April 23, 1957
Non. R. E. Swift Oplaioa No. WW-107
county Attorney
Al& rson cosnty Re: Does the tax colleckr for a
Palestine. Texu school dietrtct have the authority
to watve deltnquent tsxes?
Dear Mr. Swift:
You rsquest the 0pInion of this office upon the qaestlon
‘presented ln your. letkr of April 3, 1957. which L as follows: ~_
‘I mnld.llke sa oplaios OS the question heroin
set forth:
aArtlcle 7298, B&S: provldu tbt no delbquent
texpqer shall have the right to pkad k any court or
k UY muasr ,mly upon uy Stakk of Limitation by
way of defense against the payment of tuces dae from
Urn or her to the State, *+*L**School Dtstrlct or other
taxing authority. provided that thk law 1s not bpplled to
collection of dellsqsent school taxes nsessed prior to
July 1, 1941-S***. In dew of thk statuk. when a
taxpayer has delkquut school tases prior to 1941, aid
desires that these school buss be ellminakd so that
he does Mt hrVS to py Same, is it neceS6aa-y that a.
suit be filed aad allow the. taxpayer to plead this
Sktuk of. Limfktlo~. or can the tas collector simply
collect all ths taxes dme oxopt for tha delkqsent school
taxes prior to 1941~asd ksss hkn a valid receipt for
payment la full of all ~XU tht are de 1
“rhe feet sltsatlon confrontLug me that reqnlres
an opinion oa’thk matkr ls u foLlows: Than ue over
one hlmdred helm that own a p&es of property. These
kxes rlll be paid by the bslrs living here lf the school
taxes due prior to I941 caa be elicnlsakd. However, lf
it 1s necessary to file a suit, the cost of ciktlon to all
qf these hplrs, both personal and by poblicatlon, will be
so great that It would be ualeee to do it.
-1 can find no authority on this qwstloa, but a
reasonable construction of the sktute would seem to nllow
the tax collector to simply forego the schotl taxer prior
to’1941 WithOUt the WCOs61~ Of a k~ SUk
Hon. R. E. Swift, page 2 (WW-107)
Article 7298, Vernon’s Civil Statutes, is a limitation statute
and nothing more. In an appropriate case, Lt is available to the
taxpayer and the landowner as a defeaae la a delinqusnt tax suit but
must be pleaded and proven Sam Bassett Lumber -Company v. City
of Noumkn. 145 Tax. 492, 198m.2d 879. In this case the court said:
”
. . . That is true, if for no other reason,
simply because euch llmltatton statoks do not
release or extlngolsh the debt, but merely affect
the remedy when ik exforcernent is lought.
Goldfrank, Frrnh C Co. v. Young, 64 Tex. 432;
Ltmestone Couuty v, Robblns. 120 Tex. 341, 38
S.W.2d 5801 Central Nat. B~nb v. Latham II Co.,
Tex.Civ.App.. 22 S.W.td 765, writ refused; 37
C.J. 698. Sec. 18:
The duties and powers of tax collectors are derived from
the Constitution nud skkkr aad such a6 may be reasonably inferred
therefrom. Their duties perklning to the collectlou of taxes, whether
current or dellnqnent, are purely mlnlstertal. They have no dlscretlon
such as forgtvlng or tgnorlng the coLlectlou of taxes lawfully assersed.
Only the courts are empowered to enforce statutes of limitation such
as provided lx Arttcle 7298, V.C.S. It is true that the Legislature has
the power to forgive delinquent taxes which have been due for a period
of at least kn years (Section 55’. Article III of the Constitution). As
a corollary to this the Legklature would have the authority to forghe
penalty and tnkrest on delinquent taxes by general law even though
les8 than kn years past due, because they do.not constitute a part
of the tax, but the tnx collector ls without authority to release or ignore
the collection of accrued penalty and Interest on delinquent tares. Jones
v. Williams, 121 Tex. 94. 45 S.W.Zd 130 (1931).
You are. therefore, respectfully advised that neither the tax
collector nor my other county, State or offlcld of any taxing district has
any authority to forFive or ignore taxes Lawfully assessed against any
taxpayer or his property or the sktutory accrued penalty and Interest.
SUMMARY
The kx collector has no .anthorlty or power to
forgive or forego the collection of. taxes hw-
fully assessed and only a conrt may enforce
Hon.~ R. E. Swift, page 3 (WW-107)
sktuka of Ilmltatlon such As Article 7298,
V.C.S., had to be hvallable must be plasded
And proven. Ponnlty And interest on delinquent
taxes may not be waived or released by the
tax collector.
.
Yours very truly,
WILL w&i
Attorney General
BY