USA > New York > Schoharie County > Gazetteer and business directory of Schoharie County, N.Y. for 1872-3 > Part 4
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Exceeding $500 in value, 1 00
Entry for the withdrawal of any goods or merchandise from bonded warehouse, 50
Gauger's returns, exempt.
Indorsement upon a stamped obli- gation in acknowledgment of its fulfillment, exempt.
Insurance (life) policy : When the amount insured shall not ex- ceed $1,000, 25
Exceeding $1,000, and not ex- ceeding $5,000, 50
Exceeding $5,000, 1 00
Insurance (marine, inland, and · fire,) policies, or renewal of the same : If the premium does not exceed $10,
10
Exceeding $10, and not exceed ing $50, Exceeding $50,
25
50
Passage ticket on any vessel from a port in the United States to a foreign port, not exceeding $35, 50 Exceeding $35, and not exceed- ing $50, 1 00
And for every additonal $50, or fractional part thereof, in ex- cess of $50, 1 00
Passage tickets to ports in Brit- ish North America, exempt. Pawner's checks, 5
Power of attorney for the sale or transfer of any stock, bonds or scrip, or for the collection of any dividends or interest there- on, 25
Power of attorney, or proxy, for voting at any election for offi- cers of any incorporated com- pany or society, except reli- gious, charitable, or literary societies, or public cemeteries, Power of attorney to receive or col- lect rent, 25
50
Exceeding $500, and not exceed- ing $1,000, 1 00
And for every additional $500, or fractional part thereof, in ex- cess of $1,000, 50
Order for payınent of money, if the amount is $10, or over,
2
Insurance contracts or tickets against accidental injuries to persons, exempt.
Lease, agreement, memorandum, or contract for the hire, use, or rent of any land, tenement, or portion thereof: Where the rent or rental value is $300 per annum or less, . 50
Where the rent or rental value exceeds the sum of $300 per annum, for each additional $200, or fractional part thereof in excess of $300, 50
Legal documents :
Writ, or other original process, by which any suit, either crim- inal or civil, is commenced in any court, either of law or equi- ty,
exempt.
exempt. exempt.
Conveyance. Certificate of record of a deed,
Credit, letter of. Same as foreign bill of exchange. Custom-house entry. (See Entry.) Custom-house withdrawals. (See Entry.)
Deed. (See Conveyance Trust deed.) Draft, payable at sight or on de- mand, 2
Draft, payable otherwise that at sight or on demand, for any sum not exceeding 100, 5 For every additional $100 or frac- tional part thereof in excess of $100, 5
Endorsement of any negotiable in- strument, exempt.
[These provisions do not ap- ply to vessels or steamboats plying between ports of the United States and British North America.]
Measurers' returns, exempt. Memorandum of sale, or broker's note. (See Contract.)
Mortgage of lands, estate, or pro- perty, real or personal, herita- ble or movable, whatsoever, a trust deed in the nature of a mortgage, or any personal bond given as security for the pay- ment of any definite or certain sum of money ; exceeding $100, and not exceeding $500,
10
When the consideration exceeds $500, and not to exceed $1,000, And for every additional $500, or fractional part thereof, in ex- cess of $1,000, 50
1 00
Conveyance.
The acknowledg-
ment of a deed, or proof by a
witness,
37
STAMP DUTIES.
Stamp Duty.
Stamp Duty.
Power of attorney to sell and con- vey real estate, or to rent or lease the same, Power of attorney for any other purpose,
1 00
50
Probate of will, or letters of admin- istration ; where the estate and effects for orin respect of which such probate or letters of ad- ministration applied for shall be sworn or declared not to ex- ceed the value of $1,000, exempt. Exceeding $1,000, and not ex- ceeding $2,000, 1 00
Exceeding $2,000, for every ad- ditional $1,000, or fractional part thereof, in excess of $2,000, 50
Promissory note. For any sum less than $100,
exempt.
For $100, and for each additional $100 or fractional part thereof, 5 Deposit note to mutual insurance companies, when policy is sub- ject to duty, exempt.
Renewal of a note, subject to the same duty as an original note. Protest of note, bill of exchange, acceptance, check, or draft, or any marine protest,
25
Quit-claim deed to be stamped as a conveyance, except when giv- en as a release of a mortgage by the mortgagee to the mort- gagor, in which case it is ex- empt ; but if it contains cove- nants may be subject as an agreement or contract.
