Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1909-10-04
IS OCCUPATION
TAX LEGAL I?
Doubt Raised by
Attorney Gen
erals lsOpinion
DISCUSS PRESIDENTS VISIT
Governor Curry and Colonel
Willard S. Hopewell Con-
suit on the Matter.

Colonel W. S. Hopewell of Albu-
querque, was in consultation today |
| with Governor Curry regarding the
pI ogram for the reception of President
Taft on October -. Governor Curry &.
will leave this evening for Albuquer- /
que and thence for Roswell, returning
to Santa Fe for a day or two. On !
August 10, he will go to Albuquerque
and remain until October II, when he .
will accompany the reception commit !
tee of seven in special car to Gallup
to gree the President. Governor Cur
ry is cooperating with the commit
tee in charge of the arrangements at
Albuquerque in every particular and
is anxious to do all in his power to
assist them in making the affair
great success. Upon his arrival at
Albuquerque, an address of welcome
will be made to which the President
will respond from the grand stand to
be erected at the AlvaradO. He will
then retire to a suite of rooms which I!
will be reserved for him, and dress
| for the banquet which takes place in |
the same building and will last until
| eleven o'clock. In a room adjoining
to the banquet hall, the Montezuma
/ ball will take place and the President
may look in upon those festivities. He
will retire at eleven o'clock to his
private car.
| Incorporation.
Incorporation papers were filed to-
day by the Mangas Development Com
pany of Silver City, A. H. Harllee,
| New Mexico agent. The capitaliza-
tion is $500000 divided into 100000
shares. The incorporators and direc-
tors are: Norman W. Haire, of Hough-
! ton, Michigan, 1000 shares; Joseph E.
Saint, Albuquerque, 1000 shares;
George A. Kaseman, Albuquerque,
| 900 shares; A. H. Harllee and R. P.
Barnes of Silver City.
Opinion of Attorney General.
Attorney General Frank w. Clancy
| has given the following important
opinion on the city occupation tax:
Opinion BY Attorney General.
Mr. R. D. Bowers, City Attorney,
Roswell, N. NJ
Dear Sir-Your letter of the goth
ult., which was, however, postmarked
at Roswell on the 29th, was received
at my office in Santa Fe yesterday,
and, by my assistant, forwarded to
me here, and hasten to answer.
My previous answer to you that
Chapter 131 of the Laws of 1909,
makes no change as to who shall is
sue occupation licenses, is undoubted-
ly correct The first section of that
act refers to occupation taxes author
lied by law to be collected by the
Territory and the counties other than
liquor licenses, and provides that
those taxes shall be collected by the
city treasurers, from those persons
carving on business within cities.
This clearly refers to those taxes pro-
vided for in the territorial statutes
known as occupation taxes, and makes
no change as to the method of issu-
ing such licenses. AS l recollect, all
such licenses are issued by county
officers. and I do not see that any one
else is authorized now to issue them,
The change is only that the city treas
urers shall collect them.
If this section We're all that af-
fected the matter, there would be no
practical difficulty, as the cities could
undoubtedly continue in the issuing
and collection of such licenses under
the general authority conferred in the
municipal corporation law; but sec.
ton might be construed to have the
= effect of nullifying and destroying all
occupation taxes heretofore collected
by any city when they SO operate, in
connection with the territorial stat
utes, as to impose double tax on any
occupation. I believe this was the in
tention of the man who drew that sec
ton. but there is chance of some
possible argument as to whether he
has fully accomplished the object
aimed at, or not. You will notice
that the section says that if the pres
ent occupation tax collected by a
city, with the statutory tax, would
make double tax, "only one such tax
shall be collected, and the respective
cities are hereby authorized to adjust
the same on an equitable basis" This
r language would seem to leave it
n somewhat uncertain as to which tax
= should be collected, the former city
: tax or the statutory tax, and, as to
adjustment on an equitable basis, |
!, do not know what that means, unless
s it should be limited in its application
I to the adiustment of licenses existing