:’
OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
AUSTIN
raid taxe8. The Tax Oolleotor refuae8 to aooept the
m.mey ror 8aid tare8 and tells $hem he oamot leg&my
aooept 8am or 188~ a reoeipt before Ootober 1, 19l&.
The s&d ptitlee are very lnsisknt ~JX¶ therefore we would
apprsoiate a ruling from your Department on the following
qU~8tiOLl8:
Honorable Qttb P. Wore, page 2
"1. can a duly eleoted and qualified Oocmty
*x Oolleotor legally aoobpt Or Oolleot taxes On
property @de year in advame of the Oumxnt year
and beiore the Property ha8 be+ aasesaed for maid
year and before the roll8 have been mde up ror
the said year0
“& If FOoUr tUWW43 18 hl th@ atfirllEltiV4,
oould the Cowty Tax C$l$e$EOr lesue a valid tax
reeelpt for the ~4
.I
Your requeet fO3 u) Opinion 18 aooomm&
bye a brief writtea by, you, Which ha8 been Wit4 helpful to u
ant3 ‘we thank ‘you iOr it.
%l an8w8r to JrOUr fir8t qUWItiC?‘n, 10 obmne
.
While it 18 the rUIiOtiOIIand duty ot the ax
oo~l.eotor to oofleo~t taxe8, he ha8 no kmful authority to ooe
proPJ8e eud.106 for tcuee, or ~give.a di8oount ror payment 0r
taxes.biiOre the due date thereof, or* in truth, to oolleot
t,axe~ la any way OF manner 03'at any time not authorized by
the law OS Texas.
.. rn order for any papment W a taxwvar to tb
tax oolleotor to be a legal PWmWt Of taxO8, it 18 nece8paz-y
that the payment be made in OUIT811OY* See Bryan V’. Stiberg,
5 Tex, W8 A~tin.V.'T~x; 1 8. Vf* (26 601, and NV18 V. w,
5s Tel. 36 t )I the eald oolldobor, at the time 0r the paynlsntt0
h by the -per, must be. either a valid inoumbent or the
orrioe OS mx OoUeotor, or 8 de raeto holder the-r, Cia ma
'I,sintt~n I, s. D., 234 8. W. 1090~ SOhdber V* Qmmnon, 31
s. w. (a) 659); the property On whioh the tax paid iam have
been p~+vioutily. entered OII tkm tax r0l.b towher with it8 ~tim
(8~ Oeolge v. Dean, 47 Tex. 73) and the a86488ing roll8 most
bm,bea reoaived by the TAX 00 1 lOotOr fma the ~~Seione~~
00-t b the 0880 of a re8ident~taxmyer, Or from the CO5Ptroller
of publie Aoooun$s~ in the ease-of's non-reaideut taxpayer, (i?ee
~exa8 c R. 0. R. Co., vw State, 73Civ- APPo 580; OraDcieCounty
TV. Texas &ET. 01 R+ COSS 35 al+. App. 361, error refused; men
v. Courtney, 24 'Xv. ARP* 86).
The earliest day On wbioh roll8 Oan 'iedeliver&
h the mneotor isr the first day Or Ootober. (See 0-e County
i.
i 35 DIVE APR. 361, error raruaed).
i,. '-f. Texae d:N. 0. R. CO.,
I~,
Honorable Otto P. Z&ore, page 3
The tar oolleotor ha8 no authority to Ool-
leot taxes for.the ourren8 year before the firat day of
Ootober* (StaeOrange County V. Tern8 dsR. 0. R..Co., 35 01~.
App. 361, error refused).
&I 80 aumh a8 the f+rpeyer is not authorized
to pay, OP the tasoolleotor authorimeb to oollsot, taxes bs-
fore the roll8 are legally delivered to the tax oolleotor, it
is,,therefoti,plafnly apparent that the tax oolleotor is uith-
out authority to now oolleotithe tare8 for the year 1944 In-
qulred about by you.&
Ogz amwer to the ilmt question auked by
you renders it unaeoeesaryto answer the other question.
FIRST ASSISTANT
ATTORKEY GENERAL