Receipts for satisfaction of any ·mortgage or judgment or de- cree of any court, exempt.
Receipts for any sum of money or debt due, or for a draft or oth- er instrument given for the payment of money, exempt. Receipts for the delivery of pro- perty. exempt.
Renewal of agreement, contract or charter, by letter or otherwise, same stamp as original instru- ment.
Sheriff's return on writ or other process, exempt,
Trust deed, made to secure a debt, to be stamped as a mortgage. Warehouse receipts, exempt.
Warrant of attorney accompany- ing a bond or note, if the bond or note is stamped, Weigher's returns,
exempt. exempt.
Official documents, instruments, and papers issued by officers of the United States Govern- ment,
exempt.
Official instruments, documents, and papers issued by the ofii- cers ofany State, county, town, orother municipal corporation, in the exercise of functions strictly belonging to them in their ordinary governmental or municipal capacity,
Papers necessary to be used for C
exempt.
the collection from the United States Government of claims by soldiers, or their legal rep- resentatives, for pensions, back pay, bounty, or for prop- erty lost in the service, exempt.
NOTE .- The last Congress passed an act, " That on and after the first day of October, 1870, the stamp tax imposed in Schedule B, on promissory notes for a less sum than one hundred dollars, and on receipts for any sum of money, or for the payment of any debt, and the stamp tax imposed in Schedule C, on canned and preserved fish, be, and the same are hereby repealed. And no stamp shall be required upon the transfer or assignment of a mortgage, where it or the instrument it secures has been once duly stamped."
CANCELLATION.
In all cases where an adhesive stamp is used for denoting the stamp duty upon an instrument, the person using or affixing the same must write or imprint thereupon in ink the initials of his name, and the date (the year, month, and day) on which the same is attached or used. Each stamp should be separately cancelled. When stamps are printed upon checks, &c., so that in filling up the instrument, the face of the stamp is and must necessarily be writ- ten across, no other cancellation will be re- quired.
All cancellation must be distinct and legi- ble, and except in the case of proprietary stamps from private dies, no method of cancellation which differs from that above described can be recognized as legal and sufficient.
PENALTIES.
A penalty of fifty dollars is imposed upon every person who makes, signs, or issues, or who causes to be made, signed, or issu- ed, any paper of any kind or description whatever, or who accepts, negotiates, or pays, or causes to be accepted, negotiated, or paid, any bill of exchange, draft, or or- der, or promissory note, for the payment of money, without the same being duly stamp- ed, or having thereupon an adhesive stamp for denoting the tax chargeable thereon, cancelled in the manner required by law, with intent to evade the provisions of the revenue act.
A penalty of two hundred dollars is im- posed upon every person who pays, nego- tiates, or offers in payment, or receives or takes in payment, any bill of exchange or order for the payment of any sum of money drawn or purporting to be drawn in a for- eign country, but payable in the United States, until the proper stamp has been af- fixed thereto.
A penalty of fifty dollars is imposed upon every person who fraudulently makes use of an adhesive stamp to denote the duty re- quired by the revenue act, without effectu- ally cancelling and obliterating the same in the manner required by law.
-
-
38 ·
STAMP DUTIES.
Attention is particularly called to the fol- ( far as said tax is concerned, October 1, 1862. lowing extract from section 155, of the act of June 30, 1864, as amended by the act of July 13, 1866 :
"If any person shall wilfully remove or cause to be removed, alter or cause to be al- tered, the cancelling or defacing marks on any adhesive stamp, with intent to use the same, or to cause the use of the same, after it shall have been used once, or shall know- ingly or wilfully sell or buy such washed or restored stamps, or offer the same for gale, or give or expose the same to any per- son for use, or knowingly use the same or prepare the same with intent for the fur- ther use thereof, or if any person shall knowingly and without lawful excuse (the proof whereof shall lie on the person accus- ed) have in his possession any washed, re- stored, or altered stamps, which have been removed from any vellum, parchment, pa- per, instrument or writing ; then, and in every such case, every person so offending, and every person knowingly and wilfully aiding, abetting, or assisting in committing any such offence as aforesaid, shall, on con- viction thereof, * * * be punished by a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars, or by imprisonment and confinement to hard labor not exceeding five years, or both, at the discretion of the court."
