Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion

Honorable Joe C. Gladney Criminal Dlstriot Attorney 'Rusk County Henderson, Texas Attention: Honorable O'Neal Morris Dear Sir: opinion NO. o-5246 Ret Power to collect taxes on homestead without collecting personal pr* perty and poll taxes due from owner of the homestead. Your opinion request, dated April 21, 1993, states: "Mr. George E. Wood, Tax Assessor-Collector of Rusk Counby, Texas asked me to seoure fran your office an op&nion on the,following question, to- wit: A homestead owner who owes taxeson his home- stead and on other personal property and poll, taxes tenders payment of all the taxes due on his homestead to the exclusion of the personal property taxes and poll taxes due. Can Mr. Wood accept payment of all taxes due against this home- stead without payment of the other taxes mentioned? In other words, can the.,homesteadbe inoumberad with taxes due on personal property and poll taxes? "It is my opinion that the Tax Asseeaor- Collector can accept payment of taxes due on the home- stead without payment on personal property and poll taxes. My opinion is based on Article 7279 R.C.S. of 1925 whi@h says3 No real estate set apart, used or designated as a homestead shall be sold for taxes other than the taxes due on such homestead. I also oite the following authoritiesa City of San Antonio vs. Toepper- wein, 133 S. W. 416: Tate vs. MoGraw, 73 S.W. 2d 559. Honorable Joe C. Gladney, page 2 - (0-5246) ',"Itis possible that this question is cover- ed in Opinion No. O-448 made to W. Pat Camp, As- sistant Criminal District Attorney, San Antonio, Texas, March 15, 1939. "An opinion on this question will be great- ly appreciated." We feel that your opinion is correct. Article 7279 has consistently been construed to mean that a homestead is not liable for any tax save and except the taxes due against the homestead itself. Wright v. Straub 64 Tex. 64, Higgins v. Bordages, 88 Tex. 458 31 S. W. 52, $03, Barnet v. Eureka Paving Co., 234 S. W. 1081, Tate v. McGraw, 70 S. W. (28) 467, 73 S. w. (2d) 559. Since this is true, payment of the taxes due on the homestead will leave such homestead free and clear of any tax lien, and such property can in no way be used for the collection of personal property or poll taxes due from the owner of such homestead. In our Opinion No. o-448, to which you refer, we held that payment of all taxes against the homestead and pay- ment of the poll tax of the taxpayer prior to January 31, 1939, followed by a subsequent payment Bf the poll tax of the wife of the taxpayer on February 6, 1939, would entitle the tax- payer to a poll tax receipt dated January 31, thus entitling him to vote, despite the fact that all of these payments were not made prior to such date. In that opinion we referred, with respect to poll tax payments, to the principles enunciat, ed in the preceding paragraph. Suoh principles are, we feel, applicable to poll taxes, personal property taxes, or to any taxes or assessments other than taxes actually due on the homestead. Trusting that the foregoing fully answers your in- quiry and confirms your opinion, we are Very truly yours APPROVED MAY 4, 1943 ATTORNEYGENERALOF TEXAS /a/ Gerald C. Mann /s/ R. Dean Moorhead ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS R. Dean Moorhead Assistant APPROVED OPINION RDM:db:elb COmITTEE BY Chairman