The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-09-23
ANACONDA news.
CHECK UP REVENUE. Law
Two Federal officers in Town
for That Purpose.
FIND FEW VIOLATIONS
And Those Committed in Ignorance
And Those Committed in Ignorance.
What tho New Revenue Law Re-
quires as to the Stamping
Of Instruments.

Two officers of Uncle Sans revenue
department are in Anaconda looking
up violations Of the revenue law and
starting trouble for those people who,
through intent or ignorance, have
sought to evade a strict compliance
with the revenue laws. -Js--.
These officers are Robert Towne Of
Washington, D. c., revenue agent
and c. D. French Of Butte, deputy col
lector of internal revenue. Their duty
is to examine into all the sources from
which either by license, special tax or
stamp tax, and to make notes OF vio-
lations of the law. To this END they
examined yesterday stocks OF liquor,
ETC., but spent consideraDie OF .ns 4as
at the office of County Clerk and Re-
corder M. Martin examining the rec
cords to see that proper documentary
stamps had been attached to the in
struments recorded. "a.
This" said Mr.. Towne. lis one OF
my periodical tours. | was here year
ago in August on a similar mission
/ check up six or seven western states.
violations of the law, are few, es-
pecially in Montana, and wheresthe law
is violated it is almost invariably
through ignorance. No one wants TO
violate the law, still we find frequently
in the records that the necessary
amount of stamps has been omitted
from an instrument. For instance, 1
find here the record of deed convey
ing title to AZ water rights and bearing
no stamps whatever. 1t Is evident the
deed was given simply to clear title
and that there was no consideration,
but that has no bearing whatever on
the matter A deed is a deed and the
value of the property, not the amount
of consideration, is the base on which
the amount of stamp tax must be cal
culated.
1.-THE ordinary 81 deed, given to clear
title or where the property Is given as
a present must bear stamps in proper
ton to the full value of the property
transferred. This is where many UNI
thinking violators of the law come in.
such failures to comply with the
revenue law as 1 find l report to the
department at Washington. The mat
ter is then referred to the collector OF
internal revenue in the district, in this
state to Collector Webster. He then
goes after the parties to the deed. Fail
ure to pay the tax gives the govern
ment lien on the property transfer
red for 20 years.
Parties who have not complied with
the law In respect to stamps on instru-
ments find considerable trouble ahead
of them. When they are notified by
the collector they must get the orig
inal deed or a certified copy of 1t and
forward 1t. duly proven, to the collector
with the necessary stamps. The col
Iector then affixes the stamps and adds
a certificate which he forwards with
the instrument to the recorder, who
must enter the certificate in the mar
gin of the records.
"A penalty also attaches for viola
lions of the law like this. This penalty
is in proportion to the unpaid tax. 1t
is $40 for any sum of unpaid tax under
$50 The penalty, however, will be re-
mitted on the violator filing an affi-
davit showing that the violation was
committed through ignorance.
TT all entails a great deal of bother
and some expense, and goes to show
that notaries and conveyancers should
use the utmost care in making instru-
ments rather than trust to luck No
one wants to resist payment of the
stamp tax, but it is better to pay at
the proper time"