It is not lawful to record any instrument, document, or paper required by law to be stamped, or any copy thereof, unless a stamp or stamps of the proper amount have been affixed and cancelled in the manner *required by law ; and such instrument or copy and the record thereof are utterly null and void, and cannot be used or admitted as evidence in any court until the defect has been cured as provided in section 158.
All willful violations of the law should be reported to the United States District Attor- ney within and for the district where they are committed.
GENERAL REMARKS.
Revenue stamps may be used indiscrimi- nately upon any of the matters or things enumerated in Schedule B, except proprie- tary and playing card stamps, for which a special use has been provided.
Postage stamps cannot be used in pay- ment of the duty chargeable on instru- ments.
The law does not designate which of the parties to an instrument shall furnish the necessary stamp, nor does the Commission- er of Internal Revenue assume to determine that it shall be supplied by one party rather than by another ; but if an instrument sub- ject to stamp duty is issued without having the necessary stamps affixed thereto, it can- not be recorded, or admitted, or used in ev- idence, in any court, until a legal stamp or stamps, denoting the amount of tax, shall have been affixed as prescribed by law, and the person who thus issues it is liable to a penalty, if he omits the stamps with an in- tent to evade the provisions of the internal revenue act.
The first act imposing a stamp tax upon certain specified instruments took effect, so
The impression which seems to prevail to some extent, that no stamps are required upon any instruments issued in the States lately in insurrection, prior to the surren- der, or prior to the establishment of collec- tion districts there, is erroneous. .
Instruments issued in those States since October 1, 1862, are subject to the same tax- es as similar ones issued at the same time in the other States.
No stampis necessary upon an instrument executed prior to October 1, 1862, to make it admissible in evidence, or to entitle it to record.
Certificates of loan in which there shall appear any written or printed evidence of an amount of money to be paid on demand, or at a time designated, are subject to stamp duty as "promissory notes."
When two or more persons join in the ex- ecution of an instrument, the stamp to which the instrument is liable under the law, may be affixed and cancelled by either of them ; and "when more than one signature is affix- ed to the same paper, one or more stamps may be affixed thereto, representing the whole amount of the stamp required for such signatures."
No stamp is required on any warrant of attorney accompanying a bond or note, when such bond or note has affixed thereto the stamp or stamps denoting the duty re- quired ; and, whenever any bond or note is secured by mortgage, but one stamp duty is required on such papers-such stamp duty being the highest rate required for such in- struments, or either of them. In such case a note or memorandum of the value or de- nomination of the stamp affixed should be made upon the margin or in the acknowl- edgement of the instrument which is not stamped.
. Particular attention is called to the change in section 154, by striking out the words "or used ;" the exemption thereun- der is thus restricted to documents, &c., issued by the officers therein named. Also to the changes in sections 152 and 158, by inserting the words "and cancelled in the manner required by law."
The acceptor or acceptors of any bill of exchange, or order for the payment of any sum of money, drawn or purporting to be drawn in any foreign country, but payable in the United States, must, before paying or accepting the same, place thereupon a stamp indicating the duty.
It is only upon conveyances of realty sold that conveyance stamps are necessary. A deed of real estate made without valuable consideration need not be stamped as a conveyance ; but if it contains covenants, such, for instance, as a covenant to warrant and defend the title, it should be stamped as an agreement or contract.
When a deed purporting to be a convey- ance of realty sold, and stamped according- ly, is inoperative, a deed of confirmation, made simply to cure the defect, requires no stamp. In such case, the second deed should contain 'a recital of the facts, and should show the reasons for its execution.
Partition deeds between tenants in com -
39
STAMP DUTIES.
mon, need not be stamped as conveyances, inasmuch as there is no sale of realty, but merely a marking out, or a defining, of the boundaries of the part belonging to each; but where money or other valuable consid- eration is paid by one co-tenant to another for equality of partition, there is a sale to the extent of such consideration, and the conveyance, by the party receiving it, should be stamped accordingly.
A conveyance of lands sold for unpaid taxes, issued since August 1, 1866, by the officers of any county, town, or other mu- nicipal corporation in the discharge of their strictly official duties, is exempt from stamp tax.
