Hon. A, E. Sutton Opinion No. 0-2774.
County Auditor Re: Is property on which taxes have
Palestine, Texas been paid subject to foreclosure to
pay off bonds along with the property
Dear Sir: on which taxes have not been paid?
We have your ,let,ter of September 20, re~questing
our opinion on the following questions
“Where the citizens of an incorporated town
vote bonds and taxes are levied for the payment
of same, and some of the property owners in, said
town pay the taxes levied against their property
but others do not, is the property on which the
taxes have ,been paid subject to foreclosure to
pay off said bonds along with the property on
which the taxes, have not been paid?”
The statutes do not authorize a lien against prop-
erty subject to taxation to secure payment of general obli-
gation tax bonds.
Article 826 of Vernon’s~ Annotated Statutes provides
that the governing body shall levy and collect a tax annually
sufficient to pay the annual interest and provide a sinking
fund for the payment of bonds which had been previously author-
ized by the qualified voters. Substantially the statute pro-
vides that bonds shall be secured by a levy of taxes on all
taxable property located within such city, and the payment of
such bonds is to be made out of funds collected from the levy
provided by the governing body.
When the taxes have been paid by the taxpayer in
accordance with the levy, the property against which such
taxes have been levied is thereby discharged of further liabil-
ity for the payment of such taxes. In the event the taxes
levied and collected are insufficient, additional taxes may be
levied in an amount calculated to pay the bonds, but it follows
that unless the taxes levied become delinquent, the property
is not subject to foreclosure for non-payment, for obviously
there are no taxes due against said property.
Hon. A. E. Sutton, page 2
Article 7337 of Vernon's Annotated Civil Statutes
provides that any incorporated city has the right to enforce
the collection of delinquent taxes due it under the provi-
sions of this chapter, which is the Acts of 1897, page 132,
as amended. This law provided in substance that all suits
to enforce the collection of taxes shall include all property
owned on which delinquent taxes are due. In other wordsiethe
statutory tax lien created by the non-payment of taxes,
gaily levied may be foreclosed only after such lien has been
adjudicated gy a court of competent jurisdiction in accordance
with existing laws governing the foreclosure of tax liens in
delinquent tax suits.
Property only being subject to foreclosure for non-
payment of taxes, we are of the opinion that your question
must be answered in the negative.
Trusting that this satisfactorily answers your in-
quire, we are
Very truly yours
ATTORNEY
GENFRALOF TEXAS
By /s/ Clarence E. Crowe
APPROVED OCT 4, 1940 Clarence E. Crowe, Assistant
/s/ Gerald C. Mann
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
APPROVED:OPINIONCOMMITTEE
BY: BWB, CHAIRMAN
CEC-s:wb