iBusTxrs IL*. TEXAU
WILL WILSON
ATTORNEY GENERAI.
July 18, 1960
Honorable Robert 9, Calvert opinion No. MU- 083
comptroller of Publio Aooounta
Capitol Station Ret Correct filing date for
Austin, Texas the anrulril report of Tax
Collectors under Artloles
1260 and '~336, V.C.S.,.and
penalty under Article 133,
Dear Mr. Celvert: Penal Code.
Your recent letter requesta that we advise you the
correct date for tax collectors to iile their 8nnuhl reports with
your office, acoordlng to Artioles 7260 end 7336, V.C,S.,, and elao
the effeot of Article 133* Penal Code, upon this dtitiy.
Article 7260 d.lrects the tax aolleator to mike monthly
reporta to the Comptroller setting out tax itemr aolleoted by Mm
during the month, and, upon submitting auoh aronthly ,reports, pay
over to the State Treasurer the moneyi 80, oolli#oted for the State.
Section 4 of the Artlole then provides aa follows:
“The Tax Collector shall pay over to the
State Treaeurer all balance8 in his hands
belonging to the &i&e, and fInallY adjust
and settle his aocount with the Comptroller
on or before the first day of M&yof each year,
end to enable him to do 00, the Commlesloners
Court shall convene on or before the third
Monday in April for the purpose of examining
and approving his final .Mitlement PaPere.”
Arti 7336 aeta opt the ,dateF’when oertain taxes shall
beer delinquent, and the penalties whiah shall .aocrue thqre-
. Seotion (e) then pro!idea a8 follows:
“The’Amassor, iihd Collector of Taxes
L ah&;lioy of the firet d8y of July of each
ml n sme unt a ai37Sict
i+axea for t$ p%eding $eg $&!i unpaid,
make up a list of the land6 and. lot 8 and/or
property on which any taxes for such preceding
year are delinquent, ,charglng againlst the same
all unpaid taxer asssared ag8ln8t the omrsr
. -
Ronorable Robert S. Calvert, ?age 2 Opinion No. WW-883
thereof on the rolls for said year.
II. . . . .
“Said list shall be made In triplicate
and presented to the Commissioners’ Court
for examination and correction, end after
being so examined and corrected eaid list
In triplicate shall be approved by said
Court, One copy thereof shall be filed with
the County Clerk or Auditor, one copy retained
and filed bv the Assessor and Collector of
Taxes, and one copy forwarded to the Comptroller
with the annual settlement report of the
Ai
Since the latter statute requires that the delinquency
report be forwarded to the Comptroller as of July 1, with the
annual settlement report which Is required to be filed on or
before May 1, it is impossible for the Assessor-Collectors to
comply with the literal terms of both statutes.
You advise us in your letter that the Comptroller has
required since the flacal year ending June 30, 1938, that both
the delinquent report and the annual report be filed as of the
first day of July. It is our opinion that this is a correct
requirement and shouldbe adhered to, for reasons which we shall
set out. It Is our further opinion that Article 133, Penal
Code, has no application to the reports r,equired to be filed with
your office.
Since both Articles deal ,with ,the same subject and
relate to duties of tax collectors, they are in par1 materia and
should be construed together. State v.- ~ri2;4~e~exi7;86iO;00
S.W.2.ld 813 (1947); Wintermann v. McDona
S.W.2ad 167, lo4 S.WZGiZ-4 (1937). So co&truing them, ks
pointed out, creates' an ambiguity in the conflict of dates.
Obviously the Intention of the Legislature was to make jt thee
duty of the Tax Collector In each county to provide the
Comptroller with information, through such required reports,
which would present a complete record of tax collections’ and
property on which delinquent taxes were still due, as of a certain.
date. Legislative Intent In enacting the. law is the law’ lt,self.
City of Mason v. West Texas Utilities Co., 150 Tex. 18, 237
S W.2nd 273 (1951); Reed v. Waco 2=2nd 247 (Tex.Civ.App.
1949, err.ref.). Such intent will be given effect even though It
involves a departure from the strict letter of the law, State v.
m, Supra; Brown & Root v. Durland, 126 Tex. 20, 84 S.W.2nd
Honorable Robert S; Calvert, Page 3 Opinion No. WW-883
1073 (Tex.Com.App. 1935, Op. Adopted). We therefore believe that
both reports should be filed as of July 1 of each year,
We note that your office has, since 1938, required the
annual settlement statement to be filed on July 1 of each year,
along with the delinquent tax list. Where the interpretatlbn
of a statute by the agency charged with its administration has
continued unchallenged over a long Deriod of time. that inter-
pretation is entitled to great weI ht. Associated Indemnity
Co=. v. 011 Well Drilling-Co., 25 % S.W.2nd 523 (Tex.Civ.App.
