OFFICE -OF THE AlTORNEY GENERAL OF ‘TEXAS
AUSTIN
Eon..George E. sbeapsra
Cciqtrollerof Public Accounts
Austin, T e x aa
,~or,.the Forty-
a f ex on the
tionsa law bscame effective es
1, and the question arise3 8s to
The stetu:e ir.C’$XZEtiOLl ii3 drtiOY.6 16, t~GUS6
Bill xo. 8 ?orty-ccvonth L6&faQ#, WiliCh ii333668 8
tcz on Ccr4&.n oil me11 services. Se&ions 1 and 2
of t&it st3tutxi.povide00 Poll~v~s:
. -
George 8. Sheppard,Faze 2
;-. Vaction I.. (3) The tern 'pcrsonVshall
..
ror tns purpose of this Article ffisen3na in-
ma0 indivi&wfis,prrtnorohips,firms, joint
stock c021p3nis3, essscintions,and corpora-
tioil3.
"(b) Zvery person in this St&a engqesd
in the businass of furnishingany service or
poricr3ingany autg for othsrs for a consi&
eration or coupensotion,with the u3s of any
device, tools, instrumentsor aquipaent,olec-
trical, mechanical,or otherMae, or by means
-of nny cheticccl, electr:col, or mschanical
process when such service is garformed in
connectionwith th6 ccnsnting of the oosing
ssst of any foilor gas well or the shooting
or acidizln$ the forsotionsof such wells or
.thesurveying or testing of the sad3 or
other formatinnsOS the earth in any such
oil or &as viells,shall report on the 20th
of each month and pay'to the Comptroller,at
his office in Austin; Texas, an ocaupation
tax equal to tpo ana two-tenths (2.2) per
;. cent of the gross amount reoelved from said
service furnished or duty qarformed,during
the calen&cr month next prsceaing. The ssld
report shall be executsd usder oath on a form
prescribedand fu&W.shea by ths ComptrolLer,
.
"Sec. 2. A complete record of the busi-
ness transacted,togetherrrithany othor ln-
formmtion the Comptrollermay require shall
be kept by eaoh person furnishing any service
or performingany duty subjecttosaid fsx,
v?Lichsaid raeores shall be kept for a FsriOd
of t?w (2) yB?irB,open to the inspectionof
the Comptrollerof Public Accounts Or the
Attorney G,nersl of this State, or their au-
t!:orizedrspresentatives. T~Q Comptroller
ah311 havs the suthority to ocloptrules and
rsgulntionsfor the enforcementof this AP
title an& the collectionof the tax leVi6a
hwein.*f
:
Gear&e 11. Sheppard,Fqs 3
General's Opinion no.
IB stqtad in I?.ttsrney
O-3627. d:?tadJune 27. 19.L.l.We think S-As is 2 tax
on~~a~Vica furnished'4ndmbutp 3erScr:md.* It is 2n
excise on opsrstionsllperSor;ladin connectionWith"
certain Oil Mel1 services. It is not a tax on the
gross recei;?ta,but it is rnaasursa by the gross re-
ceipts reoeivsd by the operator,ati it is not due un-
til the next inonthafter the gross rece13ts are recaiv-
ea.
AQ this iaw aid not go into asseot until Xay
1, 194.l.it a0c,snotspzly to oper-tionsp.zrSomeb prior
to tb:t tine, unless the language of the ststuta shows
a clear intent that it apTlg to acts prior to that date.
w8 find no such language. In thecase of RO6E5U.,LCOUNTY
V. KAWW3 OOVYE, 69 Tax. 172, 6 S.W. 131, the court
:
tisia :
m!r. Risho:,says: *In the absenae of sny
special indicationor reason, end EE a comon
rule, a statute will not be applied ratrospec-
tivaly, even when there is no ctnstitntional
'5 impeaiaent. Some of tha cases appear to hold
that to work an exceptionto this rula the rat,-
rospeotive intent must appear in the words
j~tbe~elves.' (Bishopon The mitten Laws, seo.
. *
See slao the cs3es of IEZi%AR P* TZRRiZL, 115
',. Tax. 530r 2P4 8.7:.946, and CITY OFPCRT ViGRTRv. 3XOR-
ROy;','28&
S.W. 275.
T&G tax is.xsasursdby recajgts rsceived for
operetions ps~riormaRay 1, 19&l, or thereafter. F
OS ::henthe receipt3are ~CGiVQd by the pep
fiareiless
Zoo maa6 liable for the tajc,a ts% ia only au0 if those
.raceipts nro for taxable oper3tiona,thet is, open-
tions Rorfor~ed after the la59was in effect. Our an-
mer to your question is that no tax acorues fron
raC6ipt3 the operator receive& during ?&y, 194l. in
pagnlentof servicea Surniahedan4 duty periornad dur-
tag Ansil, 1941.