A conveyance of realty sold, subject to a mortgage, should be stamped according to the consideration, or the value of the prop- erty unencumbered. The consideration in such case is to be found by adding the. amount paid for the equity of redemption to the mortgage debt. The fact that one part of the consideration is paid to the mortgagor and the other part to the mort- gagee does not change the liability of the conveyance.
The stamp tax upon a mortgage is based upon the amount it is given to secure. The fact that the value of the property mortgag- ed is less than that amount, and that conse- quently the security is only partial, does not change the liability of the instrument. When, therefore, a second mortgage is giv- en to secure the payment of a sum of mon- ey partially secured by a prior mortgage up- on other property, or when two mortgages upon separate property are given at the same time to secure the payment of the same sum, each should be stamped as though it were the only one.
A mortgage given to secure a surety from loss, or given for any purpose whatever, other than as security for the payment of a definite and certain sum of money, is taxa- able only as an agreement or contract.
The stamp duty upon a lease, agreement, memorandum, or contract for the hire, use, or rent of any land, tenement, or portion thereof, is based upon the annual rent or rental value of the property leased, and the duty is the same whether the lease be for one year, for a term of years, or for the fractional part of a year only.
An assignment of a lease within the mean- ing and intent of Schedule B, is an assign- ment of the leasehold, or of some portion. thereof, by the lessee, or by some person claiming by, from, or under him ; such an assignment as subrogates the assignee to the rights, or some portion of the rights, of the lessee, or of the person standing in his place. A transfer by the lessor of his part of a lease, neither giving nor purporting to give a claim to the leasehold, or to any part thereof, but simply a right to the rents, &c., is subject to stamp tax as a contract or agreement only.
The stamp tax upon a fire insurance policy is based upon the premium.
Deposit notes taken by a mutual fire in- surance company, not as payment of pre- mium nor as evidence of indebtedness therefor, but to be used simply as a basis
upon which to make rateable assessments to meet the losses incurred by the company, should not be reckoned as premium in de- termining the amount of stamp taxes upon the policies.
When a policy of insurance properly stamped has been issued and lost, no stamp is necessary upon another issued by the same company to the same party, covering the same property, time, &c., and designed simply to supply the loss. The second policy should recite the loss of the first.
An instrument which operates as the re- newal of a policy of insurance, is subject to the same stamp tax as the policy.
When a policy of insurance is issued for a certain time, whether it be for one year only or for a term of years, a receipt for premium, or any other instrument which has the legal effect to continue the contract and extend its operation beyond that time, re- quires the same amount ofrevenue stamps as the policy itself; but such a receipt 'as is usually given for the payment of the monthly, quarterly, or annual premium, is not a renewal within the meaning of the statute. The payment simply prevents the policy from expiring, by reason of non-per- formance of its conditions ; a receipt given for such a payment requires no stamp. When, however, the time of payment has passed, and a tender of the premium is not sufficient to bind the company, but a new policy or a new contract in some form, with the mutuality essential to every contract, becomes necessary between the insurer and the insured, the same amount of stamps should be used as that required upon the original policy.
A permit issued by a life insurance com- pany changing the terms of a policy as to travel, residence, occupation, &c., should be stamped as a contract or agreement.
A bill single or a bill obligatory, i. e., an instrument in the form of a promissory note, under seal, is subject to stamp duty as written or printed evidence of an amount of money to be paid on demand or at a time designated, at the rate of five cents for each one hundred dollars or fractional part thereof.
A waiver of protest, or of demand and notice, written upon negotiable paper and signed by the indorser, is an agreement, and requires a five-cent stamp.
A stamp duty of twenty-five cents is im- posed upon the "protest of every note, bill of exchange, check or draft," and upon every marine protest. If several notes, bills of exchange, drafts, &c., are protest- ed at the same time and all attached to one and the same certificate, stamps should be affixed to the amount of twenty-five cents for each note, bill, draft, &c., thus protest- ed.
When, as is generally the case, the cap- tion to a deposition contains other certifi- cates in addition to the jurat to the affida- vit of the deponent, such as a certificate that the parties were or were not notified, that they did or did not appear, that they did or did not object, &c., it is subject to a stamp duty of five cents.
40
STAMP DUTIES.
