OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
AUSTIN
J
<“.
Bonorablo 500. IL Sheppard
Coa@roller of Publlo Aooounts
AU&in. ?!eXall (\
at for en op$lam
order ewtabllsh-
blank for suoh mttrohaadise,
mailed to ths ~frlod, or
ioh the Issrohendlaeis
ahipwd to the purohaasr's addrese. Or,
in so98 lnstano6s, t&e faerohantllee is shlp-
peb twik to the subofrloe and the pur&aner
oalla,Sor the n@rohandfse and pay8 for it.
The urabaeer may pay for the fmrohandlso
at trl
e time he ~&&MI the order.~
*‘a have e number of 00n4erna oper6b
ing dleglaayroenisin the State of Texas in
+hioh s8rohaadIao I8 dIrplay8d. Th8 ourtoaar
an118 at thI# plaoo or btMnes8, n&88 a pur-
ohaw irap the,m8rohaa4Iu on dirplay, and.
later the c~oneern deliver8 to the oustamer,
8ither by Its own truokr or by par001 port,
tha mrohnndiee puroha8ed.
9oer either oi them tro plaoo8 ooy
within the u0rinltion of a &ore 88 s8t.0ut
In the Chain &ore Tu AotF
i
ra your atdm8nt of th8 raotr indhate that
80a8 of the plaore ham, and m do not v** mail order
oatalogr whIoh may be U8rd by ourtwnre in meking ~rohan-
dir0 eol8OtiOil8. 910 d0 wt bOliet8 t-h&tdifi%XWLo8 in th8
p&O08 h & TO
i3XWlfi8Ot OZI th8 UI8WU t0 SOW C&UOiBtiO& w0
dl80 believethat the Man8r In which the morehwUi88 ir
1 ror is ImaterIal in d*oldingthe an8w8r to your quo8-
8 .
!
j A8 to nh8theror not the diqlay
room in qumtlon
am 8tO2'88Is d8tsZMi&8d by th8 deiinitioa
of the tarit "8toro"
In the Tuaa Chain Store Tax law (Iiowo Ml1 18, Oh. 400,
AOtt &th Z8giPl..aUVl IiZSt wi8d 8088fO&, i@3& COdifibd
88 Ar9iole lllld, Penti cOd8), maid definition roadbig a8 fol-
lowor
"SO0l 9. The tWY!A '8tOiO' 68 W8b it.3
thle Aot, rhall be aaastnud to man and
are owned, oparatod, praiataiaad, of aoatml-
18d by the 8aae portion, agent, reoelror
truteb, f%ma, aorperatlon, oopertnrr8hip
or aaoooiation, eitherdomertla or iorelgn,
The part of the d8fhltIQn with whioh wo ere atan-
oeimed eaym that *the tom ‘8tore’ * l * 3uJ.l * * * meai'~
+:* * any store or storre or any aeronntil8 88tab~bhment Or
estab2i8hamte * * + in whIah 43OOd8,ware8 or t40r0hnaf08 0r
any kind tie 8old.” Thwefors, If the88 display roofM Srs
"aeroantlle establIehmoatsR and are [b) p]soe8 "In whIoh
goods, ware8 or mrohandisa of any kind are 001d,~ th8y are
52;
"8bOl'S8* within the maning or the Qhaln store Tu kw,
iis will first dlaouaa whether 0r not they 8ZW
ur o a ntlla latabliabmanta. Th8 8tvtuta iaoltadv8"any
