Texas Attorney General Opinion: MS-204 Page: 2 of 3
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Hon. Robert S. Calvert, page 2 (Opinion No. MS-204)
Section 7, Article 11114d, Vernon's Penal Code, commonly
designated the Chain Store Statute, contains a definition of a store or
mercantile establishment subject to the tax. This definition is as
follows:
"Sec. 7. The term 'store' as used in this Act shall
be construed to mean and include any store or stores
or any mercantile establishment or establishments
not specifically exempted within this Act which are
owned, operated, maintained, or controlled by the
same person, agent, receiver, trustee, firm, corpora-
tion, copartnership or association, either domestic
or foreign, in which goods, wares or merchandise.or>
any kind are sold, at retail or wholesale."
It is significant to note that this definition presupposes that
the term store or mercantile establishment is commonly understood.
The definition of a store is merely amplified by adding "in which goods,
wares or merchandise of any kind are sold at retail or wholesale.
We do not think that it was the intention of the Legislature to
classify as stores, business or service establishments'such as mortuaries,
funeral homes and undertaking establishments for .they are not commonly
or generally understood by the public to be stores, although some articles
of merchandise commonly sold by stores may be used or sold incidental
to the service rendered by a funeral home, undertaker or mortuary.
Another, and perhaps more significant, reason why the Legis-
lature did not intend to classify such establishments as stores and subject
them to the chain store tax is that they are specially dealt: with and re-
gulated by other statutory provisions. (Arts. 4576-4582a, V.C.S.) By
these statutory provisions the Legislature has set up a complete and com-
prehensive plan of licensing and regulating the science of embalming and
funeral directing. By these regulatory provisions the Legislature desig-
nated embalming and funeral directing a science and has provided for the
examination and licensing of embalmers and funeral directors. Section 7
defines a funeral director and is in this language:
"Sec. 7. A 'Funeral Director' is a person engaged in
or conducting or holding himself out as engaged in or
conducting the business of, (a) preparing, other than
by embalming, for the burial or disposal and directing
and supervising the burial or disposal of dead human
bodies, (b) providing for or maintaining a place for
the preparation, for the disposition or for the care of10 .
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Texas. Attorney-General's Office. Texas Attorney General Opinion: MS-204, text, April 25, 1955; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth276713/m1/2/: accessed June 28, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.