from tax.

What exempt by will, or by the laws of any State or Territory, to husband or wife of See 1866, ch. the person who died possessed, as aforesaid, shall be exempt from tax or 184, § 9.

184, § 9.

Lists.

duty.

Duty to be a SEC. 125. That the tax or duty aforesaid shall be a lien and charge lien. See 1866, ch. upon the property of every person who may die as aforesaid, for twenty years, or until the same shall, within that period, be fully paid to and discharged by the United States; and every executor, administrator, or trustee, before payment and distribution to the legatees, or any parties entitled to beneficial interest therein, shall pay to the collector or deputy collector of the district of which the deceased person was a resident, the amount of the duty or tax assessed upon such legacy or distributive share, and shall also make and render to the assessor or assistant assessor of the said district a schedule, list, or statement, in duplicate, of the amount of such legacy or distributive share, together with the amount of duty which has accrued, or shall accrue, thereon, verified by his oath or affirmation, to be administered and certified thereon by some magistrate or officer having lawful power to administer such oaths, in such form and manner as may be prescribed by the commissioner of internal revenue, which schedule, list, or statement shall contain the names of each and every person entitled to any beneficial interest therein, together with the clear value of such interest, the duplicate of which schedule, list, or statement shall be by him immediately delivered, and the tax thereon paid to such collector; and upon such payment and delivery of such schedule, list, or statement, said collector or deputy collector shall grant to such person, paying such duty or tax, a receipt or receipts for the same in duplicate, which shall be prepared as hereinafter provided. Such receipt or receipts, duly signed and delivered by such collector or deputy collector, shall be sufficient evidence to entitle such executor, administrator, or trustee, to be credited and allowed such payment by every tribunal which, by the laws of any State or Territory, is, or may be, empowered to decide upon and settle the accounts of executors and adminRefusal or neg-istrators. And in case such executor, administrator, or trustee, shall refuse lect to pay. or neglect to pay the aforesaid duty or tax to the collector or deputy collector, as aforesaid, within the time hereinbefore provided, or shall neglect or refuse to deliver to said collector or deputy collector the duplicate of the schedule, list, or statement of such legacies, property, or personal estate, under oath, as aforesaid, or shall neglect or refuse to deliver the schedule, list, or statement of such legacies, property, or personal estate, under oath, as aforesaid, or shall deliver to said assessor or assistant False schedules. assessor a false schedule or statement of such legacies, property, or personal estate, or give the names and relationship of the persons entitled to beneficial interests therein untruly, or shall not truly and correctly set forth and state therein the clear value of such beneficial interest, or where no administration upon such property or personal estate shall have been granted or allowed under existing laws, the assistant assessor shall make out such lists and valuation as in other cases of neglect or refusal, and shall assess the duty thereon; and the collector shall commence appropriate proceedings before any court of the United States, in the name of the United States, against such person or persons as may have the actual or constructive custody or possession of such property or personal estate, or any part thereof, and shall subject such Property to be property or personal estate, or any portion of the same, to be sold upon the judgment or decree of such court, and from the proceeds of such sale the amount of such tax or duty, together with all costs and expenses of every description to be allowed by such court, shall be first paid, and the balance, if any, deposited according to the order of such court, to be paid under its direction to such person or persons as shall establish title to the same. The deed or deeds, or any proper conveyance of such property or personal estate, or any portion thereof, so sold

sold.

Effect of deed

sessor,

&c.

under such judgment or decree, executed by the officer lawfully charged with carrying the same into effect, shall vest in the purchaser thereof all the title of the delinquent to the property or personal estate sold of sale. under and by virtue of such judgment or decree, and shall release every other portion of such property or personal estate from the lien or charge thereon created by this act. And every person or persons who shall persons having have in his possession, charge, or custody, any record, file, or paper succession to expapers relating to containing, or supposed to contain, any information concerning such prop- hibit them to aserty or personal estate, as aforesaid, passing from any person who may die, as aforesaid, shall exhibit the same at the request of the assessor or assistant assessor of the district, and to any law officer of the United States, in the performance of his duty under this act, his deputy or agent, who may desire to examine the same. And if any such person, having in his possession, charge, or custody, and [any] such records, files, or papers, shall refuse or neglect to exhibit the same on request, as aforesaid, he shall forfeit and pay the sum of five hundred dollars: Provided, [That] in all legal controversies where such deed or title shall be the subject of judicial investigation, the recital in said deed shall be prima facie evidence of its truth, and that the requirements of the law had been complied with by the officers of the government.

