. 

EIICATTORNEY GENERAL 

OFTEXAS 

Honorable George R. Sheppard 

Comptroller of-Fubllc Accounts 

Austin, Texas 

Dear Sir: Opinion NO. o-6914 

Re: Whethen under Article 7070, receipts from rural accounts outside 

of incorporated towns are to be 

taxed under the 14 per cent tax 

bracket. 

Your letter of October 31, 1945, reads as follows: 

"Section 1 of Article 7070, R.C.S. 1925 provides: 

"'Each individual, company, corporation, or 

association owning, operating, managing, 

or controllfng any telephone line or lines, 

or'ang telephones wlthin this State and 

charging for the use of same, shall make 

qu.arterly, on the first day of January, 

April, July and October of each year, a 

report to the Comptroller, under oath of 

the indivldual, or of the president, 

treasurer, or superintendent of such compaw, corporation or association, showing 

the gross amount recefved from all buslness 

within this State during the preceding 

quarter in the payment of charges for the 

use of its line or lfnes, telephone and 

telephones, and from the lease or use of 

any wires or equipment within this State 

during said quarter, Said fndiviauais, 

companies, corporations, and associations, 

at the time of making said report, shall 

pay to the State Treasurer, and there is 

hereby levied upon said individuals, companies, corporations, and associations, 

an occupation tax for the quarter beginning 

on said date, equal to one and one-half 

(l*] per cent of the gross receipts,, as 

shown by said report, received from doing 

business outside of incorporated cities 

and towns and within incorporated citfes 
Honorable George H. Sheppard, page 2 o-6914 

and towns of less than two thousand, 

five hundred (2,500) Inhabitants, according to the last preceding Federal Census; an occupation tax for the quarter 

beginning on said date, equal to one and 

three-fourths (1 3/h) per cent of said~ 

gross receipts as shown by said report, 

received from aoing business within lncorporated cities and towns of more than 

two thousand, five hundred (2,500) inhabitants, and not more than ten thousand 

(lO,OOO) inhabitants, according to the 

last preceding Federal Census; an occupation tax for the quarter beginning on 

said date, equal to two and two hundred 

seventy-five thousandths (2.275) per cent 

of said gross receipts, as shown by said 

report, received from doing business 

within Incorporated cities and towns of 

more than ten thousand (10,000) inhabitants, according to the last preceding 

Federal Census.' 

ìf l * * 

"Please tell me if all rural accounts outside of 

incorporated towns (regardless of the population of 

the incorporated town) would come under the one and 

one-half (14) tax bracket? There are cases of army 

camps that are located six, eight or ten miles outside of incorporated towns of ten thousand (10,000) 

population OP more that are serviced by the exchange 

within the Incorporated town," 

We call your particular attention to the language of the 

statute that the occupation tax shall be "equal to one and onehalf (13) per cent of the gross receipts, D e 0 received from doing business outside of incorporated cities and towns and within 

incorporated cities and towns of less than two thousand, five hundred (2,500) inhabitants." 

The receipts from all business done outside the limits of 

incorporated cities and towns, regardless of the size of such incorporated cities, come wlthin the basic bracket of one and onehalf per cent. 
Honorable George H. Sheppard, page 3 o-6914 

Yours very truly 

ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS 

By s/Arthur L. Moller 

Arthur.~L. Moller 

Assistant 

ALM/JCP/wc 

APPROVED NOV 8, 1945 

s/Carlos C. Ashley 

FIRST ASSISTANT 

ATTORNEY GENERAL 

Approved Opinion Committee by s/BWB Chairman