Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 58 Part 1.djvu/76

 PUBLIC LAWS-CH. 63-FEB. 25, 1944 56 Stat. 905 26 U. 8. 0, Supp. , § 735 (a) O)-(a) (6). SEC. 735. NONTAXABLE INCOME FROM CERTAIN MINING AND TIM- BER OPERATIONS, AND FROM NATURAL GAS PROPER- TIES." (b) DEFINrONS.- (1) "LESSoR", "NATURAL GAS COMPANY", ETC.- Section 735 (a) (1), (2), (3), (4), and (5) (defining terms used) are respectively amended to read as follows: "(1) PRODUCER; LESSOR; NATURAL GAS COMPANY.- T he term 'producer' means a corporation which extracts minerals from a mineral property, or which cuts logs from a timber block, in which an economic interest is owned by such corporation. The term 'lessor' means a corporation which owns an economic interest in a mineral property or a timber block, and is paid in accordance with the number of mineral units or timber units recovered there- from by the person to which such property or block is leased. The term 'natural gas company' means a corporation engaged in the withdrawal, or transportation by pipe line, of natural gas. "(2) MINERAL UNIT, NATURAL GAS UNTr, AND TIMBER UNIT.- The term 'mineral unit' means a unit of metal, coal, or nonmetallic substance in the minerals recovered from the operation of a min- eral property. The term 'natural gas unit' means a unit of natural gas sold by a natural gas company. The term 'timber unit' means a unit of timber recovered from the operation of a timber block. "(3) ExcEss ouTPTr.- - The term 'excess output' means the excess of the mineral units, natural gas units, or timber units for the taxable year over the normal output. "(4) NoRMAL TrrPUT. - The term 'normal output' means the average annual mineral units, or the average annual timber units, as the case may be, recovered in the taxable years beginning after December 31, 1935, and not beginning after December 31, 1939 (hereinafter called 'base period'), of the person owning the mineral property or the timber block (whether or not the tax- payer). The term 'normal output', in the case of a natural gas company, means the average annual natural gas units sold in the taxable years beginning after December 31, 1935, and not begin- ning after December 31, 1939 (hereinafter called 'base period'), of the person owning the natural gas property (whether or not the taxpayer). The average annual mineral units, natural gas units, or timber units shall be computed by dividing the aggregate of such mineral units, natural gas units, or timber units for the base period by the number of months for which the mineral property, natural gas property, or timber block was in operation during the base period and by multiplying the amount so ascertained by twelve. In any case in which the taxpayer establishes, under regulations prescribed by the Com- missioner with the approval of the Secretary, that the operation of any mineral property, natural gas property, or timber block is normally prevented for a specified period each year by physical events outside the control of the taxpayer, the number of months during which such mineral property, natural gas property, or timber block is regularly in operation during a taxable year shall be used in computing the average annual mineral units, natural gas uhits, or timber units, instead of twelve. Any mineral property, natural gas property, or timber block, which was in operation for less than six months during the base period, shall, for the purposes of this section, be deemed not to have been in operation during the base period. [58 STAT.

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