SUCCESSION TO REAL ESTATE.

99

SEC. 126. That for the purposes of this act the term "real estate Real estate to shall include all lands, tenements, and hereditaments, corporeal and in- include what. corporeal; that the term "succession" shall denote the devolution of title

to any real estate; and that the term "person" shall be held to include persons, body corporate, company, or association.

SEC. 127. That every past or future disposition of real estate by will, deed, or laws of descent, by reason whereof any perso[n] shall become beneficially entitled, in possession or expectancy, to any real estate, or the income thereof, upon the death of any person dying after the passing of this act, shall be deemed to confer, on the person entitled by reason of any such disposition, a "succession"; and the term “successor shall denote the person so entitled; and the term "predecessor" shall denote the successor," "predecessor grantor, testator, ancestor, or other person from whom the interest of the to mean what. successor has been or shall be derived.

66

"Succession,"

nated by death

succes

SEC. 128. That where any real estate shall, at or after the passing of A charge upon this act, be subject to any charge, estate, or interest, determinable by the real estate termideath of any person, or at any period ascertainable only by reference to to be a death, the increase of benefit accruing to any person upon the extinction sion." or determination of such charge, estate, or interest, shall be deemed to be a succession accruing to the person then entitled, beneficially, to the real estate or the income thereof.

Persons taking

succession jointly, how to

Benefits accru

SEC. 129. That where any persons, after the passing of this act, shall take any succession jointly, they shall pay the duty chargeable thereon by this act in proportion to their respective interests in the suc- pay duty. cession; and any beneficial interest in such succession, accruing to any of them by survivorship, shall be deemed to be a new succession, derived from the predecessor from whom the joint title shall have been derived. SEC. 130. That where any disposition of real estate shall be accompanied by the reservation or assurance of, or contract for, any benefit to ing from termination by death the grantor, or any other person, for any term of life, or for any period of charge on real ascertainable only by reference to death, such disposition shall be deemed estate to be a 66 succession." to confer at the time appointed for the determination of such benefit an increase of beneficial interest in such real estate, as a succession equal in annual value to the yearly amount or yearly value of the benefit so reserved, assured, or contracted for, on the person in whose favor such disposition shall be made.

Where title

passes, but beneficial ownership remains.

Deed without

SEC. 131. That where any disposition of real estate shall purport to take effect presently, or under such circumstances as not to confer succession, but, by the effect or in consequence of any engagement, secret trust, or arrangement capable of being enforced in a court of law or equity, the beneficial ownership of such real estate shall not, bona fide, pass according to the terms of such disposition, but shall, in fact, be reserved to the grantor or other person for some period ascertainable only by reference to death, the person shall be deemed, for the purposes of this act, to acquire the real estate so passing as a succession derived from the person making the disposition as the predecessor.

SEC. 132. That if any person shall, by deed of gift, or other assurvaluable consid- ance, of title, made without valuable and adequate consideration, and purporting to vest the estate either immediately or in the future, whether or not accompanied by the possession, convey any real estate to any person, such disposition shall be held and taken to confer upon the grantee a succession within the meaning of this act.

a succession upon grantee.

Duties on successions.

See 1865, ch. 78, § 1. Post, p.

633.

If interest of

any successor has passed to

SEC. 133. That there shall be levied and paid to the United States in respect of every such succession as aforesaid, according to the value thereof, the following duties, that is to say:

Where the successor shall be the lineal issue or lineal ancestor of the predecessor, a duty at the rate of one dollar per centum upon such value. Where the successor shall be a brother or sister, or a descendant of a brother or sister of the predecessor, a duty at the rate of two dollars per centum upon such value.

Where the successor shall be a brother or sister of the father or mother, or a descendant of a brother or sister of the father or mother of the predecessor, a duty at the rate of four dollars per centum upon such value.

