OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
sionorable Charky Saokhart
stat0 Treaamrr
Austin, Texas
shar sir;
ws of thlr State?
40, yols eubmit r0r the
opinion of BtLcm, whleh we
quote froi?l
*X*8 Annotated Bivil Stattia8, levirs
ltilege of rsglaltmtlon unum tha ’
a af ohattel mmtgagae, deeds of trw t,
I), 9enuorp’II liene, end eonUltlonal
lnotrumenta o? a elmilar natwe, re-
688 Of Two iiuu&reU Dollars ($200.00) l
in its lnoldenoe, the only rxeaptlm
therefrom being the f0ll0wfngr
This ss&lon shall not apply to in-
$68, mother obli@.lons takes by
of the United gtatas or of UP? State
0: Tgxa8, or any oorporatlon aaenog or i.nstFm~t-
tilitg of the mlted states, or of the Stats of Texas
Hon. Charley tookbart, Pa&e 2
in aarrylng out a governmental purpose aa expres8ad
in any Aot of tha Congrear of the united States or
ai the I.+?gislature of the State of Texas, nor shall
the provisions of this seotlon apply to obligations
or lnatruments mourad by liens on oropr and farm
or agriaultural prOduots or to livestook or farm
lmplemqats, or an abetraat ot judgment. . .”
ft iS, to be a86wmd that the ohattel mortgage under
oonslderatlon here eeouree an obligation in exoese of Two
Hundred Dollars ($ZOO.OO), and 1s not exsouted in renewal and
extenalon of a prior ohattel mortgage, theretofore etemp-
ed under the AOt, end 1s therefore subjeot‘ to the terms or
the otatute and the tax levied thereby, unless it fall6
wlthln the foragoing exemption. We do not bellsra the instant
ohattel mortgage ialla within the eloopa of this sxemptlon.
Although the orop adjurtmant rentals, parities, and subsidies
oovered by the mortga e are paid to the mortgagor by the
United States of AmarP08 under the Agrloultural Adjuatmant
Aot, through the medium of an lnstrutnentallty of the United
States, for tha purpoee af oarrylng out a governmental pur-
paea naverthe~ees, the ohnttel mortgage ltnelf doee not fall
wlthk ths oategorp. of “instrumenta, not es, or other obligations
taken by or on b.ehalf of the United States," so as to be exempt
thereundsr. The ahattel niortgage in question merely evidenoes
an atte3npt and purpoee by and between private contracting parties
to deal with benaflt payment8 paid to the mortgagor by the
United state6 under an Aot of Congress. With suoh contraotual
relations the Government has no o onoern, and in hot, gives no
reoognltlon thereto, 88 lndioatad by the following regulation
iasusd by the Department of Agrloulture in Southern Region
Bull&in, 301a, Ravisad, Geotlon 13, sub. fl
*An payment or #hare of payment shall be oom-
putsd an$ mnde without rdgflrd to questlone of title
uudrr stata Law, without deduotion or olalne for
.advanoes and without regard to any olaim or llan
against any orop, or prooeeds thersof, in favor of
the owner or any other oraditor.n
&avlng determined that no question of Federal lmtnunity
from State taxatibn is presented here, Ma now pass to a oon-
elderation of whathar tha sub eat ohattel mortgage falls within
the axamption of tha Act runn sng to “obligations or instrument8
aeometj by llene an araps and farms or a$riOUltUrFd pr+.IOtS,
or to llvatataot or to iam lmplamants,n despite the f’aot that
it oovera, or attempts to oover, other property than the fora-
going, that ia to say; orop ad1ustmant rentals, parities, and
subaidias , paid to mortgagor by the Federal Government ~, a8
Hon. aharley Lookhart, Page 3
above outlIned. COnferen Opinion No. 3061, of date Junnr 17,
1939, dire&ad to you, and prepared by Assistant Attorney
General olsnn R. Lmls, turnlshslr a speolflo anmver to this
question In ho~dlng, eubstantially, that the lnolueion In a
ohattdl aar*qe or property In addition to the proparty rpeoi-
floally mentioned In the above-quoted exempti.on, operated to
mno~e suoh. mortgage from the bMX< of raid exemption, and
r0mr8a same subjeat to this molae atamp tax on regletratlon,
if otherwte wlthln the Aat.
We aooonllnglp advies that In our oplnlon tha deeorlbed
ohattal mortgage im aubjsot to the era169 tax levied upon the
privilege of Its registration by Artiole 70478, Vernon’s Annotated
Clvll statutes,
Your8 very truly
ATTORNEY
GENERALOF TEXAS
/a//Pat M. Neif, Jr.
Pat M. Hoff, Jr.
Aeslstant
aKIN
APPROVED
FEB 1, 1940
/cl/ f+nld 0. +mll
AlTOR&Y QIXERALOF TEXAS
APPROVXD
opinion eommlttee
By BWB
ohainwm