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plant, equipment, and surface of the land for purposes other than mineral production.

(e) "Minerals" comprise ores of the metals, coal, oil, gas and such nonmetallic substances as abrasives, asbestos, asphaltum, barytes, borax, building stone, cement rock, clay, crushed stone, feldspar, fluorspar, fullers earth, graphite, gypsum, limestone, magnesite, marl, mica, mineral pigments, peat. potash, precious stones, refractories, rock phosphate, salt, sand and gravel, silica, slate, soapstone, soda, sulphur, and talc.

(f) "Operating profit" is the net income from mineral production before depletion and depreciation are deducted. It is distinct from net income.

ART. 202. Capital recoverable through depletion deduction in the case of an operating owner.-In the case of an operating owner in fee, the capital remaining in any year recoverable through depletion and depreciation deductions is (a) the cost or value of the property at the basic date plus (b) subsequent allowable capital additions and minus (c) depletion and depreciation sustained, whether legally allowable or not, from the basic date to the taxable year, and minus (d) the value of the land at the basic date for other purposes than mineral production. The capital recoverable through depletion is the total capital remaining less the sum recoverable through depreciation.

ART. 203. Capital recoverable through depletion deductions in the case of lessee. (a) In the case of a lessee, the capital remaining in any year recoverable through depletion and depreciation deductions is (1) the value as of the basic date of the lessee's equity in the property plus (2) subsequent allowable capital additions but minus (3) depletion and depreciation sustained, whether legally allowable or not, from the basic date to the taxable year. The capital recoverable through depletion is the total capital remaining less the sum recoverable through depreciation.

(b) The value of the equities of lessor and lessee shall be computed separately, but, when determined as of the same basic date, shall together never exceed the value at that date of the property in fee simple.

(c) The value of a lessee's equity, if acquired prior to March 1, 1913, is the value of his interest in the mineral as of that date.

(d) The value of a lessee's equity in a proven mineral acquired after March 1, 1913, is its cost.

(e) The value of a lessee's equity in a discovery on or after March 1, 1913, is the fair market value at date of discovery or within 30 days thereafter, of his equity in the mineral discovered.

ART. 204. Capital recoverable through depletion in case of lessor.-(a) In the case of a lessor, the capital remaining in any year recoverable through depletion and depreciation deductions is (1) the value of his equity in the property at the basic date minus (2) depletion and depreciation sustained, whether legally allowable or not, from the basic date to the taxable year, plus (3) subsequent allowable capital additions, and minus (4) the value of the land at the basic date for other purposes than mineral production. The capital recoverable through depletion is the total capital remaining less the sum recoverable through depreciation.

(b) The value of the equities of lessor and lessee shall be computed separately, but, when determined as of the same basic date, shall together never exceed the value at that date of the property in fee simple.

(c) The value of the lessor's equity in the case of a mineral property not under lease on March 1, 1913, but subsequently leased, is the en bloc value of the mineral in the ground on March 1, 1913, and will, in the absence of satisfactory evidence to the contrary, be presumed not to exceed the value as of March 1, 1913, of the royalties to be expected under the lease.

(d) The value of a lessor's equity in a mineral property under lease March 1, 1913, for the entire operating life of the mineral deposits is the

value as of March 1, 1913, of the royalties and other payments to be expected under the terms of the lease in effect on that date.

(e) The value of a lessor's equity in a mineral property under lease for a portion of its operating life is the value as of March 1, 1913, of the royalties expected from the mineral to be extracted during the life of the existing lease plus the estimated en bloc value of the mineral remaining at its expiration, which, in the absence of satisfactory evidence to the contrary, will be presumed not to exceed the value as of March 1, 1913, of royalties which could have been expected as at that date from the remaining mineral.

(f) The value of a lessor's equity in a mineral property when acquired after March 1, 1913, is its cost.

(g) The value of a lessor's equity in a discovery on or after March 1, 1913, is the fair market value at the date of discovery, or within thirty days thereafter, of his equity in the mineral discovered.

ART. 205. Determination of cost of deposits.-In any case in which a depletion or depreciation deduction is computed on the basis of the cost or price at which any mine, mineral deposit, mineral right or leasehold was acquired, the owner or lessee will be required to show that the cost or price at which the property was bought was fixed for the purpose of a bona fide purchase and sale, by which the property passed to an owner in fact as well as in firm other than the vendor. No fictitious or inflated cost or price will be permitted to form the basis of any calculation of a depletion or depreciation deduction, and in determining whether or not the price or cost at which any purchase or sale was made represented the actual market value of the property sold, due weight will be given to the relationship or connection existing between the person selling the property and the buyer thereof.

ART. 206. Determination of fair market value of mineral property.—(a) Where the fair market value of the property at a specified date in lieu of the cost thereof is the basis for depletion and depreciation deductions, such value must be determined, subject to approval or revision by the commissioner, by the owner of the property in the light of the conditions and circumstances known at that date, regardless of later discoveries or developments in the property or subsequent improvements in methods of extraction and treatment of the mineral product. The value sought should be that established assuming a transfer between a willing seller and a willing buyer as of that particular date. The commissioner will lend due weight and consideration to any and all factors and evidence having a bearing on the market value, such as cost, actual sales and transfers of similar properties, market value of stock or shares, royalties and rentals, value fixed by the owner for purpose of the capital stock tax, valuation for local or state taxation, partnership accountings, records of litigation in which the value of the property was in question, the amount at which the property may have been inventoried in probate court, disinterested appraisals by approved methods such as the present value method and other factors.

