(20320.) Stamp tax--Warranty deed. Warranty deed with vender's lien taxed as a conveyance of land-No mortgage tax imposed. TREASURY DEPARTMENT, OFFICE OF COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL REVENUE, Washington, D. C., November 11, 1898. SIR: This office is in receipt of a letter, under date of October 31, 1898, from Mr. O. M. Wood, Quitman, Tex., in which he incloses a blank deed, and asks to be informed as to the tax imposed thereon. This is a warranty deed with vendor's lien, and it is subject to taxation as a conveyance of land. The lien that the vendor retains is not considered by this office as an evidence of pledging or mortgaging of land to secure the payment of the balance of the promissory note. The notarial acknowledgments to this instrument are not subject to taxation, whether the consideration in the deed is over or under $100. Respectfully, yours, N. B. SCOTT, Commissioner. Mr. P. B. HUNT, Collector Internal Revenue, Dallas, Tex. CUSTOM-HOUSE BROKERS. (19576.) Special tax-Custom-house brokers. Brokers must pay special tax in each city where they do business. * TREASURY DEPARTMENT, OFFICE OF COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL REVENUE, Washington, D. C., June 27, 1898. SIR: In reply to an inquiry addressed to this office on the 21st instant by F. B. Vandegrift & Co., 50 South Fourth street, Philadelphia, * * you will please inform them that, as custom-house brokers (as they state) in New York, Philadelphia, and Chicago, they are required to pay a special tax of $10 and take out the requisite stamp for each place of business in those cities. It is held that the first clause of section 3235, Revised Statutes, applies to every business for which special tax is required to be paid, whether under old laws or under the new war-revenue bill. Respectfully, yours, Mr. P. A. MCCLAIN, N. B. SCOTT, Commissioner. Collector First District, Philadelphia, Pa. (20033.) Special tax-Custom-house brokers. Answers to a series of questions. TREASURY DEPARTMENT, OFFICE OF COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL REVENUE, SIR: In reply to your letter, asking whether or not certain persons or firms are subject to special tax as custom-house brokers, you are advised as follows: 1. Persons who hold themselves out as custom-house brokers are clearly liable to special tax as such. 2. Firms known as agents of lines of steamships to whom merchandise is consigned to be exported to foreign countries (said merchandise being cleared by them at the custom-house by filing shippers' manifests as agents of exporters doing the business of custom-house brokers) are liable to special tax as such. 3. Where agents "pass entries," orders of appraisement, and other papers connected with baggage and merchandise belonging to passengers who have left the port, and to whom the bill of lading is sometimes intrusted, and who transact the business as agents, giving bonds to produce the owner's oath, they are subject to special tax as such. 4. Sales agents of certain factories and attorneys in fact of the manufacturers, receiving merchandise consigned to them for sale, making entries of all sorts, and giving bonds to produce owner's oath, are subject to special tax as such. 5. Persons or firms that prepare and arrange manifests and other papers essential to the entries and clearance of vessels, which papers are executed by the masters of vessels, the signatures of such persons or firms appearing upon the margin of the paper as having entered or cleared the vessel, are subject to the said tax. 6. Persons who pay special tax as commercial brokers, if they act as the agents of others "to arrange entries and other custom-house papers, or transact business at any port of entry relating to the importation or exportation of goods, wares, or merchandise," must in addition pay the special tax as custom-house brokers. 7. As to attorneys in fact of exporters and importers, who act for them alone and whose occupation is that of a sales agent, and not that of a general broker, if they transact business that comes within paragraph 5 of section 2 of the act of June 13, 1898, they must pay the special tax as custom-house brokers. Respectfully, yours, N. B. SCOTT, Commissioner. Mr. W. F. STONE, Collector of Customs, Baltimore, Md. (20206.) Special tax-Custom-house brokers. A special-tax stamp taken out by a person in his own name as a custom-house broker is sufficient to cover the business done by him in his own name, at the place of business stated therein, whether such business is done by him on his own account or as an agent for other persons. TREASURY DEPARTMENT, OFFICE OF COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL REVENUE, Washington, D. C., October 19, 1898. SIR: Messrs. Kennedy & Moon, custom-house brokers, 25 and 27 William street, New York, state that at the port of Boston their representatives, Messrs. W. N. Proctor & Co., who hold the requisite specialtax stamp as custom-house brokers, have lodged claims at the customhouse for drawback of the duties on exported goods, in which they (Kennedy & Moon) appear as the principals, and that they are advised by Proctor & Co. that they (Kennedy & Moon) are held by the collector of customs to be "liable to the special tax of $10." Kennedy & Moon say that they are not transacting any