Surls. oh, 296. It Is also the general rule that a partner does not own any particular Intereat In a partnership enterprise but his Interest extends only to a proportlonats share of what map remain after payment OS the debts of the partner&hip and the ssttlsmsnt of Its aooounts. Shark v. Bank, 806 9. W. ‘507. Ws are of the oplnlon that ths Legislaturs, being familiar,~th the abets rules, nstsrthsless, intended that an Individual owning a sir-sevenths (6/T) Interest in a partner- Honoreble Orville 9. Csryenter, Fage 3 ship buelnesri doos own or control the business In the absence of an aqeenent to the oontrery. This Intent Is derived from sub-seotlon (4) ot Seotlon (I) of Artlole 5221b-17, whloh pro- vides that if one employln~ unit *owned or oontrollad (b leqlly enforoeable means or otherwIse) dlreotlp or Ind 35reot- &, another enploylng unit, then they would b treetsd as one unit under the Aot. The words *owned” sndewoontrolled* are general terms end their neaeing would vary according to the3.x use. This being bme, Newspaper “M”, vihloh “A* owns out- rI&t, and Newspaper nZn, of whloh “An owns a six-aerenths (6/T) partnership Interest, are to be treated as one employ- Ing unit and are oonsldered en en loper within the Act. %a- aJnnIng on the trranty-sixth (26th v weak, both.newspapers, together hating eight (8) indlriduale in their employment wouldbe liable sixth (46th) for meld taxes at the beglnnln(l of the forty- weok of the year, WM. Yours very truly ATT~PJEY Ol3G3U.L OF TEXt.3 blenn Ii. Lewis Aeslstent BY Lu Lee shoptar .ws kT'HXWCY GEN:::..LOF TTXAS