OFFICE OF
.T~E AE~BRNEY GENERAL
~AUSTIN. TEXAS
PRICE DANIEL F*G*N DICKS
*TTosNsY GENeRAL : ; .c’Mar& 31; 1948 ., nEm&samvAl
I-Ion. Fraqklin C. Williams. ,~. ,’ . ’” !
County Attorney
Anderson County
Palestine, Texas Opinion No.: V-530
Re: Whether a Railroad Com-
pany should fnclude the
roadbed which it holds by
lease in the sworn state-
ment of rolling,stock and
mileage required to be
filed by Art. 7169. V.C.S.
‘Dear Sir:
Your opinion request states that the T. & N. 0. Railroad’
Company operates in Anderson County ovex approximately six
miles, of zoadbed which it leases from the Texas State Railr~oad.
inaddition to.roadbed, owned by it. This sixfmiles of roadbed has
never been included in the statement which the T. & ,N. 0. Railroad
Company files with the tax-assessor in compliance with Art. 7169.
V.C.S. You request our opinion as to whether the yearly statements
filed should include the six miles of leased ioadbed.
Section 8 of Article VIII, Texas Constitution, ieads as fol-
lows:
“All property of railroad companies shall~ be as-
sessed, and the taxes collected. in the several coun-
ties in which said property is’.situated. including so
much of the roadbed and fixtures as shall be in each
county. The rolling stock may be,assessed in gross
in the county where the principal office of tlie compa-
ny is located, and the county tax paid upon it, shall
be apportioned by the Comptroller, in proportion to
the distance such road may run through any such
county, among the several counties through which
,~,. the road passes, as a part of their tax assets.” ,
Pursuant to the above authority, the Legislature, in Art.
7169, V.C.S.. made special provision for the ad valorem taxation of
railroad rolling stock. This Article, in part, reads as follows:
314
Hon. Franklin C. Williams, Page 2 (V-530)
*E,very railroad corporation in this State shall
deliver a sworn statement on or before the first day
of April of, each year, to the assessor of the county
in which its principal office is situated, setting forth
.the true and full value of the rolling stock of said
railroad, together with the names of all the counties
through which it runs, and the number of miles of
roadbed in each of said counties; and said statement
shall be submitted to the board of equalization of the
county in’which its principal office is situated for re-
view, on the first Monday in June in each year, or as
soon thereafter as practicable; and such board shall
certify such final valuation when made without delay
to the Comptroller, who shall proceed at once to ap-
portion the amount of such valuation among the said
c,ounties in proportion to the distance such roads shall
run through any such county, and shall certify such ap-
portionment to the assessors of such counties, and the
same shall constitute part of the tax assets of such
counties: and the assessor of each of said counties
shall list and enter the same upon the rolls for taxa-
tion as other pers,onal property situated in said coun-
q.. * .”
It is appar.ent that both the Constitution and the statute use
the length of the roadbed in the counties through which it runs as th
basis of a formula for~~apportionfng to the various. counties the ,t&
due on rolling stock of railroads.
.,
‘.Furthermore, Article 7173, V.CS. reads in part as follow:
“Property held under a lease for a term of three,
{;f;i zz;, or held under a contract for the pur:
belonging to this estate. or tkatis ex-
empt by law fr~om taxation in the hands of the owner
The six miles of railroad in question belongs to the State
of Texas’and is held by the T.. & N. 0. Railroad Company under a
leases for a term of.mare than three years.
It is therefore our opinion that the T. & N. 0. Railroad
Company sheuld’include inits statement to the assessor of the
county in which its principal office is situated the six miles of
roadbed leased from~the Texas State Railroad.
*
Hon. Franklia C. Williams, Pag.e 3 (V&530) ~ ‘315
SUMMARY
, :
1The T.; &. N. 0. kailroad Company should, include
in its ,statement ,to,the tax-assessor of the county id
which its principal office is situated the roadbed it
holds under. lease from the Texas State Railroad.
Sec. 8, hart,. VI& Texas Cons’titution;~Arts. 7169 and
,,7173, V.C.S. ,~
,. ,. ~
Yours very truly
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
”
BY
‘., W. V. Geppert
Assistant
WVG/JCP :”
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‘ATTORNEYGENERAL
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