812.512/3503
The Secretary of State to the Vice Consul at Durango (Bonnet)
Sir: The Department acknowledges the receipt of your despatch No. 85 of May 6, 1929,83 reporting that the Governor of Durango has advised your Consulate that he has issued orders to tax officials of the State of Durango to investigate carefully the circumstances in [Page 426] each case where taxes were collected by de facto authorities between March 4th and March 14th, and to use their best judgment in deciding whether the tax payers should be forced again to pay such taxes.
Although it appears from your despatch No. 87 of May 10, 1929,84 that the attempt to collect a second payment of taxes from Mr. W. C. Bishop, an American citizen owning property in your district, has been abandoned, and that you have been unable to learn of any other instances in which American citizens have been requested to make a second payment, you are instructed to advise the Governor of Durango that the Government of the United States will regard payments of taxes of all kinds made to de facto authorities in control of certain disturbed areas in Mexico, under the circumstances set forth in the quoted portion of the Department’s mail instruction of April 23, 1929,84 as constituting a due and proper payment of such taxes in the amounts paid and as completely relieving American citizens so having paid such taxes from any and all further obligation in regard to such payment.
I am [etc.]