Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 13.djvu/318



upon the happening of which the real estate may pass to some other person; but in the event of the same so passing, the successor shall be entitled to a return of so much of the duty paid by him as will reduce the same to the amount which would have been payable by him if such duty had been assessed in respect of the actual duration or extent of his interest: Provided, That if the estate of the successor shall be defeated, in whole or in part, by its application to the payment of the debts of the predecessor, the executor, administrator, or trustee so applying it shall pay out of the proceeds of the sale thereof the amount so refunded: And provided, also, That if the estate of the successor shall be defeated, in whole or in part, by any person claiming title from and under the predecessor, such person shall be chargeable with the amount of duty so refunded, and such amounts shall be collected in the manner herein provided for the collection of duties.

. And be it further enacted, That where a successor shall not have obtained the whole of his succession at the time of the duty becoming payable, he shall be chargeable only with duty on the value thereof from time to time obtained by him; and whenever any duty shall have been paid on account of any succession, and it shall afterwards be proved, to the satisfaction of the Secretary of the Treasury, that such duty, not being due from the person paying the same, was paid by mistake, or was paid in respect of real estate, which the successor shall have been unable to recover, or of which he shall have been evicted or deprived by any superior title, or that for any other reason it ought to be refunded, the Secretary of the Treasury shall thereupon refund the same to the person entitled thereto, by draft drawn on any collector of internal revenue.

. And be it further enacted, That where, in the opinion of the commissioner of internal revenue, any succession shall be of such a nature, or so disposed or circumstanced, that the value thereof shall not be fairly ascertainable under any of the preceding directions, or where, from the complication of circumstances affecting the value of a succession, or affecting the assessment or recovery of the duty thereon, the commissioner shall think it expedient to exercise this present authority, it shall be lawful for him to compound the duty payable on the succession upon such terms as he shall think fit, and to give discharges to the successor, upon payment of duty according to such composition; and it shall be lawful for him, in any special cases in which he may think it expedient so to do, to enlarge the time for payment of any duty.

. And be it further enacted, That it shall be lawful for the commissioner, in his discretion, upon application made by any person who shall be entitled to a succession in expectancy, to commute the duty presumptively payable in respect of such succession for a certain sum to be presently paid, and for assessing the amount which shall be so payable he shall cause a present value to be set upon such presumptive duty, regard being had to the contingencies affecting the liability to such duty, and the interest of money involved in such calculation being reckoned at the rate for the time being allowed by the commissioner in respect of duties paid in advance, and upon the receipt of such certain sum he shall give discharges to the successor accordingly.

. And be it further enacted, That the duty imposed by this act shall be a first charge on the interest of the successor, and of all persons claiming in his right, in all the real estate in respect whereof such duty shall be assessed for five years, unless sooner paid.

. And be it further enacted, That the commissioner shall, at the request of any successor, or any person claiming in his right, cause to be made so many separate assessments of the duty payable in respect of the interest of the successor in any separate tracts of real estate, or in defined portions of the same tract, as shall be reasonably required; and in such cases the respective tracts shall be chargeable only with the amount of duty separately assessed in respect thereof.