OFFICE -OF THE AlTORNEY GENERAL OF ‘TEXAS 

AUSTIN 

Eon.. George E. sbeapsra 

Cciqtroller of Public Accounts 

Austin, T e x aa 

,~or,.the Fortya f ex on the 

tionsa law bscame effective es 

1, and the question arise3 8s to 

The stetu:e ir. C’$XZEtiOLl ii3 drtiOY.6 16, t~GUS6 

Bill xo. 8 ?orty-ccvonth L6&faQ#, WiliCh ii333668 8 

tcz on Ccr 4 &.n oil me11 services. Se&ions 1 and 2 

of t&it st3tutxi.povide 00 Poll~v~s: 
. - 

George 8. Sheppard, Faze 2 

;-. Vaction I.. . . 

(3) The tern 'pcrsonV shall 

ror tns purpose of this Article ffisen 3na inma0 indivi&wfis, prrtnorohips, firms, joint 

stock c021p3nis3, essscintions, and corporatioil3. 

"(b) Zvery person in this St&a engqesd 

in the businass of furnishing any service or 

poricr3ing any autg for othsrs for a consi& 

eration or coupensotion, with the u3s of any 

device, tools, instruments or aquipaent, olectrical, mechanical, or otherMae, or by means 

-of nny cheticccl, electr:col, or mschanical 

process when such service is garformed in 

connection with th6 ccnsnting of the oosing 

ssst of any foil or gas well or the shooting 

or acidizln$ the forsotions of such wells or 

.the surveying or testing of the sad3 or 

other formatinns OS the earth in any such 

oil or &as viells, shall report on the 20th 

of each month and pay' to the Comptroller, at 

his office in Austin; Texas, an ocaupation 

; 

tax equal to tpo ana two-tenths (2.2) per 

. cent of the gross amount reoelved from said 

service furnished or duty qarformed, during 

the calen&cr month next prsceaing. The ssld 

report shall be executsd usder oath on a form 

prescribed and fu&W.shea by ths ComptrolLer, 

. 

"Sec. 2. A complete record of the business transacted, together rrith any othor lnformmtion the Comptroller may require shall 

be kept by eaoh person furnishing any service 

or performing any duty subjectto said fsx, 

v?Lich said raeores shall be kept for a FsriOd 

of t?w (2) yB?irB, open to the inspection of 

the Comptroller of Public Accounts Or the 

Attorney G,nersl of this State, or their aut!:orized rspresentatives. T~Q Comptroller 

ah311 havs the suthority to oclopt rules and 

rsgulntions for the enforcement of this AP 

title an& the collection of the tax leVi6a 

hwein.*f 

: 
Gear&e 11. Sheppard, Fqs 3 

: 

IB stqtad in I?.ttsrney General's Opinion no. 

O-3627. d:?tad June 27. 19.L.l. We think S-As is 2 tax 

on~~a~Vica furnished'4ndmbutp 3erScr:md.* It is 2n 

excise on opsrstions llperSor;lad inconnection With" 

certain Oil Mel1 services. It is not a tax on the 

gross recei;?ta, but it is rnaasursa by the gross receipts reoeivsd by the operator, ati it is not due until the next inonth after the gross rece13ts are recaivea. 

AQ this iaw aid not go into asseot until Xay 

1, 194.l. it a0c,s notspzly to oper-tions p.zrSomeb prior 

to tb:t tine, unless the language of the ststuta shows 

a clear intent that it apTlg to acts prior to that date. 

w8 find no such language. In thecase of RO6E5U.,L COUNTY 

V. KAWW3 OOVYE, 69 Tax. 172, 6 S.W. 131, the court 

tisia : 

m!r. Risho:, says: *In the absenae of sny 

special indication or reason, end EE a comon 

rule, a statute will not be applied ratrospectivaly, even when there is no ctnstitntional 

'5 impeaiaent. Some of tha cases appear to hold 

that to work an exception to this rula the rat,- 

rospeotive intent must appear in the words 

j~tbe~elves.' (Bishop on The mitten Laws, seo. 

. * 

See slao the cs3es of IEZi%AR P* TZRRiZL, 115 

',. Tax. 530r 2P4 8.7:. 946, and CITY OFPCRT ViGRTR v. 3XORROy;','28& S.W. 275. 

T&G tax is.xsasursd by recajgts rsceived for 

operetions ps~riorma Ray 1, 19&l, or thereafter. F 

fiareiless OS ::hen the receipt3 are ~CGiVQd by t he pep 

Zoo maa6 liable for the tajc, a ts% ia only au0 if those 

.raceipts nro for taxable oper3tiona, thet is, opentions Rorfor~ed after the la59 was in effect. Our anmer to your question is that no tax acorues fron 

raC6ipt3 the operator receive& during ?&y, 194l. in 

pagnlent of servicea Surniahed an4 duty periornad durtag Ansil, 1941.