custom-house business at the Boston custom-house except as principals, and employ a duly licensed broker to represent their interests there. In the opinion of this office, the special-tax stamp held by Proctor & Co. as custom-house brokers is sufficient to cover the transaction of all business for which that stamp was issued, at their place of business, whether such business is done by them on their own account or as agents for others. You will please so inform the collector of customs at the port of Boston, but at the same time inform him that Kennedy & Moon have been advised that they could not transact custom-house business in Boston in their own name under the special-tax stamp held by Proctor & Co., and that the business transacted for them by Proctor & Co. must have been transacted in the name of Proctor & Co. in order that the latter's special-tax stamp should be sufficient to cover the business. Respectfully, yours, G. W. WILSON, Acting Commissioner. Mr. JAMES D. GILL, Collector Third District Boston, Mass. (20321.) Special tax-Custom-house brokers. Bills of sale of vessel property are "custom-house papers" in contemplation of the statute, and a person "whose occupation it is, as the agent of others," to prepare such bills of sale is required to pay special tax as a custom-house broker. TREASURY DEPARTMENT, OFFICE OF COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL REVENUE, Washington, D. C., November 12, 1898. SIR: In reply to the letter addressed to you by Mr. George H. Clark, of Bath, Me., which you referred to this office on the 1st instant, you will please inform him that while bills of sale of vessel property are "custom house papers," within the meaning of the fifth paragraph of section 2 of the act of June 13, 1898, and a person, therefore, "whose occupation it is, as the agent of others," to make out such bills of sale, must be required to pay special tax as a custom-house broker under that paragraph, yet this special tax is not required to be paid in in the case, which he states, of a lawyer employed "to make out a bill of sale from John Smith to Richard Roe of one-sixty-fourth of schooner B. W. Morse," although "the lawyer gets $1 for executing the bill of sale," if this is but a single instance or an occasional act of this kind on the part of the lawyer in question. SIR: I reply as follows to your letter of the 22d instant: Your office is correct in requiring the following-described entries to have the stamp indicated affixed at time of presentation, viz: Consumption or warehousing entries, $100 or less in value Consumption or warehousing entries, over $100, and not over $500. Consumption or warehousing entries, over $500...... $0.25 .50 1.00 .50 Withdrawal entry, whether for consumption, transportation, or exportation.. Duplicates and triplicates of the foregoing entries are not required to be stamped. Drawback entries are not required to be stamped. Powers of attorney require the 25-cent stamp when presented. Warehousing bonds, penal bonds, transportation bonds, exportation bonds, tea bonds, invoice bonds, owners' oath bonds, bonds for certifi cate of exportation-all required under customs regulations-must have affixed thereto the 50-cent stamp under that provision of Schedule A of the act of June 13, 1898, relating to "all other bonds of any description, except such as may be required in legal proceedings." Certificates of delivery of bonded goods and other certificates required by customs regulations should have affixed thereto the 10-cent stamp under the provision of Schedule A for "Certificate of any description required by law not otherwise specified in this act." Certificates issued between customs officers for their own information, it is held, are not required by the law to be stamped. Drawback debenture certificates are exempt from tax under section 17 of the act. Respectfully yours, N. B. SCOTT, Commissioner. Mr. WM. PENN NIXON, Collector of Customs, Chicago Ill. DISTRIBUTIVE SHARES AND LEGACIES. (See LEGACIES AND DISTRIBUTIVE SHARES.) DRUGS AND MEDICINES. (See MEDICINAL PreparationS; PROPRIETARY ARTICLES.) EXHIBITIONS AND SHOWS. (See also CIRCUSES; THEATERS.) (19749.) Special tax-Traveling shows. Exhibitions given by venders of patent medicines. TREASURY DEPARTMENT, OFFICE OF COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL REVENUE, Washington, D. C., July 22, 1898. SIR: I have received your letter of the 14th instant, concerning applications which you have received from venders of patent medicines who give musical entertainments and concerts in tents, some of which are variety performances, and to which at times admission is free, but at other times a nominal admission is charged for seats inside the tent. Where these shows consist, as you state, merely of "feats of marksmanship, songs, and variety performances" (like ordinary minstrel performances), the special tax required to be paid by these medicine venders-whether they charge an admission fee or not-is $10 for any State in which such performances are given in the month of July. When they move to another State, beginning performances therein in any other-month than July, the special tax is to be reckoned from the first day of that month to the first day of July following, under the provisions of section 3237, Revised Statutes, which apply as well to the |