Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1900-04-03
STAMP TAX RULINGS.
Duplicate Bills of Lading Must be
Stamped.
DEFINITION OF BROKER AND RULING
Llquor Bonds Must be Stamped, tn
Ruling of a Emitted States District
Judge to the Contrary Not.
withstanding-Rules.

Ruling of Emitted States District
Judge to the Contrary Not-
withstanding-Rules
Railroad companies that have been
in the, habit of penciling a memoranda
upon duplicate bills of lading to the
effect that it is merely copy, in Or.
der to escape the payment of the l.
cent revenue stamp, will hereafter be
required to atflX the stamp, the mem
oranda to the contrary notwithstand-
ing. This is in accordance with rul-
ing of the internal revenue depart
ment, and in effect taxes anything
having any resemblance to a bill of,
lading.
Other rulings have also been made;
one in regard to affiXing a 5O-cent reYe
nue. stamp to liquor bonds, which a
United States district judge says need
not be done. The department says
that in view of another contrary decis-
ion by an equally eminent judge, the
practice of affixing the stamp will be
continued until the matter is decided
by a yet higher court. Another ruling
in regard to buyers OF public warrants
does not class them under the head
OF brokers unless the buyer makes
that his business, and whether or not
! he will be required to pay a brokers
tax hinges upon the departments con-
struction of the term business"
A deed conveying the timber upon
parcel of land does not require a
revenue stamp unless the grantee ac-
quires the real estate also, and unless
he acquires the use of the real estate,
in which latter case the instrument is
taxable the same as a lease would be.
Following are the rulings in full:
Duplicate Bills of LadIng.
All copies of instruments issued by
carriers to consignors held liable TO
taxation as duplicates.
Treasure Department, Office Of Com
missioner of Internal Revenue.
Washington, ID. c., March 20, 1900. z
q Sir-Your letter of the Goth of De-
cember last, with respect to the tax
on copies of bills of lading, has been
carefully considered, together with the
argument of Senator Mason, filed on
the 18th of March
z The.act providing for the Stamping
OF some Instrument issued by the car
rier to the shipper or consignor, or his
agent, or person from whom any goods
are accepted for transportation, does
not make it obligatory that technical
bill of lading should be issued in any
case, as counsel seems to assume. The
instrument to be issued is referred to
as a chill of lading, manifest, or other
evidence of receipt and forwarding
|, Again, when the stamp tax is imposed
the language used is, .sThere shall be
duly attached to each of said bills of
lading, manifests, or other memoran-
dun, and to each duplicate thereof, a
{ stamp of the value of cent So it is
not duplicate bill of lading that is
referred to alone, but equally dupli-
cate manifest, or a duplicate memo
randum, or duplicate OF any othec
instrument Of writing which should
contain evidence of receipt and for
warding.
The question of tax turns upon the
meaning of the word duplicate"
Webster's dictionary, the accepted III
thority of this department in the def
milton of words, gives the following,
the first being the ordinary meaning,
and the second the technical mean
ing:
Duplicate:
az That which exactly resembles
or corresponds to something else. An
7, other, correspondent to the first
hence, a copy, transcript, counter
part.
(2) Gaw.) An original instrument
repeated. A document which is the
same as another in all essential par
ticulars, and differing from mere
copy in having all the validity of an
original.
1t will be seen that the ordinary
meaning of the word duplicate is "a
copy" and it has been the rule of this
office to construe words used in
statutes according to their ordinary
meaning and acceptation, unless the
intent of the statute imperatively re-
CURED that technical significance
should be given them. Endlich on the
Z CONSTRUCTION of the Statutes says that
In general statutes are presumed to
4 use words in their popular sense" and
4 lit is probably not inaccurate to say
that as between two meanings of Il
word, the ordinary and popular mean
! ing is in general to be preferred, and
is most frequently in harmony with
the subject matter and object of .the
enactment"
~ oulSI cMl1lSuS dutIlOTlIleS are III aC-
4 cord with this dictum. /, therefore,
rule that the word duplicate" as used
I, in the paragraph of schedule A, head
I. ed, Express and freight" including
Z all copies. and every copy of an in
strument evidencing the receipt and
forwarding Of goods issued by the car
rier, or his agent, must bear a 1-cent
stamp, and any memorandum made on
the same that it is merely a copy"
mot a bill of lading," mot dupli-
cate. mot contract" mot negotia-
be- merely an acknowledgment. !"
etc., will have no OBJECT to exempt the
copy from taxation as duplicate.
Respectfully,
G. w. Wilson, Commissioner.
j. M. Dickson, General Solicitor, Iii
nois Central Railroad Company, Chi
cago, Ill.
Liquor Bonds.
Conflicting decisions in the United
States district courts.-Ihe commits
sioner of internal revenue will not