Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion

Mr. Henry Wade Opinion No. WW-921 District Attorney D&e; Cpoun; Re: Two questions on ColleCtiOn * of taxes under Art. 7297, R.C.S. 192.5. Dear Mr. Wade: You ask the opinion of this office on two questions: 1) Whether Art. 7297, R.C.S. 1925, applies to all delinquent personal property taxes or only to such taxes on personal property as are back-assessed under authority of thie article; 2) Whether suit for an amount less than twenty-five dollars for taxes due on personal property under this article Is prohibited by this article. Arti$le 7297 r~eadaas follows: "The district or county attorney of the '.respeotlve counties of this State. by order of the commissioners court, shall institute suit In the name of the State for recovery of all money due the State and county as taxes due and unpaid on unrendered personal pro- perty; and in all suits where judgments are obtained under this law, the person owning the property on which there are taxes due the State and county shall be liable for all costs. The State and county shall be exempt from Tiabillty for any costs growing out of such action. All suits brought under this article for the recovery of taxes due on personal property shall be brought against the person or persons who owned the pro- perty at the time such property should have been listed or assessed for taxation. No suit shall be brought until after demand is made by the collector for taxes due, and . .,., . .’ L. Mr. Henry Wade, Page 2 Opinion No. WW-921 no suit shall be brought for an amount less than twenty-five dcll~rs. Sucl.SUitS ifl3J be brought for all taxes so due and unpaid for which such delinquent tax payer may be in arrears for and since the year 1886.” In answer to your first question: We answer that Art. 7297 applies only to taxes due the State and county as taxes due and unpaid on unrendcred personal property, and which taxes have been back-aszcosed as authorized bv this article and other articles. tSee also the opinion of a prior Attorney General, Opinion No. O-5862, 1944.) In answer to your second question: We answer that such a suit Is prohibited by this article. We quote from two decisions of our Texas Supreme Court: "If, therefore, the law makes the tax a personal obligation of the taxpayer, it is fairly within all the authorities that a right to sue would exist In favor of the state or municipal corporation entitled by statute to exact payment of such taxes, unless another remedy Is given. which'is exclusive in Its character." City of Henrietta v. Eustis, 87 Tex. 14; 26 S.W. big (1894-). (The Court held that the law does make ~the tax a per- sonal obligation of the taxpayer.) .that under Sections 13 and 15 of Article VIII the legislature Is authorized in Its discretion to provide for 'summary sale' as the exclusive method or for judicial sale as the exclusive method or for both methods; . . .'I Duncan, Tax Collector v. Gabler, 147 Tex. 229, 215 S.W.2d 155 (1948), pFZgFi62. Both of these cases involved suits for taxes on land, but the law as therein Interpreted and applied is fully applicable to your question which involves suit for taxes on personal property. See also Mexla Independent School Mst. v. City of Mexla, 134 Tex. 95, 133 S.W.2d 118, (1939) at page 123. Mr. Henry Wade, Page 3 Opinion No. WW-921 In conformity to Sec. 15, Art. 8 of our Texas Constitution, considered In the above cases, the Legislature has provided for summary seizure and sale of personal property for taxes 7273, and others). This pro- (R.C.S., articles 7266, 72'7'2, cedure is available for collection of the personal property taxes due under Article 7297, where the amount of such tax is less than Twenty-five Dollars. SUMMARY Under Article 7297, R.C.S., 1925: 1) only state and county taxes on personal property back assessed may be collected; 2) taxes for less than $25.00 may be collected by summary seizure and sale but not by sult. Yours very truly, WILL WILSON Attorney General of Texas Assistant WEA: jip APPROVED: OPINION COMMITTEE: W. V. Geppert, Chairman Ben M. Harrison Phocion S..Park, III W. 0. Shultz, II FWBD FOR THE ATTORNEY GENERAL : Houghton Brownlee