CONGRESS. (TAX REDUCTION^ 



175 



manufacturers of tobacco and snuff upon the 

 stamps provided for the payment of internal- 

 revenue taxes upon manufactured tobacco and 

 snuff: Provided, That in addition to the packages 

 of smoking tobacco now authorized by law there 

 shall be packages of 2 ounces, 3 ounces, and 

 4 ounces: And provided further, That on all orig- 

 inal and unbroken factory packages of smoking 

 and manufactured tobacco and snuff, and cigars, 

 held by manufacturers or dealers at the time such 

 discount or reduction of tax shall go into effect, 

 upon which the tax has been paid, there shall be 

 allowed a drawback or rebate of the full amount 

 of such discount or reduction of tax, but the same 

 shall not apply in any case where the claim has 

 not been presented within sixty days following 

 the date of the reduction; and no claim shall be 

 allowed or drawback paid for a less amount than 

 $10. It shall be the duty of the Commissioner of 

 Internal Revenue, with the approval of the Sec- 

 retary of the Treasury, to adopt such rules and 

 regulations and to prescribe and furnish such 

 blanks and forms as may be necessary to carry 

 this section into effect. 



" SEC. 5. That section 6 of said act is hereby 

 amended by striking out the words * medicines, 

 preparations, matters, and things,' in the last 

 paragraph of said section, and inserting in lieu 

 thereof the word ' wines/ so that the section as 

 amended shall read as follows: 



"'ADHESIVE STAMPS. 



"'SEC. 6. That on and after the 1st day of 

 July, 1898, there shall be levied, collected, and 

 paid, for and in respect of the several bonds, de- 

 bentures, or certificates of stock and of indebted- 

 ness, and other documents, instruments, matters, 

 and things mentioned and described in Schedule 

 A of this act, or for or in respect of the vellum, 

 parchment, or paper upon which such instru- 

 ments, 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 taxes or sums of 

 money set down in figures against the same, re- 

 spectively, or otherwise specified or set forth in 

 the said schedule. 



" ' And there shall also be levied, collected, and 

 paid, for and in "respect to the wines mentioned 

 and described in Schedule B of this act, manufac- 

 tured, sold, or removed for sale, the several taxes 

 or sums of money set down in words or figures 

 against the same, respectively, or othenvise speci- 

 fied or set forth in Schedule B of this act.' 



" SEC. 6. That section 9 of said act is hereby 

 amended by striking out the proviso, so that the 

 section as amended shall read as follows: 



" ' SEC. 9. That in any and all cases where an 

 adhesive stamp shall be used for denoting any 

 tax imposed by this act, except as hereinafter pro- 

 vided, the person using or affixing the same shall 

 write or stamp thereupon the initials of his name 

 and the date upon which the same shall be at- 

 tached or used, so that the same may not again be 

 used. And if any person shall fraudulently make 

 use of an adhesive stamp to denote any tax im- 

 posed by this act without so effectually canceling 

 and obliterating such stamp, except as before 

 mentioned, he, she, or they shall be deemed guilty 

 of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof 

 shall pay a fine of not less than $50 nor more 

 than $500, or be imprisoned not more than six 

 months, or both, at the discretion of the court.' 



" SEC. 7. That section 13 of said act is hereby 

 amended by striking out the words ' Schedule 

 A of,' and also by inserting in the first proviso, 



after the words 'bonds, debentures, <,r certificates 

 of stock or of indebtedness,' the words ' or any 

 instrument, document, or paper of anv kind or 

 description whatsoever mentioned in Schedule A 

 of this act'; so that said section a-, amended 

 shall read as follows: 



"'SEC. 13. That any person or persons wlio 

 shall register, issue, sell, or transfer, or who *\r.\\\ 

 cause to be issued, registered, sold, or transienvd, 

 any instrument, document, or paper of any kind 

 or description whatsoever mentioned in tills act, 

 without the same being duly stamped, or having 

 thereupon an adhesive stamp for denoting the tax 

 chargeable thereon, and canceled in the manner 

 required by law, with intent to evade the pro- 

 visions of this act, shall be deemed guilty of a 

 misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof shall 

 be punished by a fine not exceeding $50, or by 

 imprisonment not exceeding six months, or both, 

 in the discretion of the court; and such instru- 

 ment, document, or paper, not being stamped ac- 

 cording to law, shall be deemed invalid and of 

 no effect: Provided, That hereafter, in all cases 

 where the party has not affixed to any instrument 

 the stamp required by law thereon at the time of 

 issuing, selling, or transferring the said bonds, 

 debentures, or certificates of stock or of indebted- 

 ness, or any instrument, document, or paper of 

 any kind or description whatsoever mentioned in 

 Schedule A of this act, and he or they, or any 

 party having an interest therein, shall be subse- 

 quently desirous of affixing such stamp to said 

 instrument, or, if said instrument be lost, to a 

 copy thereof, he or they shall appear before the 

 collector of internal revenue of the proper dis- 

 trict, who shall, upon the payment of the price 

 of the proper stamp required by law, and of a 

 penalty of ten dollars, and, where the whole 

 amount of the tax denoted by the stamp required 

 shall exceed the sum of $50, on payment also of 

 interest, at the rate of 6 per centum on said tax 

 from the day on which said stamp ought to have 

 been affixed, affix the proper stamp to such bond, 

 debenture, certificate of stock or of indebtedness 

 or copy, or instrument, document or paper of any 

 kind or description whatsoever mentioned in 

 Schedule A of this act, and note upon the margin 

 thereof the date of his so doing and the fact that 

 such penalty has been paid; and the same shall 

 thereupon be deemed and held to be as valid to 

 all intents and purposes as if stamped when made 

 or issued: And provided further, That where it 

 shall appear to said collector, upon oath or other- 

 wise, to his satisfaction, that any such instru- 

 ment has not been duly stamped, at the time of 

 making or issuing the same, by reason of acci- 

 dent, mistake, inadvertence, or urgent necessity, 

 and without any wilful design to defraud the 

 United States of the stamp, or to evade or delay 

 the payment thereof, then and in such case, if 

 such instrument, or, if the original be lost, a copy 

 thereof, duly certified by the officer having charge 

 of any records in which such original is required 

 to be recorded, or otherwise duly proved to the 

 satisfaction of the collector, shall, within twelve 

 calendar months after the making or issuing 

 thereof, be brought to the said collector of inter- 

 nal revenue to be stamped, and the stamp tax 

 chargeable thereon shall be paid, it shall be lawful 

 for the said collector to remit the penalty afore- 

 said and to cause such instrument to be duly 

 stamped. And when the original instrument, or 

 a certified or duly proved copy thereof, as afore- 

 said, duly stamped so as to entitle the same to 

 be recorded, shall be presented to the clerk, regis- 

 ter, recorder, or other officer having charge of 

 the original record, it shall be lawful for such 



