Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion

OFFICE OF THE An-ORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS AUSTIN Bon. Stephen Y. Eebart, page 2 **Lessor hereby warrants an4 agrees to defend the title to the lend8 herein de- scribed, and ageea that tha loeaee &all hme the right at any time to redeem SOS lessor, by payment, any mortgm, tams, or other l&ma on ths above dmaribed lands, ln the event or default oi payment by les- aor, and br subrogatedto the right8 OS the holder tbamof,' “The Tar Oolleotor take8 the position now that since tkm poll,tsx reoelpts w4re not ieeuad before Januery 51, 1940, thet he aennot iseme t~.now. Th4 lessee tak40 the position that mice tha poll~taxeswere paid in duo thno aa- oorilia~to law, and that the la& paragraph above referred in eald lease held by the 1486ee who paid the poll tax, proper17 sigma an4 x&o- tarizmd, we8 sufflclantauthority for the Tax Collenator to have irmaed the aotual poll tax reeelpts.* It is alaar, in our opinion, that t&a lssuuane4 of voting poll tax reoeipttsby the tax aollaotor u&&r the oimumstancr88dewribed in yw latter, waul.dbe violative of th4 tollfming 8tatutser Mlole-2961, Retiaed Oioil Statutes of *as, whloh pxovides: If the taxpaper do4a not r4eiQe in a aitr of tsn thoui8a.Minhabitants or more, hi6 poll tax must either be paid by hipnla pereon ox!by one duly suthorlzad by h&n in writing to 6~6110 pay th4 marm, mud to furalah the oollaotorth4 informationne~sssbcryto till out the blank8 In the pall tar receipt. Suah authority and informationaatstbe signad by the p~rtp who owtm the pall tar, end maat be deposited ulifb the tax oollecrtor and iilad end prenenod by hiPI." ., 8Y4 Eon. Stephen F. ?Iebert,;'age3 "All tax raoafptte issued ior any year after January Slat shall be stamped on the faw therrofr *Holdernot entitled to vote,* and thm nm# of the holders or euoh poll tar reoeipte shall not be inoladed in the list of quelified rotexsw It is obeerved that Article 2961, eupre, 1y- uirela the tarpayor not only to si@ 4n aganoy author- tvrtion but also th4 atatenmnt 04nts..blng th4 lnioana- tion neoesaaryto enable the tex rrolleotorto prepere fihapoll tex seoeIpt, eruneto be deposited with the tax oalleotor end filad end ~r4s4rv4d by hka. l&snlfeot- ly, tfiferequuirement of the statute hae not-been oom&Ied with under the iaota stated &I rour request, 4-n ii the oil and gas lease drsoribed w&e a suffioient sgeaay authorization oonaeming whloh we need not end do not exprese an opLlion* Ukzewike,Artiale 2968, eupra, pleoea the ems- &tory duty upoqthe tex aollector to etenzpetathe raoe of eny poll tax reoeipt issued after Jinuery 3let of any year the word8 mHolder not entitled to rote". Oertainly this provisiacwould be vIolated were the tar oolleetox at this tisa, to leeue a poll tar reoeipt without the aotetion thereon ad pramrlbed by thie statute. We aleo oell poclrattention to Artfole 199 of tho Penal Code, whioh proddesr .%uytax oolleetorw@o deliver8 a poll tax rsceigt or certirlcsteof emi@Son to eny 0x84 except the one entitle&l thelgto an& at the t%me when the tax is pdd or the oertffiaate of es- emptioriie applied for, 4zaqt an speoiallg per- aitted by law shall be fhmtI not leas themone huMsed z&r mm then one thoueend dolle.re,and shall be resoved rmo: orfioe." YOU am,therer0ra, mepm7tftll1~advfeed fhet If 2.8our -_ opinion that _ there an noaatopa *aLoh the _. tax oolleotormay tam, unaer tn4 o~oumstanoe8 aesomtb- ed in your letter,ahereby ha zany at thio time; under the st.etutesuefi.nl~ the dutier or his 0rri04 pert&k- lng to poll tamsa, issue to the subjeot parties a taliQ voting poll tax reoeipt, Truatl.ngthat we have ~etisreotorllyanswersd your lnqulry, vm remain Your8 very truly COMM”TEE