Where the successor shall be a brother or sister of the grandfather or grandmother, or a descendant of the brother or sister of the grandfather or grandmother of the predecessor, a duty at the rate of five dollars per centum upon such value.

Where the successor shall be in any other degree of collateral consanguinity to the predecessor than is hereinbefore described, or shall be a stranger in blood to him, a duty at the rate of six dollars per centum upon such value.

SEC. 134. That where the interest of any successor in any real estate shall, before he shall have become entitled thereto in possession, have other successors, passed by reason of death to any other successor or successors, then only one duty to one duty only shall be paid in respect of such interest, and shall be be paid. due from the successor who shall first become entitled thereto, in possession; but such duty shall be at the highest rate which, if every such successor had been subject to duty, would have been payable by any one of them.

When any succession has become vested by alienation.

SEC. 135. That wherever, after the passing of this act, any succession shall, before the successor shall have become entitled thereto in possession, have become vested by alienation, or by any title not conferring a new succession, in any other person, then the duty payable in respect thereof shall be paid at the same rate and time as the same would have been payable if no such alienation had been made or derivative title created; and where the title to any succession shall be accelerated by the surrender or extinction of any prior interests, then the duty thereon See 1865, ch. shall be payable at the time of such surrender or [extension] of prior 78, § 1. Post, P title.

633.

Real estate

subject to trust for charitable purposes.

SEC. 136. That where real estate shall become subject to a trust for any charitable or public purposes, under any past or future disposition, which, if made in favor of an individual, would confer on him a succession, there shall be payable in respect of such real estate upon its becoming subject to such trusts, a duty at the rate of six per centum upon the amount or principal value of such real estate.

When duty is

to be paid.

See 1866, ch.

SEC. 137. That the duty imposed by this act shall be paid at the time when the successor, or any person in his right or on his behalf, shall become entitled in possession, to his succession, or to the receipt of the 184, § 9. income and profits thereof, except that if there shall be any prior charge, estate, or interest, not created by the successor himself upon or in the succession, by reason whereof the successor shall not be presently entitled to the full enjoyment or value thereof, the duty, in respect of the increased value accruing upon the determination of such charge, estate, or interest, shall, if not previously paid, compounded for, or commuted, be paid at the time of such determination.

Interest in pro

ceeds of sale of real estate.

SEC. 138. That the interest of any successor in moneys to arise from the sale of real estate, under any trust for the sale thereof, shall be deemed to be a succession chargeable with duty under this act, and the said duty shall be paid by the trustee, executor, or other person having 184, § 9.

control of the funds.

See 1866, ch.

to trust.

SEC. 139. That the interest of any successor in personal property, In personal subject to any trust for the investment thereof in the purchase of real property subject estate to which the successor would be absolutely entitled, shall be chargeable with duty under this act as a succession, and the tax shall be payable by the trustee, executor, or other person having control of the funds. SEC. 140. That in estimating the value of a succession no allowance shall be made in respect of any contingent incumbrance thereon; but in the event of such incumbrance taking effect as an actual burden on the interest of the successor, he shall be entitled to a return of a proportionate amount of the duty so paid by him in respect of the amount or value of the incumbrance when taking effect.

No allowance for contingent incumbrances;

nor for certain

cies.

Provisos.

SEC. 141. That in estimating the value of a succession no allowance shall be made in respect of any contingency upon the happening of other contingenwhich the real estate may pass to some other person; but in the event Duty to be reof the same so passing, the successor shall be entitled to a return of so turned, if, &c. much of the duty paid by him as will reduce the same to the amount which would have been payable by him if such duty had been assessed in respect of the actual duration or extent of his interest: Provided, That if the estate of the successor shall be defeated, in whole or in part, by its application to the payment of the debts of the predecessor, the executor, administrator, or trustee so applying it shall pay out of the proceeds of the sale thereof the amount so refunded: And provided, also, That if the estate of the successor shall be defeated, in whole or in part, by any person claiming title from and under the predecessor, such person shall be chargeable with the amount of duty so refunded, and such amounts shall be collected in the manner herein provided for the collection of duties.