8tvro * + * or WAY asrvantllo ertablI&amat.* By ah*
ow of both term& w8tOr8m 8ad %vraantilv r8tablia&mantw,
the &8&8bttU8 8ppUnntly iII8Uld~d fOr th8n tv h8n alf-
r8mat m8~nln68~ In otbor *or’&8 th8y do not mean tlw
aam8 thin& but th. t8ZIN “MrOmti& @8tablhhmnt” YaO8
#OUhhing bifr8mnt ahen a "8hl@*. IS thS Oa88 Of TOXS8
Bela a m8t co:t. Austin, ll8 Tn* 201, tB0 8. Yy,161,
the 8upr8am Oourt.of T8raa uidt
n+ * + 110l-Uh Of 8tcltUtVl-j’ OOWtX'UO-
tloa la J&ON uninmelly rooognlwd tbaa
tkmt *hIoh aoapsla the oourtl to gIm l(YI
ureot to wary
Sxpr~ar d8olaratloa or lay
18letIn iatent. Th8 nil0 I8 olearly rQatad
in lL k, k T. 8yr Co* of 'Paxa r.~~ffoy,
105 Tax. $998,150 8, We = Ott&& Z&&i88
Bd.Ui'8 vplaloa for th8 u&m4 8@6tS8 w
pram8 t3ourt In Xoa8olaIr *r -8u 109
3. sr 158 1La* Qt. 896, er L. B&L 41,
WhSrS it 18 88&t:
*'X0 18 the duty of t&8 aourt tv @In
otS8vb, if possible, t0 Wary OhU8S rad
word of a 8tatut0, avoid* if 10 mky bo,
say 8olUtZ’UotiOn rhioh &i&98 that tha
I#gI8latworaafgllonntorthommaingar
th8 lenmgv it emp%oyed.~'
01 the 880~ Of B8Bk8 'Ir &%ktO, 88 ti. 6d6, th. ~p8liUrt
ha bea Oorr*lOtOd Of viOlSt)ag the 8ttetUt8 ISSk@& kt II
fO* tO'8tUl "tllI~hVr80, g8lbin8, MN, SOlt (US, Or
mlc~,~tnd 8he oourth8ldth8tbyaringthswarbr *hor88'*
8nd %nr8* thv la&blcdur8 iatmdsd for thus to mvan bff-
fvrvz& things and thvt the HIP% "hvr88" LD.t&v 8ta8UtO dfd
not Imltie Qarvw evaa though tha tewm *her8P ordinarily
WS8 8 ~W8riO t8lTilth8t hlOlUd8b nI?)oa ~tk8tO8SS th8
0oux-t raid;
r+ * +* Xt 18 our,duty bs gin t6 ohs
artlolo 8uoh a ovn8trvvtiva a8 will #TO 8i-
foot end rParnIngto eaoh wvrd a8 nvarly a#
08n be conslataatly dons ulth the vbjeet ana
purP$"rOf thS brgi8]atU?Or
l
Se Bate bean u?iablmto fiad a6rin* th8 t8ra
nneroMtilo l8tabli8hmeat,w 8 wXr8 dOflaf-
tion or th8 ordinary maialag or th8 word vtorer~ I)0tha
01108 or contInentnlPaper F&g CO* v* lkuwortih, 896 a* w.
100, th8 Coaaisalon of Appeal8 of ToxaU aaid: 1
*Ia Aawrlona Q&8&&0, tha woti ‘8tOZ8, *
whu uployod to daaIgwte a plaoe of bual-
IWE8
room,butmayinaludr In ia8&%8
aoaa r8tablirbmont where Dare
$‘hU8W8 800 fht a 8tOX’O h *a bUliar80 aStSbfir*luat whW0
paraondty 18 kept and aold.” go baliate th8t th8 L8
l&urn intend& for the tam *maraantIlo a8tnb~i8&am
8~04 00 iokihbw dlrrorurt thaa a storec
Th8 tanu mmmmaatilm s8tabli8h!B8ntw i8 68riaaa In
8l Oerpu8 Yuris 004, as rollorralr
“A pleus wham the buyIa& aad 8.rflinn
Of artlales 0x lWWdUlti8O~aS an fNqawma*
18 owduotmd.”
