[Enclosure—Translation37]
The Secretary General of the Spanish Ministry
for Foreign Affairs (Palacios) to
the American Ambassador (Hammond)
Madrid, June 10, 1929.
No. 108
Excellency: I have received Your
Excellency’s note No. 745 of the 16th of May, in which you state
that in the Philippine Islands and Porto Rico exemption from payment
of the tax on automobiles is granted to the vehicles belonging to
the Spanish consular representatives, and also that the State of
Pennsylvania exempts the automobiles belonging to the
above-mentioned consular representatives from the payment of the tax
of “registration” if evidence is furnished that they have the right
to that exemption under an existing treaty, and, further, that the
American States which do not now grant this concession to Spanish
Consuls will exempt them in the future from the payment of the
above-ref erred-to tax, and request, in consequence, that the
Spanish authorities concede in Spain the “Patente Nacional de
Circulacion de Automoviles gratuita” to the vehicles belonging to
the consular representatives of the United States.
In reply I have the honor to inform Your Excellency that, if the
Government of the United States concedes in all of the States which
form the Union the exemption of the tax on automobiles, the “Patente
de circulacion de Automoviles gratuita” will be conceded in Spain to
the automobiles belonging to consuls of career of the United States,
to obtain which it will be necessary for you to send to this
Secretariat General a list of the vehicles which have the right to
enjoy this favor and which should give the registration number, the
name of the proprietor and his office.
However, and as in Your Excellency’s note under reference in
discussing the State of Pennsylvania you speak of the payment of the
[Page 802] fees of
“registration”, and also of the taxes on automobiles, it would be
useful to know if these fees of “registration” include all the taxes
which are assessed on automobiles, or if it refers only to the tax
for listing or registration; because in Spain the benefits which are
conceded to the consuls of the United States include all of the
taxes which are assessed on automobiles.
Finally, and with reference to another statement which Your
Excellency makes in your note, I take the liberty of stating that in
virtue of article 15 of the Treaty of Friendship and General
Relations between Spain and the United States of the 3rd of July,
1902, consular representatives of both countries are exempted from
payment of all national, state, provincial and municipal taxes, and,
consequently, under the terms of this Article the tax imposed on
automobiles should be included and the consular representatives of
both countries should enjoy it, and the State of Pennsylvania should
extend the exemption of the tax on automobiles to Spanish consular
representatives.
I avail myself [etc.]