SEC. 142. That where a successor shall not have obtained the whole

of his succession at the time of the duty becoming payable, he shall be chargeable only with duty on the value thereof from time to time obtained by him; and whenever any duty shall have been paid on account of any succession, and it shall afterwards be proved, to the satisfaction of the Secretary of the Treasury, that such duty, not being due from the person paying the same, was paid by mistake, or was paid in respect of real estate, which the successor shall have been unable to recover, or of which he shall have been evicted or deprived by any superior title, or that for any other reason it ought to be refunded, the Secretary of the Treasury shall thereupon refund the same to the person entitled thereto, by draft drawn on any collector of internal revenue.

Duty to be charged only on portion of succession received.

SEC. 143. That where, in the opinion of the commissioner of internal Where comrevenue, any succession shall be of such a nature, or so disposed or cir- missioner may compound the cumstanced, that the value thereof shall not be fairly ascertainable under duty payable; any of the preceding directions, or where, from the complication of circumstances affecting the value of a succession, or affecting the assessment or recovery of the duty thereon, the commissioner shall think it ex

when may commute.

Duty to be a first charge.

See 1866, ch.

184, § 9.

Separate assessments may

be made for in

terests in separate tracts.

Appeals.

pedient to exercise this present authority, it shall be lawful for him to compound the duty payable on the succession upon such terms as he shall think fit, and to give discharges to the successor, upon payment of duty according to such composition; and it shall be lawful for him, in any special cases in which he may think it expedient so to do, to enlarge the time for payment of any duty.

SEC. 144. That it shall be lawful for the commissioner, in his discretion, upon application made by any person who shall be entitled to a succession in expectancy, to commute the duty presumptively payable in respect of such succession for a certain sum to be presently paid, and for assessing the amount which shall be so payable he shall cause a present value to be set upon such presumptive duty, regard being had to the contingencies affecting the liability to such duty, and the interest of money involved in such calculation being reckoned at the rate for the time being allowed by the commissioner in respect of duties paid in advance, and upon the receipt of such certain sum he shall give discharges to the successor accordingly.

SEC. 145. That the duty imposed by this act shall be a first charge on the interest of the successor, and of all persons claiming in his right, in all the real estate in respect whereof such duty shall be assessed for five years, unless sooner paid.

SEC. 146. That the commissioner shall, at the request of any successor, or any person claiming in his right, cause to be made so many separate assessments of the duty payable in respect of the interest of the successor in any separate tracts of real estate, or in defined portions of the same tract, as shall be reasonably required; and in such cases the respective tracts shall be chargeable only with the amount of duty separately assessed in respect thereof.

SEC. 149. That it shall be lawful for any party, liable to pay duty in respect of his succession, who shall be dissatisfied with the assessment of the assistant assessor, within thirty days after the date of such [assment,] to appeal to the assessor from such assessment, who shall deSee 1865, ch. cide on such appeal, and give notice thereof to such party, who, if still dissatisfied, may, within twenty days after notice as aforesaid, appeal from such decision to the commissioner of internal revenue, and furnish a statement of the grounds of such appeal to the commissioner, whose decision upon the case, as presented by the statements of the assessor or assistant assessor and such party, shall be final.

78, § 1. Post, p. 633.

Decision of commissioner to be final.

Stamp duties to be paid by party signing instrument, &c.

What stamp may be used.

STAMP DUTIES.

SEC. 151. That all laws in force at the time of the passage of this act in relation to stamp duties shall continue in force until the first day of August, eighteen hundred and sixty-four, and on and after the first day of August, eighteen hundred and sixty-four, there shall be levied, collected, and paid, for and in respect of the several instruments, matters, and things mentioned and described in the schedule (marked B) hereunto annexed, or for or in respect of the vel[1]um, parchment, or paper upon which such instruments, matters, or things, or any of them shall be written or printed, by any person or persons, or party who shall make, sign, or issue the same, or for whose use or benefit the same shall be made, signed, or issued, the several duties or sums of money set down in figures against the same, respectively, or otherwise specified or set forth in the said schedule.

SEC. 153. That no instrument, document, writing, or paper of any description, required by law to be stamped, shall be deemed or held invalid and of no effect for the want of the particular kind or description of stamp designated for and denoting the duty charged on any such instrument, document, writing, or paper, provided a legal stamp, or stamps,