2%~ MI derialtloaor I *'as~antIleedablialuaont~ WM usad
laths oases or continental B8k$n& 00, V* Cawba&l, lT6 Ok&+
818 5s P* LIpd114. It will be aotlosd In Bhat dsfinition
that it does llob 8tkythat marohanblas 18 8nd 80ia la a
MrSUItile .Stablf8hmSlltha I8 thS OS88 (Coatlaaat-
al %WF Bag Uo. I. Bmuorth mtpra) but It oaly says tha$
buyktig urd. 881w na an e5piOymMt 18 OOadUOtOd iI3 a SW-
OaDtilO 08tabli8hmentr Thmerore, we believe that tha raot
that the smrohandlas that is 8old 18 not k8pt izIthe P]aO1,
but th&t only~aampler axe kept therm dW8 not PreVOat it
fxva being a mSxaSatilo Srtab~i8hsaa~Ptr
Ke will now diaouae whrthmr Or not them dlrplar
r00ma am plaoea "In whloh good8, war08 or mrohandlam of
any kind ara aold.w otilxmri4 P aalo takaa plaor nhora
tit10 t0 X6r0haE4180 pallSb8~. we 818 Of %hr OPbia b6RevOr~
t&t f?os a ScradIngof the dhain rtoro tar 8tatUte in it8
ontiraty,It is evident that the Lagi8latura was 8tt8 th&?g
to tax a plSoS of butxlnassat whIoh n8mhondla6 war,so "9c
d,
”-- 525
Eonorablo &o. H. Sheppard, e 5
meaning the plaoe where the tnxnaaotlon took place nthar
than the plaae where the aotual title to raid merchandise
paaaed. As ata$ed in 53 Corpus Juria S6, r[owever as used
by the authorities, *sale* la not a word of fixed kvartable
meaning but may be given a narrow or broad suenix& aooord-
1~ to tha ocntert or the aurroundlng oirouaahnaea and the
oonduot of the part1.a".
In many lnattmoea under the faota preaantod title
to the merobandise did not soWally pass exoeptupon dell~ery.
Wwever the tranaaotlon of the aale took laoe at tha display
or order room. The question then la whetilr or aot the Legla-
lature intended to tax the plaoe of delivary where tltla paaa-
ed or rather on the other bend, intended to tar a plaoe of
buaineaa at whloh the business tranaaotion to& plaoe. Fe
bolleva it to be the latter.
In thie oomeotlon it islimportantto noto the Ian-
guage of the Cowmission of Appeale of Texee in the oeae of .Burt
Vs COO~Q~‘, 130 Tax. 433, 110 S. V. (%d) 896.' ti OSaStl'UiX&thy
exeagtion in Seotlon 5 of the Aot, whleh appUe8 to aanu?aotiur-
ln$ oonomna distributing produota of thelr own mnufaoture;
the oourts stated that buoh plaoee of buelneee do not ome with-
lnn~~afflraatlvyJ operation of the Aot r~ar&lrSS of the ex-
. The oourt -aald that the "teat la whether sales ot
goods,wares, or aerohandlse are made at the plaoe.” Sn polnt-
lng to plaoaa of bualnaas at whlsh sales of goo&a,.wqma or
merobnndlre are not made at the plaoe, the Cour% anld:
*It nay be that lome manufaoturlrrgeon-
oerna maintain bona fide 616trlbutlngpoints
at whloh no relets era anda, but Prom whloh
they merely dlatrlbutr at wholesale to their
stores or at retail to purohaaara from their
sales agents. If eo, auoh business would ap-
pear to be within the tom8 of thl8 p~0tisi0n.
Obviouslythey would not oome wltUn the af-
flmative operation of the statute es we here
construed it, end thereforeno express exeap-
tfon was required to relfeve them from the
burden OZ'the tax."
The language of thr Supreme Court above n,uo8edsupports our
oonolualon to effeot that 'thediatfnctlon fs between a ptioe
of buslneaa on the one hand whloh la amraly a dlatrlbut~
XionorableOeo. 8. Sheppurd, Pago 6
point and a plaoe of buain~aa on the other hand at whloh
aales of serohmliae are loadoin the aenae th+t the tram-
a&ions take place therein.
Under euoh oonstsuoti~on, it la our opinion that
all of the display room mentioned,inoluding those in whioh
the delivery la not rmde thxoqgh auoh display rooaa to the
purohaaer, are meroantlle eatabllahmnta at
wares and aerohanOiae are sold within the mean
Texas Chain Store Tax Mt, aa4 ale therefore
0ax.
Yours very txuQ
ATTCWitYOlX?EULOFTgLAb~