Hon. Robert S. Calvert Opinion No. WW-21 

Comptroller of Public Accounts 

Capitol Station Re: Whether theatre is required 

Austin, Texas to pay additional tax under 

Subdivision 22a of Article 

7047, Vernon’s Civil Statutes, 

as a result of the area in 

which the theatre is located 

being annexed to the city of 

Houston subsequent to payment of the annual tax at 

Dear Mr. Calvert: the beginning of the year. 

Your letter requests an interpretation of Article 7047, 

Subdivision 22a, Vernon’s Civil Statutes, as applied to the following 

fact situation: 

A theatre located outside the city limits of Houston on 

January lst, 1957, paid the 1957 occupation tax levied by the aforesaid statute. On January 7, 1957, the city of Houston annexed the 

area including the theatre location. 

Article 7047 provides: “There shall be levied. . . an 

annual occupation tax, which shall be paid annually in advance except 

when herein otherwise provided. . . as follows: . . .“. 

Subdivision 22a provides for a graduated tax on theatres 

ranging from Five Dollars to Seventy-five Dollars annually, depending upon the population of the city, town or village wherein they are 

located. 

Your inquiry deals with whether the theatre in question 

may operate for the remainder of the year based upon its payment 

of the lower small town rate. 

We think your question ,is answered in the language of 

the statute providing that the tax is payable “annualty in advance”. 

Although the Statute is not specific on the subject, we understand 

that your Department has for many years uniformly construed the 

statute to mean that the year involved is the calendar year. That 

being true, the tax accrues at the beginning of the year and is 

based upon the status of the theatre at that ttme. No further tax, 

regardless of changes during the year, would accrue until the next 

tax due date at the beginning of the following year. The Statute 
Hon. Robert S. Calvert, page 2 (WW-21) 

contains no authorization, express or implied, for the levying of 

an additional tax later in the year due to changing conditions. 

InOpinion No. O-3009 this Department considered a 

contention that the occupation tax levied by Article 7047A-2 et seq. 

on coin operated machines be construed as a quarterly tax. This 

would have given relief to marble table operators who contended 

that they were being forced to pay a year’s tax on a machine that 

would not last over three months. This opinion held that the 

tax was an annual, not a quarterly, tax, payable in advance. The 

effect of the holding was that an event occuring during the year, 

such as wearing out of the machines, would not alter the amount 

of the tax due for the year. We bel,ieve that our holding in the 

present opinion, that the amount of tax due at the beginning of the 

year will not be altered by the subsequent annexation proceedings, 

is in harmony with the holding in Opinion No. o-3009. 

SUMMARY 

Article 7047, Subdivision 22a, Vernon’s Civil 

Statutes, levies an occupation tax on theatres 

payable annually in advance. The tax is 

graduated, depending upon the size of the 

city, town or village, in which the theatre 

is located. A theatre located in an area 

adjacent to the city of Houston, paying 

the tax on January 1, 1957, may operate 

for the entire year under the tax rate applicable on the date aforesaid, despite the subsequent annexation of the area in question to 

said city on January 7, 1957, resulting in a 

higher population bracket. 

Yours very truly, 

WILL WILSON 

Attorney Gene-al 

APPROVED: 

OPINION COMMITTEE 

H. Grady Chandler, Chairman 

JAS: cs 

J. Arthur Sandlin