lector upon your clients, Messrs. E. M. Hendrix, W. W. Ellington, and J. R. Donnell, to pay special tax as commercial brokers.

You state that these persons negotiate sales of flour for a milling company, sales of meats for another company, sales of coffee, sugar, and molasses for another company, and so on, receiving a commission on all the sales thus negotiated.

In the opinion of this office the business thus described is that of a commercial broker within the meaning of the fourth paragraph of section 2 of the act of June 13, 1898, and special tax must be paid accordingly.

The settled ruling of this office on this subject is the following, which modifies prior rulings in any manner inconsistent herewith: "Every person, firm, or company who negotiates sales or purchases of goods, wares, produce, or merchandise for another as a business, or material part of a business, without acquiring possession of, or any right or title in, the subject of the sale or purchase, and receives a commission for such service, except under contract to sell or purchase exclusively for certain persons or firms, or who negotiate freights and other business for the owners of vessels, or the shippers, consignors, or consignees of freight carried by vessels, for a commission, shall be regarded as a commercial broker."

Respectfully, yours,

N. B. SCOTT, Commissioner.

Messrs. KING & KIMBALL, Attorneys at Law, Greensboro, N. C.

CONVEYANCES.

(See also MORTGAGES; and DECISIONS 19692, p. 56; 19742, p. 228; 19800, p. 95; 19834, p. 230; 19932, p. 231; 20440, p. 235.)

(19838.)

Stamp tax-Deeds to burial sites.

If a deed does not grant, assign, transfer, or convey to the purchaser any lands, tenements, or other realty, but only the right to burial, to erect monuments, etc., it does not require a stamp.

TREASURY DEPARTMENT,

OFFICE OF COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL REVENUE,

Washington, D. C., August 5, 1898.

SIR: Yours of the 13th ultimo inclosed a copy of a deed given by the rector, wardens, and vestrymen of St. Paul's Church, conveying the right of the party to whom conveyed of burial for himself and family in a certain described lot in Forest Home Cemetery. You ask whether or not deeds of this character are subject to the stamp tax under the revenue law.

In reply, you are informed that if the deed does not grant, assign, transfer, or convey to the purchaser any lands, tenements, or other

realty, but only the right to burial therein, to erect monuments thereon, etc., it does not require a stamp.

Respectfully, yours,

N. B. SCOTT, Commissioner.

Mr. HENRY FINK, Collector First District, Milwaukee, Wis.

(19839.).

Stamp tax-Deeds.

Stamping of deeds of conveyance, deeds conveying undivided interest, deeds of gift, deeds of release, and quitclaim deeds.

TREASURY DEPARTMENT,

OFFICE OF COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL REVENUE,

Washington, D. C., August 5, 1898.

SIR: With yours of the 13th ultimo you inclosed two letters from Mr. A. F. Skinner, county register of Essex County, N. J., asking information as to how certain instruments should be stamped.

Please inform him that on deeds of conveyance the tax should be computed upon the true value of the property conveyed.

On deeds conveying only a specified interest in undivided property, that is, one-third, one-fourth, one-eighth, etc., the tax should be computed upon the actual value of the interest conveyed.

In the case cited by Mr. Skinner where an undivided one-eighth interest in property, the true value of the whole of which is $4,000, is sold for the nominal expressed consideration of $1, the value of the interest conveyed is $500, and the deed should be stamped accordingly. All deeds of conveyance where the value of the property conveyed exceeds $100 must be stamped. The fact that the deed is a deed of gift from husband to wife or wife to husband does not exempt it from tax. Such deeds must be stamped according to the true value of the property conveyed.

In States where property can not be conveyed directly from husband to wife, but must be conveyed to a third party, who in turn conveys to the wife, both deeds must be stamped according to the true value of the property conveyed.

A quitclaim deed, or a deed made to cure a defect in a previous deed, must be stamped in accordance with the true value of the property described in the deed.

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Where the local laws authorize entry of satisfaction of the mortgage upon the record, and the mortgage is thus canceled, such entry does not require a stamp.

Respectfully, yours,

N. B. SCOTT, Commissioner.

Mr. W. D. RUTAN, Collector Fifth District, Newark, N. J.

(20065.)

Stamp tax-Contract for deed.

A contract for deed used in selling real estate is not subject to stamp tax.

TREASURY DEPARTMENT,

OFFICE OF COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL REVENUE,

Washington, D. C., September 16, 1898.

SIR: This office is in receipt of a letter from Mr. Charles O. Elwood, Elkton, S. Dak., under date of August 15, 1898, who has to-day been referred to you, submitting to this office form of a contract for deed used by him in selling real estate, and asking whether or not said contract is subject to stamp tax.

In reply you will please inform him that by said contract the seller agrees to convey to the purchaser by warranty deed certain property; that the purchaser agrees to pay a certain sum of money, and describes the way the sum should be paid; also states that in case of failure of the party of the second part (the purchaser) to make his payment his contract shall, at the option of the seller, be forfeited and determined; that if this instrument shall have been recorded in any recorder's office the filing of a declaration of forfeiture shall be sufficient to cancel all obligations and fully reinvest the seller with all right, title, and interest hereby agreed to be conveyed, and the purchaser shall forfeit all payments made by him on this contract. This contract further states that this sale of land is made subject to the approval of the owner of said land; that upon the delivery of the warranty deed and the signing of a mortgage by the second party this contract is to be null and void, being now held as a simple memorandum of sale.