1953),affld 153 Tex. 153, 2a S.W.2nd 697 (1954); %lvert v.
Fl sher , 259 S.W.2nd 944 (Tex.Civ.App.
-.2nd 496 (Tex.Civ.App. 1957).
administrative Interpretation during the past 22 years is entitled
to such weight. and furnishes further support for our opinion
as stated aGove.
Article 133 of the Penal Code provides as follows:
“If at tht end of any month the collector
of taxes shall fail to make to the Commissioners
Court hjs itemized monthly report of all tax
collections for the county, or pay over to the
county treasurer the amount due by him to the
county, or if he shall fall to make out and
post, between April 1 and 15 of each year, a
list of delinquent or insolvent tax payers, he
shall be fined not less than three hundred nor
more than one thousand dollars. Each failure
is i separate offense.”
This is the wording of the Article as contained in the
revised Penal Code of 1925. Its original source stated therein
was p. 91, Acts of 1893. This is the same original source as
Article 7260 and also Article 7263, Revised Civil Statutes,
which latter article reads as follows:
“The tax collector shall make out on
forms to be furnished for that purpose by the
Comptroller, between April first and the
fifteenth of each year, list (sic‘ of delinquent
or insolvent taxpayers, the caption of which
shall be, tha ‘list of delinquent or insolvent
taxpayers . I In this list he shall give the name
of the person, firm, company, or corporation from
whom the taxes are due, in separate columns; and
he .shall post one copy of these delinquent or
Insolvent lists at the courthouse door of the
county, and one list at the courthouse door,
Honorable Robert 9. Calvert, Page 4 Ojinion Ilo. UW-863
or where court is usually held, In each
justice precinct in his county; and the tax
collector, upon the .oertlPicats of the
commissioners court that the persons appearing
on the insolvent or delinquent lists have no.
property out of which to make the taxes
assessed against them, or that they have moved
out of the county, and that no property can be
found in the county belonging to such persona,
out of which to make the taxes due, shall be
entitled to a credit on final settlement of
his accounts for the amounts due by the
persons, firms, companies, or corporations
certified to by the commissioners court, as
above provided for .‘I
Note that Article 133 of the Penal Code assesses a
penalty upon the tax collector should he (1) faj.1 to make
his itemized monthly report of tax collections fork the county
to the Commissioners Court, or (2) fail to pay over to the
treasurer the amount due or (3) fall to make ‘out and post a
list of delinquent and insolvent taxpayers, between April 1
and 15. These first t it d ties assigned him under
Article 7260. The thi;: obEyzu%g r~ifers to the duty assigned
him by Article 7263; that IS, compiling a list of delinquent
and insolvent taxpayers, then posting one copy at the door of
the county courthouse and one at the place of court in each
justice precinct. These are not the lists previously discussed
which must be filed with the Comptroller. The apparent purnose
of such posting is to apprise the persons, firms, and cor-
porations listed thereon of the fact that th~ere are unpaid taxes
in that county chargeable to them. Doubtleesly :;he posting date
of these lists is set between April 1 and April 15 so as to give
the taxpayers listed thereon ample time within which to make
payment if they so desire before the time set for the annual
settlement report. Since the list referred to in this Article
is separate and distinct from the lists previously discussed .
which are required to be filed with your office, it Is
apparent that the penalty provisions therein would not enter
into the question of the correct filing date for such state-
ment s .
SUMMARY
The tax collector’s annual settlement report
-, and list of lands, lots and property on which
taxes are delinquent should both be filed with
the Comptroller of Public Accounts on July 1.
Honorable Robert S. Calvert, Page 5 Opinion No. WW-883
Article 133, Penal Code, concerns separate duties
of the tax collector and hence is irrelevant
to such filing date.
Yours very truly,
WILL WILSON
Attorney General of Texas
JRI:jip
APPROVED:
OPINION COMMITTEE:
W. V. Geppert, Chairman
Arthur Sandlln
John Phillips
John L. Estes
Wallace Finfrock
. REVIEWEDFOR TXE ATTORNEYGERERAL
By: Leonard Passmore