When an attested copy ofa writ or other process is used by a sheriff or other person in making personal service, or in attaching property, a five-cent stamp should be affix- ed to the certificate of attestation.
A marriage certificate issued by the off- ciating clergyman or magistrate, to be re- turned to any officer of a State, county, city, town, or other municipal corporation, to constitute part of a public record, requires no stamp; but if it is to be retained by the parties, a five-cent stamp should be af- fixed.
The stamp tax upon a bill of sale, by which any ship or vessel, or any part there- of, is conveyed to or vested in any other person or persons, is at the same rate as that imposed upon conveyances of realty sold ; a bill of sale of any other personal property should be stamped as a contract or agreement.
An assignment of real or personal prop- erty, or of both, for the benefit of creditors, should be stamped as an agreement or con- tract.
Written or printed assignments of agree- ments, bonds, notes not negotiable, and of all other instruments the assignments of which are not particularly specified in the foregoing schedule, should be stamped as agreements.
No stamp is necessary upon the registry of a judgment, even though the registry is such in its legal effect as to create a lien which operates as a mortgage upon the property of the judgment debtor.
When a "power of attorney or proxy for voting at any election for officers of any incorporated company or society, except religious, charitable, or literary societies, or public cemeteries," is signed by sever- al stockholders, owning separate and dis- tinct shares, it is, in its legal effect, the separate instrument of each, and requires stamps to the amount of ten cents for each and every signature; one or more stamps may be used representing the whole amount required.
A notice from landlord to tenant to quit possession of premises requires no stamp.
A stamp tax is imposed upon every "manifest for custom-house entry or clear- ance of the cargo of any ship, vessel, or steamer for a foreign port." "The amount of this tax in each case depends upon the registered tonnage of the vessel.
If a vessel clears in ballast and has no cargo whatever, no stamp is necessary; but if she has any, however small the amount -a stamp should be used.
A bond to convey real estate requires stamps to the amount of twenty-five cents.
The stamp duty upon the probate of a will, or upon letters of administration, is based upon the sworn or declared value of all the estate and effects, real, personal, and mixed, undiminished by the debts of the estate for or in respect of which such probate or letters are applied for.
When the property belonging to the es -. tate of a person deceased, lies under dif- ferent jurisdictions and it becomes neces- sary to take out letters in two or more places, the letters should be stamped ac- cording to the value of all the property, real. personal, and mixed, for or in respect of which the particular letters in each case are issued.
Letters de bonis non should be stamped according to the amount of property re- maining to be administered upon thereun- der, regardless of the stamps upon the orig- inal letters.
A mere copy of an instrument is not sub- ject to stamp duty unless it is a certified one, in which case a five-cent stamp should be affixed to the certificate of the person attesting it; but when the instrument is executed and issued in duplicate, triplicate, &c., as in the case of a lease of two or more parts, each part has the same legal effect as the other, and each should be stamped as an original.
41
POSTAL RATES AND REGULATIONS.
. POSTAL RATES AND REGULATIONS.
LETTERS .- The law requires postage on| all letters (including those to foreign coun- tries when prepaid), excepting those writ- ten to the President or Vice President, or members of Congress, or (on official busi- ness) to the chiefs of the executive depart- ments of the Government, and the heads of bureaux and chief clerks, and others invest- ed with the franking privilege, to be pre- paid by stamps or stamped envelopes, pre- payment in money being prohibited.
All drop-letters must be prepaid. The rate of postage on drop-letters, at offices where free delivery by carrier is establish- ed, is two cents per half ounce or fraction of a half ounce ; at offices where such free delivery is NOT established the rate is one cent.
The single rate of postage on all domes- tic mail letters throughout the United States, is three cents per half ounce, with an additional rate of three cents for each additional half ounce or fraction of a half ounce. The ten cent (Pacific) rate is abol- ished.
NEWSPAPERS, ETC .- Letter postage is to be charged on all handbills, circulars, or other printed matter which shall contain any manuscript writing whatever.
Daguerreotypes, when sent in the mail, are to be charged with letter postage by weight. .
Photographs on cards, paper, and other flexible material, (not in cases), can be sent at the same rate as miscellaneous printed matter, viz., two cents for each four ounces or fraction thereof.
Photograph Albums are chargeable with book postage-four cents for each four ounces or fraction thereof.
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