Chap. 148.—An ACT to amend and re-enact section 44 of an att approved
April 16, 1903, entitled an act to raise revenue for the support of the
government and public free schools and to pay the interest on the public
debt, and to provide a special tax for pensions, as authorized by section
189 of the Constitution.

Approved March 14, 1910.

1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia, That section
forty-four of an act approved April sixteenth, nineteen hundred and
three, entitled an act to raise revenue for the support of the government
and public free schools and to pay the interest on the public debt, and
to provide a special tax for pensions, as authorized by section one hun-
dred and eighty-nine of the Constitution, be amended and re-enacted so
as to read as follows: |

§44. (a) Tax on collateral inheritance—Where any estate in this
Commonwealth of any decedent shall pass under his will, or the laws
regulating descents and distributions, to any other person cr for any
other use than to or for the use of the grandfather and grandmother,
father, mother, husband, wife, brother, sister or lineal descendant of
such decedent, the estate so passing shall be subject to a tax at the rate
of five per centum on every hundred dollars’ value thereof: provided,
that such tax shall not be imposed upon any property bequeathed or de-
vised where such bequest or devise is exclusively for State, county, munici-
pal, benevolent, charitable, education, or religious purposes.

(b) The personal representative of such decedent shall pay the whole
of such tax, except on real estate, to sell which or to receive the rents and
profits of which he is not authorized by the will, and the sureties on his
official bond shall be bound for the payment thereof.

(c) Where there is no personal estate, or the personal representative
is not authorized to sell or receive the rents and profits of the real estate,
the tax shall be paid by the devisee or devisees, or those to whom the
estate may descend by operation of law, and the tax shall be a lien on
such real estate, and the treasurer may rent or levy upon and sell so.
much of said real estate as shall be sufficient to pay the tax and expenses
of sale, et cetera.

(d) Such payment shall be made to the treasurer of the county or
city in which certificate was granted such personal representative for
obtaining probate of the will or letters of administration.

(e) The corporation or hustings court of a city, the circuit court of
a county or city, the chancery court of the city of Richmond, the law
and chancery court of the city of Norfolk, or the clerk of the circuit
court of a county or city before whom a will is probated or administra-
tion is granted, shall determine the collateral inheritance tax, if any, to
be paid on the estate passing by will or administration, and shall enter
of record in the order book of the court or clerk, as the case may he,
by whom such tax shall be paid and the amount to be paid. The clerk
of the court shall certify a copy of such order to the treasurer of his
county or city and to the auditor of public accounts, for which services
the clerk shall be paid a fee of two dollars and fifty cents by the per-
sonal representative of the estate. The auditor of public accounts shall
charge the treasurer with the tax, and the treasurer shall pay the same
into the treasury as soon as collected, less a commission of five per
centum. Every personal representative or other party or officer failing
in any respect to comply with this section shall forfeit one hundred
dollars.

(f) Any personal representative, devisee or person to whom the
estate may descend by operation of law, failing to pay such tax before the
estate on which it is chargeable is paid or delivered over (whether he be
applied to for the tax or not) shall be liable to damages thereon at the
rate of ten per centum per annum for the time such estate is paid or de-
livered over until the tax is paid, which damages may be recovered with
the tax, on motion of the Commonwealth, and in the name of the Com-
monwealth against him, in the circuit court for the county or in the cor-
poration court of the city wherein such tax was assessed, except that in
the city of Richmond the motion shall be in the chancery court. Such
estate shall be deemed paid or delivered at the end of a year from the
decedent’s death, unless and except so far as it may appear that the
legatee or distributee has neither received such estate nor is entitled ther
to demand it.

2. The collection of current revenues being affected, an emergency is
declared to exist, and this act shall be in force from its passage.