Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion ( 1941 )

OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS AUSTIN ~03mwble Chsrley Lo&hart state Trefiwrer Anatin, Teurs Dear Sir8 you advlae w of Pea08 8nd Morthern lrrned under MlQe .EturdFed order to have tJ3e flret mort- 80 oQunt1ea in vhlah 1t ha8 reaorded, and In order to have oment reamled in all of the mmn- the rallvay of The Fsqos and the mortgeeCe or the EZtewlon Agreement. “2. If it 18 neoeararp to sttwh outh rteaps, vhether the ahotid be abtaahed, ealaulated 00. the baa18 of $l~,QOQ,OW3,00 5 0%' $11,984,000.90. . . r* Honorable Harley Lockhart, Page 2 Article 70470, Seotlon (a), Vernon*8 Annotated Civil Statutea, read8 ae followr “meept ae herein othervlee provided there le hereby levied and aeeereed a tax of Ten (lO#) Cente on eaoh One Hundred ($100.00) Dollar8 or fraotlon thereof, over the flret Two Hundred ($200.00) Dollare, on all note8 and obligation8 eeoured by ohattel mortgage, deed of trust, mehanle’e lien, aontraot, vendor’e lien, oonditlonal aalee oontraot and alllnetrumente of a rlmllar nature wh&nh are filed or reaorde4 in the offloe of the County Clerk under the Regletratlon Law8 of thle State; provided that no tax ehall be levied on lnetrumente eecuM.ng an amonut of Two Hundred (4200.00) Dollare, or leer. After the effeotlve date of thle Aat, except ae hereWafter provided, no lueh instrument &all be filed or recorded by any County Clerk in We State until there hoe been affixed to ewh lnetru- sent rtampe in aaoordanue vlth the provlrionr of thle seotion; providing further ,that ehould the lnetruwnt filed ln the ctiilae of the County Clerk be security of an obligation that bar pro- pelrty pledged aa eeourlty in a State or Starter other than Texas, the tsx hall be baaed upon the roamn- able eseh value of all property pledged in Texae in the proportion that raid property in Texau beare to the total value of the property lecmrlng the obligation@; and, providing further that, exoept ae to renevsle or extension8 of merued intereet, the provleions of this eeotion ahell not apply to inatrumerite given in renewal op extenelonr of lnetruments theretofore rtamped under the pro- vlelone of this A& or the one amended hereby, and ehall not apply to lnetrumente glren in the refundlug of exletlng bondr OF obllgatlone them the preceding lnetrumnt of reourlty wae stamped in awordauee with thie Aot or the one amended hereby8 provided further that the ter levied in this A& ahall apply to only one instrument, the one of the greatert denomLuatlon, vhere 8everal lzutru- menta are aontemportmeouely exeouted to eeuure one obligationi and provided further that vhen owe ltamped aa provided herein, au lnetrwnent may be gonorsble Charley Lockhart, Pege 3 raoorded in any number of oountlee In thla atate vlthout agein being eo atamped. Thte aeotlon ehall not appl to lnetrum4nt8, notee, or other obligatlone t d en by or on behalf of the United State8 or of the State of Texas, or any aorporste agency or inatrumnt8Uty of the United gtatee, or of the State of Texas ln carrying out a gov- ernamntal purpose 88 upreaeed In any Aat of the Congreee of the Untted State8 or of the Leglela- tae of the State of Texae, nor ehall the provl- llonn of this De&ion apply to cbllgatlans or lnetmmente eeaured by lien8 on orope and farm OP agriaultw?al produate , or to llveetook or farm lmplemente, or an abetraat of judgment, ‘If the awmnt eeoured by an lnatrument la not expreeaed therein, or If any part of the eeourlty deeorlbed in any ruoh inetrument appearr to be loaated without the State of Texas, the County Clerk &all require proof by wrftten affl- davlta of mwh faotr M may be neIusceaeary to deter- nine the amount ofthetax due.” Prom a reading of the above atatute it 18 aeen that the tu ie not due until and wlera the imtrummt o fleourlty $8 preeented for rebox-d. The A& further readr that exoept na provided therein no mab inatruaent ehall be tiled for reoold until it ha8 been etamped ln aoowdanae with the prov&alow of the ht. go exeeptlon la made ee to lnetrumenta dated prior to the effective date of the ltatute. The tax levied by thla Aot ie laid upon the privilege of wing the reaorde of the offloe of the Oonnty Olerk. City of Abllene 'I. Fryar, 143 8. W. (26) 654. lienae ln mar opinion It la imaterial that the flret lmtrument uee exeauted long prior to the effeotlve date of Art1810 70470. If it ie nov offered to a Qounty Clerk for re- oord it met be etampod Fn aooordanae vlth aueh etstute. If the 1907 mortgage la properly atamped and reo8mMd, then under the expreee terare of the etatute the extenalon agreement may be recorded thereafter in vhstever oountiea it may be deetied vlthout having any et-8 affixed thereto. Honoratfle Qrbley Lwkhart, Pago 4 The origkl aor+gage did not eeoure obllgatlona amount- - to Fifteen Mlllion Dollsre (~15,000,000.00) but mer4ly aeoured an authorlaed bond lesue of not exoeedlng Blfteen Hllllon Doll4re (~15,000,000.00). The fret that bonda in th4 amount of Eleven Hllllon IlineHundred and Eighty-four -wand Dollar8 ($11,98&,000) only were ieeued a that auoh la the amwnt etll3 unpaid ia8~rbe ahom to ths Olerk by affidavit, md in auoh event the amount ai rtampa to be ltta4hed should be oeloulated on the b&818 of Eleven IU1llo.n Hf.zm #nndred and Rlghty-four Thousand Dollara (&l,g84,ooo.oo). Pour8 very truly A2J!P~OE)IERALoRTExAs By k.-.--dc fflenn R. Zml* Aaeletant