(b) To determine the fair market value of a mineral property by the present value method, the essential factors must be determined for each deposit included in the property. The factors are (1) the total quantity of mineral in terms of the principal or customary unit (or units) paid for in the product marketed; (2) the average quality or grade of the mineral reserves; (3) the expected percentage of extraction or recovery in each process or operation necessary for the preparation of the crude mineral for market; (4) the probable operating life of the deposit in years; (5) the uni operating cost, i. e., cost of production exclusive of depreciation and dep'ction; (6) expected average selling price per unit during the operating life, and (7) the rate of profit commensurate with the risk for the particul... deposit. When the deposit has been sufficiently developed these factos may be determined from past operating experience. In the applica

tion of factors derived from past experience full allowance should be made for probable future variations in the rate of exhaustion, quality or grade of the mineral, percentage of recovery, costs of production and selling price of the product marketed during the expected operating life of the mineral deposit.

(c) Mineral deposits for which these factors may not be determined with reasonable accuracy from past operating experience may, with the approval of the commissioner, be valued in a similar manner; but the factors must be deduced from concurrent evidence such as the general type of the deposit, the characteristics of the district in which it occurs, the habit of the mineral deposits in the property itself, the intensity of mineralization, the rate at which additional mineral has been disclosed by exploitation, the stage of the operating life of the property, and other evidence tending to establish a reasonable estimate of the required factors.

(d) Mineral deposits of different grades, locations and probable dates of extraction in a mineral property shall be valued separately. The mineral content of a deposit should be determined in accordance with article 208 in the case of mines, with article 209 in the case of oil wells, and with articles 211 and 212 in the case of gas wells. In estimating the average grade of the developed and prospective mineral, account should be taken of probable increases or decreases as indicated by the operating history. The rate of exhaustion of a mineral deposit should be determined with due regard to the limitations imposed by plant capacity, by the character of the deposit, by the ability to market the mineral product, by labor conditions, and by the operating programme in force or definitely adopted at the basic date for future operations. The operating life of a mineral deposit is that number of years necessary for the exhaustion of both the developed and prospective mineral content at the rate determined as above. The operating cost comprises all current expense of producing, preparing and marketing the mineral product sold, exclusive of federal income, war profits and excess profits taxes, allowable capital additions as defined in article 222, and deductions for depreciation and depletion, but including cost of repairs and replacements necessary to maintain the plant and equipment at its rated capacity and efficiency. This cost of repairs and replacements is not to be confused with the depreciation deduction by which the cost or value of plant and equipment is returned to the taxpayer free from tax.

In general, no estimate of these factors will be approved by the commissioner which are not supported by the operating experience of the property or which are derived from different and arbitrarily selected periods.

(e) The product of the number of units of mineral recoverable in marketable form by the difference between the selling price and the operating cost per unit is the total expected operating profit. The value of each mineral deposit is then the total expected operating profit from that deposit reduced to a present value as of the basic date at the rate of interest commensurate with the risk for the operating life, and further reduced by the value at the basic date of the depreciable assets and of the capital additions, if any, necessary to realize the profits.

ART. 207. Revaluation of mineral deposits not allowed.-No revaluation of a property whose value as of the basic date has been determined and approved will be allowed during the continuance of the ownership under which the value was so determined and approved except in the case of discovery as defined in articles 219 and 220. The value as of the basic date may, however, be corrected when a virtual change of ownership of part of the property results as the outcome of litigation, and may be redistributed (a) when a revision of the number of units of mineral in the property has been made in accordance with articles 208, 209, or 211, and (b) in case of the sale of a part of the property, between the part sold and part retained.

ART. 208. Determination of mineral contents of mine.-Every taxpayer claiming a deduction for depletion for a given year will be required to estimate or determine with respect to each separate property the total units (tons, pounds, ounces, or other measure) of mineral products reasonably known or on good evidence believed to have existed in the ground on the basic date, according to the method current in the industry and in the light of the most accurate and reliable information obtainable. Preference shall be given in the selection of a unit of estimate to the principal unit (or units) paid for in the product marketed. The estimate of the recoverable units of the mineral products in the property for the purposes of valuation and depletion shall include as to both quantity and grade (a) the ores and minerals "in sight," "blocked out," "developed," or "assured" in the usual or conventional meaning of these terms in respect to the type of the deposit, and (b) "probable" or "prospective" ores and minerals (in the corresponding sense); that is, ores and minerals that are believed to exist on the basis of good evidence, although not actually known to occur on the basis of existing development; but "probable" or "prospective" ores and minerals may be computed, for purposes of this valuation, (c) as to quantity, only in case they are extensions of known deposits or are new bodies or masses whose existence is indicated by geological or other evidence to a high degree of probability, and (d) as to grade, of such richness only as accords with the best indications available.

