EXAS 

AUSTIN ~~.TExas 

October 9, 1963 

Honorable Robert S. Calvert Opinion No. C-155 

Comptroller of Public Accounts 

Capitol Station FE: Construction of ArtiAustin, Texas cles 13.02 and 13.03, 

Title 122A, TaxationGeneral, V.C.S., as 

to which coin-operated 

machines are taxable 

or exempt from 

taxation. 

Dear Mr. Calvert: 

You have requested an opinion from this department. construing Article8713.02 and Article 13.03, Title 

122A. V.C.S., and more soecifically you have asked the 

following 

"I respectfully request a formal 

opinion Indicating which coin-operated 

machines are made taxable'by Article 

13.02 and which coin-operated machines 

are exempt under ArtlcLe 13.03, as 

amended by Acts 1961, 57th Leg., 1st 

C.S., p. 71, ch. 24~, ,Art'. III,, Sec. 1." 

The pertinent part of.Article 13.02 and Article 

13.03 as amended are quoted as follows: 

"Art. 13.02. Amount of Tax. 

,"(l) Every 'owner' who owns, controls, 

possesses, exhibits, displays, or who 

permits to be exhibited or displayed In 

this State any 'coin-operated machine' 

shall pay, and there is hereby levied on 

each 'coin-operated machine,' as defined 

herein In Article 13.01, except as are 

exemptherein, an annual occupation tax 

of Ten Dollars ($lO)." 

"Art. 13.03. Exemption from tax. 

"Gas meters, pay telephones, pay toilets, 

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Honorable Robert S. Calvert, Page 2 (C-155) 

food vending machines, confection vending machines, beverage vending machines, 

merchandise vending machines, and 

cigarette vending machines which are 

now subject to an occupation or gross 

receipt3 tax, atamp vending machines, 

and 'service coin-operated machines,' 

as that term is defined, are expressly 

exempt from the tax levied herein, and 

the other provisions of this Chapter." 

Article 13.01, Title 122A, Section 3, defines 

the term "coin-operated machines" as follow3, and we quote: 

"(3) The term 'coin-operated machine' 

means every machine or device of any 

kind or character which is operated by 

or with coins, or metal slugs, token8 

or checks, . . .' 

Article 13.01 and Article 13.02, as enacted by 

the 56th Legislature, 3rd Called Session, p. 187, ch. 1, 

were both a part of the same act, and the definition3 in 

Article 13.01 applied to the provisions of Article 13.02. 

Since Article 13.02 and Article 13.03, as amended, Acts 

1961, 57th Lag., 1st C.S., p. 71, ch. 24, Article III, 

Sec. 1, is a different act of the Legislature from that 

above mentioned, It was necessary in Article 13.02, as 

amended, to refer to the definition in Article 13.01. 

This is the only difference between Section 1 of Article 

13.02, as amended, and the origlnal,,Artlcle 13.02, except 

that the original act provided for 

occupation tax determ,ined as 

*us * an annual 

follows: 

Section 1 of Article 13.02 provides: 

:, and the amended 

. . . an annual 

occupation tax of Ten Dollar8 ($lO)." 

We are of the opinion that other than the exemptions provided In Article 13.03, there Is levied by 

Article 13.02, a tax of $10 on all coin-operated machine8 

as dafined in Article 13.01, which means every machine or 

device of any kind or character which 13 operated by or 

with coins, or metal slugs, tokens or checks. 

The next question is "Which coin-operated machines are exempt under Article 13.03 as amended?" 

The caption of House Bill 20, Acts of 1961, 57th 

Leg., 1st C.S., reads, in part, as follows: 
Honorable Robert S. Calvert, Page 3 (C-155 

1, amending Article 13.02, Title 

122A; Taxation-General, Revised Civil 

Statute8 of Texas, 1925, 30 as to Impose 

a uniform tax of Ten Dollars ($10) per 

year on machines subject to the coinoperated machines tax; amending Article 

13.03, Title 122A, Taxation-General, 

Revised Civil Statutes of Texas, 1925, 

30 as to add certain classes of vending 

machines to the list of machines exempt 

from the coin-operated machines tax; . . 

This provision in the caption of the Bill makes 

it clear that the Legislature intended to add certain 

classes of vending machines to the list of exemptions provided in this Act. 

Rules for Interpreting statutes are designed to 

aid the courts in ascertaining the legislative intent, in 

cases of doubt, and they may be applied and used only for 

that purpose. Accordingly, no particular rule will be 

followed if it leads to an illogical conclusion or a result at variance with the intent of the Legislature. In 

other words, the legislative Intent is not to be defeated 

by resort to technical rule8 or subleties. There is but 

one rule of construction, and that is~ that the legislative 

intent must govern. All other cannons of interpretation 

30 called are but grounds of argument resorted to for the 

purpose of ascertaining the true meaning of the law. 39 

Tex. Jur. 1.60, Statutes, Sec. 87. 

The phrase "Which are now subject to an occupation or gross receipt3 tax," only applies to cigarette 

vending machine8 and does not apply to the other coinoperated machine8 listed preceding the cigarette vending 

machines. 

Article 13.03, as enacted by the 56th Legislature In 1959, provided for exempting gas meters, pay telephones, pay toilets, and cigarette vending machines which 

are now subject to an occupation or gross receipts tax. 

Before the 1961 amendment, under your departmental construction, gas meters, pay telephones and pay toilets were 

tax exempt, although, they were not subject to an occupation 

or gross receipt3 tax. The caption in House Bill No. 20, 

above mentioned, Indicates that the Legislature intended 

to add certain classes of vending machines to the list of 

machines exempt from the coin-operated machines tax. If 

the Legislature did not intend to exempt food vending 

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Honorable Robert S. Calvert, Page 4 (C-155) 

machines, confection vending machines, beverage vending 

machines, and merchandise vending machines, then there was 

no reason for putting them in Article 13.03, as amended by 

the 57th Legislature in 1961. Had these machines been 

left out of Article 13.03, they would have been subject to 

a tax because Article 13.02 levies a tax on all coin-operated 

machines which are not exempt by Article 13.03. It is, 

therefore, our opinion that all coin-operated machines 

listed in Article 13.03 are exempt from the tax levied by 

Article 13.02. 

SUMMARY 

All coin-operated machines are subject 

to an annual occupation tax of $10.00, 

except those listed In Article 13.03, as 

amended, and all coin-operated machine8 

listed in Article 13.03 are exempt from 

the coin-operated machine tax. 

Very truly yours, 

WAGGONER CARR 

Attorney General 

APPROVED: 

OPINION COMMITTEE 

W. V. Geppert, Chairman 

Marietta Payne 

Pat Bailey 

Howard Fender 

Joseph Trlmble 

APPROVED FOR THE ATTORNEY GENERAL 

By: Stanton Stone 

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