OFFICE OFTNE **ATTORNEY** GENERAL OF TEXAS AUSTIN ,‘-



# ‘
. FJ Ronorebls Char147 **Lookhart**
I State Trearurer

Austin, Texrr Dear Slrr Opinion Elo.O-i32

rnon(e Annotated Ci+-



### uathe rourubyitto



### ‘~mag ae8hntheir iarm, unt that vlll be 

### onwell, isetalan4 otherwkre eAre thee* heStateHate fax?* graph laddotionRoi&tWle ?04?e, Btatutrr, read8 letolZowr herein otherwire 

### provided there 

### arsrrrrdatax of Ten (&Of) 

### Centa drod ($100.00) Dollara 

### orfraatlon thereof, over the first Twoamarea ($200.00) Doilaro, on **all** noter mb ob21g4tloae 4eoucsd br ohattel mmtgag4, area of trwt, me4h.anlo~e lien eontreot, ronaor”r lien, oonditional ml48 aontmat and all lnrtrumontr of 

### a8lmilar nature whioh ire film3 or recorded U the

## ‘-. 70

Honorable Charley Lockhart, page 2

office of the County Clerk under the Reglstratlon Lawsof this State; ?irorlaen that notax ehall be levied on Instrument0 securing anamount of TwoRundred ($200.00) Dollars, or less. After thr effective date of this Act, except as’herelnafter provided, no such instrument ahell be fllea or recorded by any County Clerk in thle State untll there haa been affixad to euoh instrument stamps in aocordanoe xlth the provlalona of thlr eeotlon: providing further that !:’ should the lnatrument flied in the office of the County Clerk be eecurlty of anobligation that has property pledger? 8s aeourlty ln astate or Stater other than Texas, the tax ehall be baaed upon the reasonable cesh value of all oropertp pledged ln Texas in the proportion that sald droperty in Texsr beam to the total relue of the prorterty seourlng the obligation; end, provldlng further that, exoept as to renewals or extenslone of accrued interest, the provlalone of this seotion ahal. not apply to lnetrumente theretofore stamped uniier the provisions of thla Aot or the one amendedhereby, end rhe.11not apply to inetrumenta given in the refunding of existing bond8 or obllgntloas where the preoealng lnetrument of LOourlty was mtamDedIn eooordanoe vlth this Act or the one emended hereby; provided further thst the tax levied in this Pot ehell apply to only one lnstruBent, the one of the greatest denomlnatlon, where sever81 Instruments are oontemporaneourly exeouted to eeoure one obligation; andprovided further that when once stamped e8prorlded herein, an lnatrument maybe recorded in any number of counties in thir State vlthout ngeln being 60stamped. This section ehell not apply to lnetrumentrr, notes, or other obligations taken by or onbehalf of the United Stetee, or of the Stste of Texae, or any oorporrte agency or ln~trumentallty of the United Statee, or of the Stete of Texee in carrying out agovernmental purpose amexpressed In anyAct of the Congreas of the United State6 or of the Legleleture of the State of Texas, nor ohall the prorislona of this aeotloa apply to obligations or lnetrumente seoured by lien6 oncrone nnd ferm or agricultural ?roauots, or to liventook or farm lmplementr, or en abatraot of Judgment.#Asyou will note from 8reading of the above, aeohanlo ’a llen oontraote ere within the etetute. Wepresume thet the lnetrueents to which you refer are written contraota flled under Seotlon 1of Artiole 5433, R. C. S. or in oomollance with ArtloleHonorable Charley Loakhart, nage 3

5460, R. c. s. Such Instruments clearly fall within the meaning of the term 

### l meohenIo's lien oontract' ea used in the ete,tute quoted above. Said Aot provides that 'except es hereinafter provided no ruoh lnatrument ahall be filed or recorded

. . . until there haabeen afflxed to suoh Instrument stamps in aocordanoe with the QrOViEiOn8 of thle reotlon.* Reed.lng down into the Act wef’,al nothing to take these pertlouler lnstruaente out of the operation of the taxing atetute. The lrrlgatlon well oould under noolroumatanoes be conridered afarm lmclement or afarm or agrloultural product. While it le altogether orobablp that the equlpmentwheninstalled could not be olarned es "farm lmplementr' wedo not find it neceesery to tleflnltely determine that quertlon. In our Conference ODinIon No. 3061 weheld that where the eeourlty 1s primarily of the **kind** whioh will not confer exemption the mere lnolurlon of farm implements in the mortgage would not take the lnetrument out of the taxing etatute. Llene of the Und you mention go not only **to** the lmprovenentn plaoed on the land but to the land ltaelf. 5460, Revised Civil Statutea. Artloles 6452, 6488, 5459, the negative. Aenoe, weenewer your queetion Sri

Youre **very** truly ATTORBEXQEB-XRAL OFTEXAS

ORL:JO ByL&CLII: alenn B. Lewis Aseletent