OFFICE OF THE Al-l-ORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS 

AUSTIN 

xonorablo Llnton s. Batage 

oounty Attorney 

"The indentma aeourlng tbew obligntionr dU eontry oortain oil and gee leases and UoIpb roe property in 

tbo States~Qf Kansas and OIslehow and, as wall, mm. 011 

and gae leaSee in the Oounties oi Flueow an4 San PatrlOi0, 

Tezas. 
wThsm 1s also pledged a oontraot ooverlng purohase 

0f gas rr00 oertaln lease in sari mtriofo County, Texas, 

and oontraote ooverlng sale 0r gas produoed rr00 all 

three atatw. 

"All of thebonds oi SerIssAwlll bq ppohaeed tram 

the mortgagor by Metropolitan Life ilheuranae Company, a 

oorporatlon or Ifew York. All of the bonds of Series B 

will be purohasod from the mortgagor by The Rational 

city &Ink or wm York.', 

You mention an 0 by 8n Asslatant Attorney General 

under the preoo6Ing a tratlon, dated Fobrunry 1.5, 1957, 

addremed to the Ootmty Attorney of Potter Oounty, to thm l irO0t that a trust indentw on propedee wlthln a8 we&l am 

ulthout the State of Texas in favor of and dellrered to nonreeldontm of the State w exempt rrom the tax, and you further 

mention an oplnlon by t&o prior adminfstratlon at thir offloe, 

addrwied to thr Cwnty Attorney OS WI@dta Oounty, dated Way 

27, 1938, see to hold that obligationa owned by nqtlonal 

banks are aoqtfrorawhtu. You rrqueat our oplalon a8 to 

wholib~ or not thr indo!ature of mortgage to be axoouted by 

Republlo Batural CaOk+mpeny, before beIn reoordod, anst.bo 

lltempe6 la aooordinao with the pr0Y1010nrr or Arti 70470, 

B.C.&, u auadod by 8.B. Xo. S4 by the 44th Logislafiure. 

8aId S.B:Mo. $34, 46th Logialaturr, made In part as roll.rrrre

*boept aa bmln othenI80 provldod there Is bbroby lotied end awmew6 a tax of Ten (lC#) Cents on oaoh 

One Hpodmd (#lCC,OO~ Dollar8 or Sraotion theroof, over 

the fir& W Thmdnd ((eW.00) Dollara, on all not.8 

til. 

d obll&atlons mow6 by ohattolmortgags deed of 

t uahanl~*r 1108~ oentmot vendor'@ lien oonbitlon- a l ai~a6ontxa~tandallln&ntants of a slmLrnatw 

W&Oh a%% illed or reoorbl In the orfloe of the County 

Clerk under the Eegl#tratIon Law6 of thI# State; protided 

that no tu aball be l&vied on Inrtxuments seourlng an 

amount of Tro Bundm6 0NO.00) Dollam, or.1~~8. After 

.Mo l tfeo tldate ye of tai8 Act, uoept aa hereInaftor 

provided, no wah instrument ehall be tiled or reworded 

byanyCounty Olerklnthls St~tauutlltWre harbeen 

affllrsd to mah Inatwnt stamp@ in aooordanae ~i$h 

the pmtIrrIo~ oi thlr meetion; providing further that 

nhould th* Instntnunt f’I1.d In .tho ofi'ior ot the Oounty 

Clerk bo 8eourity of an obligation that baa property 

pledge6 •~ 8aaurIfy In a State or States other than 

Texan, the tu #hall bo baaed upon the raaronnblo oa8h 

value of all property pledged in Texas in the proportl6n 
Ton. Llnton S. Savage, Page 3. 

that said property in Texas benrs to the total vcluo of 

the pmgerty aoa~~lng the obligation; . . . and pMVided 

further that when onoo str:mpod as provided herein, an 

instrument may be recorded In any number of countioa 

In thie State without again being 80 stamped. . . . 

*If the amount aooured by a instnunent Is not oxproseed therein or if any part of the soourlty dosorlbod In any suoh lnstnrmsnt appears to be looatod wIthout 

the State of Texas the County Clerk shall require proof 

by written affidavits of suoh feots as may be nooossary 

to determine the amount of the.tax duo.* 

Tho provision with reforenoe to proratlng,the tax, wbsro a 

pert only OS tho aeourlty Ir, looatod In the State of Texas, was 

not la tho original Artiolo 70470, R.C.S., a8 the semo erieted 

et the tlmo of the oplnfon to the County Attorney of Potter County. 

Furthermore, we might obaene that on April 29, 193S, the prooodlng edmInlstratlon of the Attorney Goneral's Department ln an 

opinion wr$tten by H. L. rcllllford, Aseietant Attorney Gonoral, 

addroeeod to Ron. C+rley Lookhart, State Treasurer, Nled uontrery to the opinion or February 15, 1937. 

In our oonferenoo opinion MO. 3061, dated June 17, 1939, 

addressed to Ron. Charlay Loolchert, State Treasurer, we expressed 

the via that'tho tax levied by 8.8. No. 24 1s a tax upon the 

prirllogo 0r rwordIru3. Pertloulerly In vlow 0s the lnoluslon in 

the amended Aot oi the prov%slons requiring the proration of the 

tax whore a pert or the eaourlty 1s looatod outside tha State of 

Texas, we bslloro thnt the instrument in quo&Man muat beer atampa 

ae provided in the emended Aot, and dotormlnod as therein provided. 

In opinion Ro, O-267, dated February 25, 1939, add&sod to 

the State Troamurer, es well a8 lo our opinion No. O-874, rsomtly 

given to the Banking Commis~loner of Toxea, we oxpnrsed tho rlow 

thet lion instruments talc- by national banks and owned by them 

are not subjoot to tho tax. However, it wIl1 be noted that In the 

iaota submitted to ua by you none of the bond6 aooured by this lndenture of mortgage Is now owned by tho Rational City Bank of Now 

York, but apparently that bank simply plans to puroheeo SerIoa B 

of the bonda ao eeoured. If wo understand the instant situation 

oorrootly, the Matlonal City Bank of Now York would not be paying 

this tex. Henoo no exanptlon would be afforded the Indenture of 

mortgage In question. 

The tax #hould be 

oollootod eooordlngly. 

oaloulatod aa eot forth In S.B. No. 24 and 

YOWS VOlF$' tNu 

GRL-W ATlDlU?EIGENEIULOlr~i!XAS 

APP~WVED SEP 7, ,lQSQ . 

Gerald C. Mann (signed1 

AT’IDRNJIY GENERhL Op‘ TEUS