333 .I
OFFICE OF~EA-ITORNKY GENERALOFrrXA6
AU8TlN
Boaombble Charles E. Reagan
cmmlmxl Dlstrlot Attoraey
Xsrlla, T&x88
Dear Slrt pinion Ro. O-4085
0: (1) &y a oouaty rel!aburre
% a tarpyer vhloh hnr paid a
road 418trlot tax on property
vhloh a rurwy 8hovr Va8 not
vlthal th8 dlrtrlott
(2) I(ey 8Uoh be made
X’efttI~d
Out Of th@ intWO8t 8ad 8kk-
lag.hurd of raid road dirtriot?
We have reoelved yOlU'l&tar l'OqUO8tingan Opinion
iMlpD this ~ptU’t8Ulat. MCIQuote frolpJour I'O~~llt.
“A receat IIUPVO~ taxpeyer
di8olorad that a
had been Dering t8Xl38Qa prOp@l'ty,0 pOrtian Of
vhleh not vlthla the lilllit8
or mm4 diitrict #J,
pall8 COUQty, -8, for P per104 Of 20 plbl’llq
Dem8ad he8 been made upon the county for nlm-
bur8ealeatto the oxteat of uly awl m OX0088
ptqments.
“18 it legtAlly p088iblO for the CaUnty t0 re-
imbur8e 8UOh texpoyer? xi 801 OaO 8U& pIYtII6atS
bemade OiltOf th0 intXtIWcltUld8iliklURf"UIIdOf
road district #9?
'(All t8X Paylnent8VOW VOlUlltWilY mSd0)
nAuthoritle8, (Au&la Rat'1 Rank of Auetin
V8. Sheppard et 01, 71 8. W. (24) 242.)
Honorable Ch4Ples E. Reagan, page 2
Chspter 3 Of Title 22 Of vWIlOll’8 CfVil 8t8tUtC8 Of
Texas 1s the statutory lav relating to the prooedure pertain-
ing t0 the lS8uSnCe Of road dlatrlat bon48 md the malump of
payment of suoh bonds.
The fundamental rules of law applicable to your
first qUe8tiOn h6Ve been di8CU88ed by thi8 I)epal%nWmtin our
opiaion HO. 0-1266. A oopy of raid opinion 18 enolored for
your l.nfoxmatlon. Also 8ee our opinion fo. o-2836, a oopy of
Vhbh 18 8180 OIlClOfKZd.
In aaoordance vlth the authorltls8 olted ln es14 opfn-
iOIl8,your first questian is accordingly Pn8WeZ'l34in the af-
firmative. we tlOXt COMidOl' VW 8WJOIid QUC8tiCL
The lien oq the property in the road dlrtriat areated
in favor of the bond holders oould not be said to extend beyond
the bOUUd8r~e8 of the road diatrlot. ,The tax va8 levied, an-
8e88ed and oolleotedby the t8$&g u&t, probably und+E 8 X%8-
take of faot, aertairilyvithout authority of lav. m t8x v&8
pal4 by the property ovner to the taxlag authority undiira
alst6ke of Sact. From the faOt8 8UtE%tted thea3 i8 nothing to
8h0v thfbtthe taxpayer v88 aegllgeat la falling to aloertaln
vhether all of hi8 property ~88 vithin the rbad di8triat bouad-
Or108. we do not believe, in this oonnectlon, that the lav
vould rwmlre a pemoq to go to the traubl@ and experue of hay-
ing his property eurveyed to determine lf it 18 properXy tit&In
the bOWad8rl,esof the taxing unit in order to px-ealude‘therfak
of paying taxes vh.lohcould not rrubrrequently be reooveredwhen
it bCCosPe8IYI88tabli8hCd faOt thrt 8UQh t&UC8 VCFC ZWt in fWt
properly collectible In acoo&dance vlth existing lava. ,Tohold
othervlse.voul4 be contrary to every prlnclple of equity an4
justice. It follovs, therefcre, that 8lnas the taw8 aolleoted
vere on property not looated within the road dirtriot awl vere
therefore vrongfully levied, assessed, colleclt@.and pal4 under
a mistake of fact, the amount of suah taxes never beceapethe
property of the road dletrlct as agalnet the property owner.
Opinion Ho. o-1266, suprat Auet'lnRatlotil Benk of Austin v.
Sheppard, (Wm. of App.) 71 S. W. (24) 242.
Texes that have been illegally exiiitedmay be iwaover-
ed by the ovuer even though auoh taxer haye gone Into the
Honorable Charles E. Reagan, Page 3
treasury and have been pald out by the disbursing offlaera.
Austin X?ctlonalBank of Austin v. Sheppard, eUpra. Thla De-
partment has held in opinion Ho. 0-24g6, supra, that vhere
a person mistakenly paye taxes on another's property, thlnk-
dng he Is paying tsxee on hle own , 8Uah per8On may recover
8Uoh Eanomt from the county and it is the county's duty to
nuke suah refuad. It 18, therefore, our opinion i&at,the
per8on, referred to ln yaw reque8t, end undp the facts
therein stnted, mflyproperly be pal4 the pro rata amount of
taxes wrongfuQy aolleated and mistakenly paid, upon the
property not situated vithln the actusl boundaries of the
road diatrlat and that aA$d amoUnt may properly be pal4 out
of the intersat and sinking f~n4 of said road dletrict.
we tPUBt th6t in th38 nmnaer we have full7 ~an8vered
your inQul.rlelJ.
c