(DOWNLOAD) "William C. Keebler v. Department Revenue" by First District. District Court of Appeal of Florida " eBook PDF Kindle ePub Free
eBook details
- Title: William C. Keebler v. Department Revenue
- Author : First District. District Court of Appeal of Florida
- Release Date : January 25, 1978
- Genre: Law,Books,Professional & Technical,
- Pages : * pages
- Size : 66 KB
Description
The question presented on this appeal is whether the documentary stamp tax upon a deed given to a mortgagee in lieu of foreclosure should be based upon the amount of the indebtedness which is extinguished by the deed or upon the value of the property conveyed. The Department of Revenue, in its final order, ruled that the consideration was the amount of the debt which was extinguished rather than the value of the land and that the tax must be paid upon the amount of debt extinguished. Petitioner here seeks review of that order. Under the particular facts of this case as will be hereinafter related, we reverse. Petitioner sold the property here involved to one Norris. To pay for the property, Norris gave petitioner a purchase money mortgage for $665,000 and obtained a $200,000 loan from Barnett Bank for which he gave a mortgage in that amount and petitioner subordinated his mortgage to the mortgage with Barnett Bank. Subsequently, Norris was unable to make payments on either mortgage, and petitioner initiated foreclosure proceedings. Norris then gave petitioner a quit claim deed to the property which petitioner accepted in satisfaction of the debt, petitioner assuming the $200,000 mortgage to Barnett Bank on which only interest had been paid. Evidence was presented and respondent, in its final order, found that the actual market value of the property was only $450,000 at the time of the execution of the deed in lieu of foreclosure. Evidence that Norris was insolvent at the time of the transfer was presented, and there was no evidence to the contrary. The fact that petitioner extinguished a debt to him of $665,000 and assumed a $200,000 mortgage in consideration for property worth only $450,000 is further evidence that the debt was uncollectible. Documentary stamp tax and documentary surtax stamps were affixed to the quit claim deed based upon the consideration for the deed being the actual market value of the property $450,000. The hearing officer of the Department of Administrative Hearings found that the consideration was the amount of the extinguished and assumed debt $865,000. Respondent likewise reached this result in its final order and directed payment of the tax on $865,000.