Magnolia Petroleum Co. v. Oklahoma Tax Commission

1958 OK 124, 326 P.2d 821, 9 Oil & Gas Rep. 149, 1958 Okla. LEXIS 427
CourtSupreme Court of Oklahoma
DecidedMay 13, 1958
Docket37644
StatusPublished
Cited by12 cases

This text of 1958 OK 124 (Magnolia Petroleum Co. v. Oklahoma Tax Commission) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Oklahoma primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Magnolia Petroleum Co. v. Oklahoma Tax Commission, 1958 OK 124, 326 P.2d 821, 9 Oil & Gas Rep. 149, 1958 Okla. LEXIS 427 (Okla. 1958).

Opinion

JOHNSON, Justice.

The case was tried on a stipulation of facts which shows that on February 16, 1948, Magnolia Petroleum Company (hereafter referred to as Magnolia) under a written contract sold all of its joint interest in certain Osage Indian productive oil and gas leases and properties to Kewanee Oil Company (hereafter referred to as Kewanee) for a total lump sum consideration of Two Million Dollars. Kew-anee’s “prime purpose in acquiring the leasehold estate from Magnolia was to produce and further develop oil and gas reserves and not f;o salvage property located thereon.” The last mentioned company did not own an interest in said properties prior to the sale, and following the sale Magnolia owned no interest in the properties. The sale included Magnolia’s interest in properties located upon the leases, such as casing, tubing, pump equipment and other property generally used in and around producing oil properties, which property was listed in a double-spaced typewritten inventory that was seventeen letter-sized pages in length. The sale did not include any supplies and warehouses or supplies not in use on the leases. The Tax Commission attributed $110,951 of the gross proceeds of the sale to Magnolia’s interest in property of the class above referred to, and sales taxes in the aggregate amount of $4,371.46 were assessed on said proceeds. Magnolia agrees that it owes sales tax in said amount if its sale to Kewanee is in fact subject to sales tax.

It was provided in the oil and gas leases covering the property sold that the lessees or their successors in interest were privileged to remove property of the class that the Commission treated as tangible personal property for sales tax purposes. In an amendment to the stipulation of facts it was stipulated that the value of the tang *823 ible personal property sold which was' capable of being removed from the leases was, for the purpose of calculating sales taxes, $110,951.

It was provided in the contract of sale that Magnolia should receive as additional consideration an oil payment out of oil that might be produced from unexplored deeper horizons.

It was stipulated that the property sold was subject to gross production taxes; that sales taxes had been paid on the tangible personal property when originally, acquired, and that the amount of United States Revenue stamps affixed to Magnolia’s assignments to Kewanee “was based on the full value of consideration paid for the leases without any deduction for the value of personal property.”

It was stipulated that since the effective date of 68 O.S.1951 § 1251d(s), the Tax Commission had construed said sub-section “as not applying where a vendor does not own a joint interest in the property sold following the sale.”

It was agreed that Magnolia timely and fully complied with the provisions of 68 O.S.1951 § 1470, relative to paying under protest the taxes assessed and filing suit to recover said taxes.

The trial court entered judgment for the Tax Commission and Magnolia perfected this appeal.

Magnolia contends that “the trial court erred in holding that the Oklahoma personal property sales tax applied to the sale, which sale is inherently a real property transaction,” and that in any event the sale was exempt from tax under the provisions of 68 O.S.1951 § 1251d(s). The Commission opposes both contentions.

In Uncle Sam Oil Company v. Union Petroleum Co., 90 Okl. 135, 216 P. 443, it was pointed out that the authorities appear to be in practical harmony on the propostion that in determining whether improvements placed upon real estate are to be treated as personalty or real estate, the intent of the contracting parties will govern. That where it is agreed that improvements to real estate may be removed by the lessee, this evidences an intent on the part of the parties to treat the improvements as personalty. The first paragraph of the syllabus of the cited case reads as follows:

“Where a contract for lease of real estate is entered into between a land owner; leásor, and a lessee, and'provision is made in it for additions or improvement to be placed upon the land; and, where it appears that the parties had and expressed an intention as to the removability of such improvements or additions, then the intention of the parties constitutes the test as to whether such improvements or additions are removable.”

We are of the opinion that tangible personal property placed upon real estate under an oil and gas lease wherein it is provided that the lessee or his assigns may remove said property, and which property is capable of being removed, remains tangible personal property. The fact that such property remains tangible personal property does not, however, serve as a complete answer to the question of whether or not a sales tax is levied on gross proceeds arising from a sale of said property, which question can only be answered by considering the provisions of the Sales -Tax Act.

The levying section of the Sales Tax Act, 68 O.S.1951 § 1251c, reads in part as follows:

“There is hereby levied an excise tax of two percent (2%) upon the gross proceeds or gross receipts derived from all sales subsequent to May 31, 1941, to any person of the following:
“(a) Tangible personal property.”

The phrase “tangible personal property” as used in the above cited statute is all inclusive, and we find nothing in the Sales Tax Act except the specific exemption provided for in 68 O.S.1951 § 1251d, that tends to limit said phrase.

In 68 O.S.1951 § 1251a(c), the word “sale” is defined as follows:

*824 “(c) Sale: The term 'sale’ is hereby declared to mean the transfer of either the title or possession of tangible personal property for a valuable consideration, regardless of the manner, method, instrumentality or device by which such transfer is acomplished. The term ‘sale’ is also declared to include the exchange, barter, lease or rental of tangible personal property where such exchange, barter, lease or rental results in either the transfer of the title or the possession. The term ‘sale’ is hereby declared to include the disposition for consumption or use in any business or by any person of all goods, wares, merchandise or property which has been purchased for resale, manufacturing or further processing. The term ‘sale’ shall include also the sale, giving away, exchanging or other disposition of admission, dues or fees to clubs, to places of amusement, recreational, or athletic events, or for the privilege of having access to or the use of amusement, recreational, athletic or entertainment facilities. The term ‘sale’ shall not include the furnishing or rendering of service or services, except as is herein otherwise provided.”

It was pointed out in General Tire Co. v. Oklahoma Tax Commission, 188 Okl. 607, 112 P.2d 407, that the statutory definition of the word sale is very “comprehensive.”

In Ford v. Oklahoma Tax Commission, Okl., 285 P.2d 436, 437, this was said about the statutory definition of the word sale.

“We may not speculate as to a probable intent of the Legislature apart from the words of the statute.

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1958 OK 124, 326 P.2d 821, 9 Oil & Gas Rep. 149, 1958 Okla. LEXIS 427, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/magnolia-petroleum-co-v-oklahoma-tax-commission-okla-1958.