OFFICE OF THE Al-l-ORNEYGENERAL OF TEXAS
AUSTIN
Honorable hobert D. Gswalt
county Attorney
~ilh3rger county
Vernon, Texar
Deer Sir:
k'e have your 1‘ pinion or this
deprtment as to whether otor can by virtue
Statutea, levy
oved from your
or must he rely
Civil statutea.
%ea the Tex collector
rity to levy upon property on
axes are not dae? Do the oouditions
:~ve to be amplied with before the
~ZCCollector has the authority to collect
taxes u-hlch are not delinauent?n
llonorablr Robrrt D. Grwalt, Rage 2
Article 7268 d Vernon’8 Revised Clvll Statutrr,
reads as lollowrt
"Ii it OOICIt0 th0 knOwiedg8 Of the tar
oollector that any personal property assessed
for taxes on the rolls 1s about to br remorsd
from the oounty, and the ownbr oi suah property
bar not other propsrtp in the county sulfloirnt
to satisfy all assessmenta against him, thr
oollsctor shall timedlately levy ugon a suffl-
olency of euch property to setisrp 6uch taxer
and all oosts, and the sauce sell in lcoordanoo
with the law reg.ildtlIlg sales of personal yro-
perty for taxes 'unless the ovinor of wah pro-
perty shall give bond, alth eutficient seoarlty
payable to end to be approved by the oolleotor,
and oondi tloned for the payrcezit of the tar88 due
on such property, on or befors tho first day OS
January next sucoeedlng."
The shove statute reveals to us that the ticrde
*aaseseed for taxes" in the seoond line of this atatute
are the key v:ords tc be cocelCereC lr. ancucring your ques-
tion. Yc.ur attention is called to the provislcn that the
collectcr IZIY mke a lcry upon Drcyerty suffiolont t.o
satiefy the taxes anC costs prorICed that personal property
asaeseid for taxes it sbcvlt to be removed from the county
and that the O*Der of that Drotertv doea net have otbr
pr0pwt.y wltbl3 the coJ.nty tc iatlify all a8s86CLent@
agalont him. It appears clrcr to u8 that the wcrdr *asm68-
odn and wassearmentW are impcrtant In datrrmlning the ln-
tention an@ the socpa cf tbls stctutr.
The oonetltctloa and the statutes of Tsras do
not provide for a lien ugcn ccecnal props-rty for state and
oounty tares prior tc a levy being made by the ocllector.
In the case of Rspubllo Insaranca CoLpaoj versus
Elghlaed Iark Inde~endent'Echool :lstrict cl Collas io):mty,
b7 P. k. (Ed) b2'7, the oourt saldt
*An assefsmcnt as provldod by lair, la an in-
dispensable prsrsqul rite to the valibity of a tax
aeeinat an individual."
Honorablr Robert D, Oaralt, Pago S
The authoritler of various etatbr are not la
qgreement upon the meaning of l88eaement, but the law in
Tea8 ~eem8 to br well rattled by the statement or Judge
Brown in the oaae oi State ve. Farmer, 59 8. H, 541. Hi8
statement wae:
*It 1s the aa8e8ement made annually by the
ofiiorrr of the State, under and in aooordance
with the law, which holds a lien upon the land,
The word ~assesement~ , a8 here u8ed, evidehtly
neans tho rum whloh har been ascertained ae the
apportioned part of the tax to be charged against
the pertioular piece of property; but under our
Constltutlon, and tbe provl8lonr of our etatute,
the word embraoes more than simply the amount, and
lnoludes the prooedurr on the part or the orrlolals
by whloh the property le listed, valued, and rln-
ally the pro rata declared.*
Thus, the assessment must be made befor the
State*@ lien 1s rlxed upon real property, Under this autbor-
lty the asceaament constitutes more then the mere lletlng
of the property of the lndlvldual tax payer.
Under thr facts given us la your letter, the tax
roll has not bean neda; the rate bes not been sut and passed
upon by the Commlssloner8’ Court and there 1s no showing
that the property baa been listed and e valuation rlred
upon the property of this tax payer or other tax payers of
Your ocunty, Tbls tar payer OY(BBno tax, in-ieot, there 1s
no tax to bo oolleoted until the eseeesment is made.
%e do not think that the faotr dlsoloer that tax.8
have bern lsresred upon the property about to be removed
rraa your oounty within the Contemplation ot Article 7268,
Vernon’s Fievlsed Civil Stetutee. Therefore, we are oi the
oplnlon.thet the tax oolleotor 16, under the olroumetances
outlined in your letter, compelled to rely upon Article
7270 for the colleotlon or these taxes.
Yours very truly
ATTORNXY Cf!3sflBRAL
OP TEXAS
I