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OFTEXAS 

'XRALD C. MANN Aunn~11.TExae 

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Honorable Esco Walter 

District Attorney 

Abilene, Texas 

Dear Sir: Opinion No. O-3101 

Re: whether Jones County Observer 

must pay tax on automobile 

given as a prize in contest. 

In your letter of January 27, 1941, you submit the following 

facts: 

Sometime last fall the publisher of the Jones County Observer 

sponsored a contest which was open to all 1941 paid-in-advance 

subscribers to said newspaper and who lived in Jones County 

and who were not in arrears for their 1940 subscription. He 

offered an automobile as a prize to the subscriber qualifying 

as above who should on or before 'December 25, 1940, submit the 

most nearly correct estimate of the 1940 cotton crop in Jones 

County. Ginnings up to and including January 15, 1941 were 

included, but non8 thereafter. You request our opinion as to 

dphether the automobile thus given away is subject to the tax 

levied by Article 7047f, Vernon's Civil Statutes which reads 

in part as follows: 

"(a) Every person, firm or corporation conducting a 

theatre, place of amusement, or any business enterprise 

in connection with the operation of which a prize in 

the form of money or something‘of value is offered or 

given to one or more patrons of such theatre, place of 

amusement, or business enterprise, and not given to all 

patrons thereof paying the same charge for any certain 

seI?vlce, commodity, or entertainment, shall make a 

verified monthly report on the twenty-fifth day of each 

month to the Comptroller of Public Accounts of the 

State of Texas, showing the amount of money so given 

in prizes, and the value of all prizes or awards so 

given in connection with such business during the next 

preceding month. 

"(b) There is hereby levied a tax equal to twenty per 

cent (20%) of the value of all such money, prizes, and 

awards given in connection with the operation of each 

and all of the foregoing business enterprises, and 

at the time of making the report to the Comptroller 

of Public Accounts, the owner or operator of any such 
Honorable Bsco Walter, Page 2, O-3101 

business shall pay to the State Treasurer such tax 

upon the total amount of money, prizes, and awards so 

given during the next preceding month . . . .n 

The prize was of course given in connection with the operation 

of a business enterpriaa. It was offered to none other than 

patrons and was not given to all of them, merely to one. The 

only question is whether the winner of the prize has paid a 

"charge" in addition to that paid by other subscribers. It 

is our opinion that a consideration by way of detriment to 

the winner is not alone sufficient to defeat the tax, but that 

the "charge" contemplated by the statute must be something 

which in itself is of value to the business enterprise. Of 

what value to the enterprise is the estimate thus made and 

which it develops is closer than that made by any other 

subscriber? No special value has been pointed out to us and 

we can think of none. 

In your opinion request you direct our attention to our 

opinions Nos. O-662 and O-2171. In the former we held that a 

prize given by a milling company to one submitting the "best 

last line for a five line jingle, in connection with an. 

advertising campaigntf would not be subject to the tax. 

However, the value of such an advertising jingle is apparent. 

In the latter opinion we expressed the view that a prize 

given one who solicited and produced the greatest number of 

subscriptions to a paper was not subjeot to the tax. The 

value of the services there given by the winner is likewise 

evident. 

Hence, we are constrained to answer your question in the 

affirmative. 

Yours very truly 

ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS 

s/ Glenn R. Lewis 

GRL:LM/cg 

APPROVED FEB. 7, 1941 

s/ Gerald C. Mann 

ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS 

Glenn R. Lewis 

Assistant 

Approved Opinion Committee, By BWB, Chairman