Said contract for deed is not subject to stamp tax, except, however, if the laws of the State of South Dakota require that the party executing said contract shall acknowledge his signature before an officer with a seal in order to make it legal and binding, then such a certificate would require a 10-cent stamp as a certificate required by law.

Respectfully, yours,

N. B. SCOTT, Commissioner.

Mr. J. E. HOUTZ, Collector Internal Revenue, Omaha, Nebr.

(20096.)

Stamp tax-Escrow deeds.

Escrow deeds are not subject to taxation until final delivery.

TREASURY DEPARTMENT,

OFFICE OF COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL REVENUE,

Washington, D. C., September 26, 1898.

SIR: This office is in receipt of your letter of July 28, 1898, asking

for a ruling on the following question:

Where a deed is executed and placed as an escrow in a bank with

instructions to the bank to deliver it to the grantee upon the payment of certain money and the performance of certain conditions specified in the instructions to the bank, you ask is this escrow deed subject to taxation.

You are advised that this office does not consider a deed placed in escrow subject to taxation until all the conditions have been complied with in the matter. This deed would not be operative as between the grantor and the grantee until delivery to the grantee, nor would it vest title until this time. It is an incomplete inchoate transaction.

There is no tax imposed upon the instrument until the time of its delivery, at which time the custodian of the deed should affix and cancel the proper stamps required. In the agreement under which the custodian of the deed holds it for delivery or return there can be stated that upon the delivery and completion of the transaction the deed must be stamped with the proper amount of revenue stamps.

Respectfully, yours,

N. B. SCOTT, Commissioner.

Mr. A. L. MORRISON, Collector, Sante Fe, N. Mex.

(20195.)

Stamp tax-Conveyances of real estate.

The words of purchase in the paragraph of the law relating to stamps on conveyances include all changes of title except those occurring by descent or operation of law.

TREASURY DEPARTMENT,

OFFICE OF COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL REVENUE,

Washington, D. C., October 13, 1898. SIR: This office is in receipt of a letter under date of July 29, 1898, from Johnson & Levy, lawyers, Chamber of Commerce Building, Cincinnati, Ohio, in which they state as follows:

We write as to the construction you have made, if any, as to the stamp tax on conveyances of real property, as we learn from the collector here that he claims all deeds must be stamped regardless of the character of the grantee-that is, whether the grantee be a purchaser or not; whereas under the plain phraseology and terms of the act it is clear to us it is only where there is a purchaser, and the deed is to the purchaser of the property, that the instrument is to be taxed. So with the conveyance between tenants in common, who have amicably agreed upon the division of the property between them, each conveying to the other his separate interest. In this case, also, we do not see that the grantee is a purchaser within the meaning of the stamp act. If it were the intention of the law to stamp all deeds, then the words "to or vested in the purchaser or purchasers or any other person or persons by his, her, or their direction" are worse than meaningless, because misleading, and should have been omitted. We would be pleased to have your advice upon the point.

* * Please advise them that by advice of the Attorney-General this office holds that the words of purchase in the paragraph relating to conveyances include all changes of title except those occurring by

descent or operation of law. The instrument that vests the title is subject to taxation, and if it is where the consideration is "love and affection" it should be taxed according to the actual value of the property conveyed and vested.

Quitclaim deed taxable according to value of the property interest conveyed. TREASURY DEPARTMENT,

OFFICE OF COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL REVENUE,

Washington, D. C., October 22, 1898.

SIR: This office is in receipt of your letter of October 15, 1898, in which you submit, at the request of Mr. John F. Holland, his letter dated October 14, 1898, with your advice that Mr. Holland has been informed of paragraph 7, decision 19839, page 135.

The statement made by Mr. Holland is that he tendered for record to the recorder of deeds of Cook County a quitclaim deed in which the consideration of the transfer is stated at $25, and which sum represents the actual, bona fide value of the interest of the grantor in said deed, and which is conveyed by said instrument. The actual value of the premises described in the deed is somewhere between $10,000 and $12,000. The recorder of deeds refuses to record the deed unless it is stamped according to the actual value of the premises, regardless of the value of the grantor's interest or value of the interest conveyed by said deed.

Mr. Holland desires a ruling upon this instrument, and before passing upon it, paragraph 7, in decision 19839, is hereby quoted:

A quitclaim deed, or a deed made to cure a defect in a previous deed, must be stamped according to its true value of the property described in the deed.

This clause should be interpreted as follows: "It is not the true value of the entire property described in the deed, but it is the true value of the property interest in the property described in the deed." For instance, this property is, as Mr. Holland states, worth $12,000. A has an outstanding one-sixth interest, and he desires to quitclaim this to the record holder of the other five-sixths interest. The tax imposed on this deed would be on the sum of $2,000, the actual value of the interest in the property conveyed by A. If this quitclaim deed that Mr. Holland desires to record conveys such an interest, the bona fide property value of which is only $25, then there is no tax on this deed whatever. If the $25 is a nominal consideration and the true value of the property inter