PRICE
DANIEL
ATTORNEY
GENERAL
hbruary 14, 1947
lion. Rem Doughty, Jr. Opiaier HoorV-04
Couaty httermy
otalae 00uf.W Be: X8 1t mRnd*ta~ that the
Weld 8, Texrs Tax ‘3eZlmtar a2 W8lUe
Oeunty ualleot the joint
Cotmty amfar Oullege ta*
~OT the’ year UN6 fIWm
thwe tarpaferr rho lnte
net yet paid hLeiT 1666
Stats and oetgatg twUP
Aad rQllfQd qmI*GMu*
Dear sir:
Prm the eoukelllt$ 0r y0-w: lsttsr ar requelt, it
appears that you prevr4euslg zrMqwst.ed the aplnfoa oi tM
Attommy Oeneral"s Department 011 the question 0r whether
or not a Joint Collnty Junfer College Dfstriat tax oOul#
be asssseed and collected in the oauntfes~oomprfeing a
Joint County Junior Oollege Dfstrfct by the respscti’e
county tax asa%ssors and coll.eotors. You were edafead
that tbia ow$d not be dene. As a wnsequenoes the Tax
Aweeeer ad @eZU~~lel of @ealJe Coartby dealin& te eel-
lest or acoept t:bxea fer the Junior College Bie.Stiet
fp~porn
these taxpey%rs paging their State and Oounty tcaxes.
At the preeent time ovex three-fourths of th% State and
Oounty taxes hsvs been paid and only about one-fourth re-
mfn to be collected. The Junior College Distriot now
waats your Tax Colleotor to oolleat theae taxat, s3.nc.e
t&e Attorney General08 Department revereed ~fteolf on
December 21 s 1946, and held that the Co%uty Tax Afnuemor
a,- Oolleotor could oollect the Joint Coarrt Ju*$oa Col-
lege District taxes levied in their respest f ve oa%.ntfeaO
Beoauss of the foregoing, gbn have sabmftted iaeveral
questiens u on whfoh you would like to have thfa Depart-
meats’s epfa ! en, two or which queatfors are:
: “1, Ia it mndatorf that the Tax C0llm1Mr oi
:
,. ‘, :
1
.,,a
Hon. Ross Doughty, Jr., Page 2
Waldo Coonty oollect the Joint Cvaaty Junior Col-
lege tax for the year 1946 from those tarpamm who
have not yet paid their 1946 State a-nd Uounty taxes?
"2 o Is it mandatory that the County Tax Collec-
tor collect the Joint County Junior College tax f'rMa
those taxpayers who have already paid their 1946
State and County taxes?"
The Constitution of the State of Texas in sub-
stanoe provides that the tax as8essor and bolleetor shall
perform all duties nith respect to assessing property for
the purpose of taxation, and of collecting taxes that may’
be prescribed by the Legislature, Article VIII, See. 14.
The Legislature has prescribed in cases where the Board of
ltducation of a Junior College District desires to here the
Assessor-Golleotor of County Taxes to assoss and aolleat
the Junior Uollege District taxes, such taxee shall be as-
sessed and collected by said offloer. The,rerore, it is
mendttcry that the Tax Collector of Walde County aolleet
the Joint County JWIOT aallege thx iorthr year 3.946; it
ia mandatory that these ~colleetions be made from those
who hate not paid their 1946 State and County taxes and
from those who have already paid their 1946 State adl
County taxee 4
Sinoa we have answered the foregoing two queetione
iq the lfW.matire, yam hem requested that we aaawer tlm
rall0ning grtion:
*In the event it is’ mandatory that the tat ael-
lector collect from either or both of the olasaes above
mentioned, what method of prooeduu should he me ia
making the oolleotlon?*
We know.~of’ no set prooedure to rollon In a sftw-
tioa suoh as you have presented exe+ that, ryed in rk&r&
other tax collections O Thesa taxes must be plaaod beok a)-
on ths rvll, and notice must be sent out to the taxpamra
that sams has been done, and that these t-8 must be paid,
and it would certainly be in carder to say the tax wea
dropped Prom Uhe roll due to art Attorney Ceaem18a OplalQi
which has since been overruled. ‘Any proa~edare that ia UJ
whiah will efrectwte this will be satisf@oWtlr.
The last question which you hate submitted to this
department is as follows:
"4;, Are you still or the apin that a taxpayer
may pay his State and County taxes and dealine
Bon’. Ross Doughty, Jr., Page 3
.
t.0 p*y the sahool tax?*
The Attorney General’s Departasnt in opinloaa
Iimnbers O-210 and O-2861, copies of which are enoloaed,
held that a taxpayer ma? pay his State and County taxes
and decline to pay the independent school district tax
whioh was baiwg colleoted by the County Assessor-Collect-
The snme rule would apply to Jmfor Collage Distriat
:lf;e* . We have reviewed these opinions and acoept the
concluslo~ reached therein aa correot. These holdings
are In eaoord with tha apparent itltsntion of the LeKis-
latars 88 indioated by several emotamts, See Article
?330e, V. A. C. S.
,.
It i8 mmdmtOl7 USdar Artlalo 2Blbh, V.A.C.S.,
that the County T8x Collsctor, whsil se requested
by the Board of Eduoatiob Or a JmfOr College Dis-
triot, to collect all of’ the Dirt?iot7a 1946 taxes
lerfed in his County, BVOD.thou(da 8-e 0r the tax-
payers had paid their State and County tmes for
1846 wltherrt paying the schbal tax. A taxpayer
map pmy his State and Cotmty taxes without paying
h9a iadepimdent sol1001 dirtriot or jtmiar oel.le~a
.
tax.
vary truly yours
. . ”
.,
Avrr#n @X&&IL OF y
.
*yiilELmz&~
’
Robert 0. Koch
Aaeis tant
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