ART. 210. Computation of deduction for depletion of mineral deposits.(a) Depletion attaches to the annual production "according to the peculiar conditions of each case" and when the depletion actually sustained, whether legally allowable or not, from the basic date, equals the cost or value on the basic date plus subsequent allowable capital additions, no further deduction for depletion will be allowed except in consequence of added value arising through discovery or purchase (see arts. 202, 203, 204 and 222).

(b) When the value of the property at the basic date has been determined, depletion for the taxable year shall be determined by dividing the value remaining for depletion by the number of units of mineral to which this value is applicable, and by multiplying the unit value for depletion, so determined, by the number of units sold within the taxable year. In the selection of a unit for depletion preference shall be given to the principal or customary unit or units paid for in the product sold.

ART. 215. Depletion: Adjustments of accounts based on bonus or advanced royalty. (a) Where a lessor receives a bonus or other sum in addition to royalties, such bonus or other sum shall be regarded as a return of capital to the lessor, but only to the extent of the capital remaining to be recovered through depletion by the lessor at the date of lease. If the bonus exceeds the capital remaining to be recovered, the excess and all the royalties thereafter received will be income and not depletable. If the bonus is less than the capital remaining to be recovered by the lessor through depletion, the difference may be recovered through depletion deductions based on the royalties thereafter received. The bonus or other sum paid by the lessee for a lease made on or after March 1, 1913, will be his value for depletion as of date of acquisition.

(b) Where the owner has leased a mineral property for a term of years with a requirement in the lease that the lessee shall extract and pay for, annually, a specified number of tons, or other agreed units of measurement, of such mineral, or shall pay annually a specified sum of money which shall be applied in payment of the purchase price or royalty per unit of such mineral whenever the same shall thereafter be extracted and removed from the leased premises, the value in the ground to the lessor, for purposes of depletion, of the number of units so paid for in advance of extraction will constitute an allowable deduction from the gross income of the year in which such payment or payments shall be made; but no deduction for

depletion by the lessor shall be claimed or allowed in any subsequent year on account of the extraction or removal in such year of any mineral so paid for in advance and for which deduction has once been made.

(c) If, for any reason, any such mineral lease shall be terminated or abandoned before the mineral which has been paid for in advance has been extracted and removed, and the lessor repossesses the leased property, the lessor shall adjust his capital accounts by restoring to the capital sum of the property the depletion deductions made in prior years on account of royalties on mineral paid for but not removed, and his income account shall be adjusted so as to include the amount so restored to capital sum as income of the year such lease is terminated or the property repossessed, and the tax thereon paid.

(d) Upon the expiration, termination, or abandonment of a lease, without the removal of any or all of the mineral contemplated by the lease, the lessor shall be required to restore to capital account so much of the bonus received and deducted from capital recoverable through depletion as is in excess of the actual depletion or loss in value sustained as a result of the operations under the lease and the corresponding amount will be income for the year in which the lease expires, terminates, or is abandoned.

ART. 216. Depletion and depreciation accounts on books.-Every taxpayer claiming and making a deduction for depletion and depreciation of mineral property shall keep accurate ledger accounts in which shall be charged the fair market value as of March 1, 1913, or within 30 days after the date of discovery, or the cost, as the case may be, (a) of the mineral deposit, and (b) of the plant and equipment, together with subsequent allowable capital additions to each account. These accounts shall thereafter be credited annually with the amounts, whether legally allowable or not, of the depreciation and depletion sustained; or the amounts of the depreciation and depletion sustained shall be credited to depletion and depreciation reserve accounts, to the end that when the sum of the credits for depletion and depreciation equals the value or cost of the property, plus subsequent allowable capital additions, no further deduction for depletion and depreciation with respect to the property shall be allowed.

ART. 217. Statement to be attached to return when depletion or depreciation of mineral property is claimed.-(a) To the return of every taxpayer claiming a deduction for depletion or depreciation there shall be attached a statement setting forth with respect to each mineral property: (1) whether taxpayer is a fee owner, lessor or lessee; (2) the date of acquisition and if under lease, its exact terms and date of expiration; (3) the cost of the property, stating the amount paid to each vendor with his name and address; (4) the basic date at which the property is valued; (5) the value of the property on the basic date, with a statement of the precise method by which it was determined; (6) the value of the surface of the land for purposes other than mineral production; (7) the estimated number of units of mineral at the basic date with an explanation of the method used in the estimation, and an average analysis which will indicate the quality of the mineral values; (8) the number of units sold during the year for which the return is made; (9) the gross and net income derived from the sale of mineral; (10) the amounts deducted for depletion; (11) the amounts sustained on account of depletion, or on account of depreciation, stated separately from the basic date to the taxable year, and (12) any other data which will be helpful in determining the reasonableness of the deductions claimed in the return.

(b) To the return of every taxpayer claiming a deduction for depletion in respect of (1) property in which he owns a fractional interest only, or (2) a leasehold, or (3) property subject to lease, there shall also be attached a statement setting forth the name and address and the precise nature of the holding of each person interested in the property, and every lessor shall attach to his return an affidavit stating, as of the date of filing the return,

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