51

should pay a higher license fee, graded according to some accepted
standard.

IN RE COLLATERAL INHERITANCE TAX

Attention of the Commission has been directed to the fact that
the State of Maryland is losing considerable amount of revenue
from the tax on collateral descent, as at present administered by
the registers of wills throughout the State.

Article 81, Section 120, provides for a tax of 5% on all estates,
real, personal and mixed, passing to any person or corporation
other than to father, mother, husband, wife, children and lineal
descendants, and is as follows:

"All estates, real, personal and mixed, money, public and
private securities for money of every kind passing from any
person who may die seized and possessed thereof being in
this State, or any part of such estate or estates, money or
securities or interest therein, transferred by deed, will,
grant, bargain, gift or sale, made or intended to take effect
in possession after the death of the grantor, bargainer,
devisor or donor, to any person or persons, bodies politic
or corporate, in trust or otherwise, other than to or for
the use of the father, mother, husband, wife, children and
lineal descendants of the grantor, bargainer or testator,
donor or intestate, shall be subject to a tax of five per
centum in every hundred dollars of the clear value of such
estate, money or securities; and all executors and adminis-
trators shall only be discharged from liability for the
amount of such tax, the payment of which they be charged
with, by paying the same for the use of this State, as here-
inafter directed; provided, that no estate which may be
valued at a less sum than five hundred dollars shall be sub-
ject to the tax imposed by this section."

Sections 121 to 144 inclusive set forth all of the law for the
levying of the assessment and the appraisement and for the collec-
tion of the collateral inheritance tax.