Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion ( 1947 )

January 24, 1947
Honorable R. 9. Wyche opinion No. v-03
County Auditor
Gregg Connty Re: Under, the given iao$s
Longview, Texas should the additional
amount or taxes that
were lert 0ri by the
Tax Assessor-Collector's
Orrice in error be paid
and charged 0rr as a
legal tax debt by the
taxpayers?
Dear Sir:
Your request for the opinion or this Depart-
ment based upon the hollowing raotual situation has
been received.
nSabine CommonSchool District No. 4 duly
wade a proper tax levy ior one dollar, thirty-
seven teats ($1.37). 'The request ior this levy
was duly presented to ~the Commissioners' Court
and duly levied by the Court.
"Someone in the Tax Assessor-Collector's
office made an error and computed the levy at
one dollar, twenty-six cents ($1.26). The rolls
repared on one dollar, twenty-six cents
(i?&y and the Commissioners' Court approved the
rolls. They were taken to the Comptroller's de-
partment and acoepted. Some of the large tax
payers reel that this is a legal obligation and
are Wi11iIQ to pay it.
"I am requested t0 have your Opinion as t0
whether or not the eleven cents (#.ll) additional
may be paid and the tax payers have the right to
charge it off as a legal tex debt. Please let
me have your opiniQn as soon as possible."
Xr. S. 0. Loving, the President of Sabine Com-
mon School District Wo. 4, has communicated with this De-
partment giving the following additional information oon-
Honorable B. Sp Wyche - Page 2
cerning the tax levy of One Dollar & 37/100 Dollars
$1&37) referred to above, He advises that the Com-
missioners1 .~Court levied One Dollar & 26/100 Dollars
($162S) for maintenaace purposes for the eowmon school
district and Eleven Ceata (lid) for interest and sink-
ing f’und on bonda theretofore duly and legally issued
by the district,, which two items aggregate the sum of
$1*37*
It is assmsd that ‘the levy at the oontpon
schoel tax above referred to yr*s made in accordance
with the provisions of Artlola 2795, R. C. S. of Taxas,
lp2S, which is in part as follows:
“The commissioners court, at the time of
lQVliw$ taxes for county p~rpos~es, shall aho
levy upon all taxable property within any common
sahool distriot tha rate of tax so voted if a
specific rate has been voted; oth,erwiae sa,id
court shall levy suoh a rate within the limit
so voted as has been determined by the boar4
of trustees or said diatriot and the oounty
superinteadsnt and certiiied to said aoart by
the oounty auperintenaent 0 If such tax has been
voted rite? the levy of county taxes, it shall
be levied at any meeting of said oourt prior to
the delivery of the assessment rolls by the as-
sessoro The tax assessor shall assess said tax
as other taxes are assessed and make an abstract
showing the wnount of special taxes assessed
against each school district in his oduntg and
furnish the same to the cout$ty superintendent
on or before the rirat day af September of the
ywar for which suoh taxes are assessed, The.
taxes 18Vied upon the real property in said dis-
tricts shall be a lien thereon and the same shall
be sold for unpaid taxes in the manner and at the
time of sales for State ana county taxes*”
It is also assumed that the tax levy of $1.37
, was made at the time the Commissioners' Court levied the
county ad valorem taxes in accordance with Artiole 7048,
Revised Civil Statutes of Texas, 1925, in the manner pro-
vided therein*
i,
The Revised dir11 Statutes of Texas make no
provision for the aounty't?OmBis'siOnem' courts or the
oounty alerks of the several oounties of Texas to trans-
wit the information aoncerning ,the amounts of the tax
/,
Honorable R. S. Wyche - Page 3
levied under the provisions .of~,both.oP the foregoi,ng
articles to the Tax Assessor-Collector or Tax Asistissor’
and/or Tax Collector of the several counties.
However, it is the understanding of this de-
partment that it is the custom in many oounties for the
Commissioners~ Court to transmit, or cause to be trens-
mitted by the..county clerk, a copy of the various tax
levies es reflected in the minutes of the Commissioners~
Court to the Cffioe of the ‘Tax Assessor who shall then
we such information as the basis for making up the tax
roll.
I& the instant case it is evident that the Tax
Assessor-Colleotor erroneously omitted the Eleven Cents
(ll#) regularly~ and legally levied by the Commissioners~
Court for securing the bond,~,.issue when making up the tax
rolls, and that the Commissioners~ ‘Court had no knowledge
or such’omission whea it epproved the rolls; but such
‘errer did not as a matter of ract or law affect the le-
gality of the original tax levy itself.
It is e well-settled rule of law in Texas that
an order or ordinance levying a, tax 1,s a aondition prec-
easnt te liability thereibr, and in order. to collect the
tax there must be reasonable certainty that a lawful tax
has been levied. Western Union Telegraph, 62 Texas, 630,
635. Therefore , sinae the levying of the tax was a le-
gal one, such tax may be collected in favor of the Sab-
ine CommonSchool District No. 4.
Your query as to whether or not the taxpayers
paling the Eleven Cents (ll#) tax have the right to
eharae it up as a legal tax debt cannot be answered by
this-department since the answer thereto affects nei-
ther the State of Texas nor the offioials ef Gregg Coun--~
ty or the CommonSohool District under the provisions
sf Article 4399, Revised Civil Statutes of Texas.
SUXXARY: A tax levy duly and legally made by
a Commissioners1 Court to? a oomon school distriot
is a legal tax obligation , although part or the tax
levy was erroneously ctitted from the tax, rolls by
Eonolable R. S. Wyyohe- Page 4
the County Tax Assessor-Collector.
Yours very truly
ATTORNEP
GENERAL
OF TEXAS
ByQidLdiw
C. K. Richards
Assistant
APPROVED
JAN. 24, 1947
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CKR/JCP :jrb
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Approved Opinion Committee
By BIB, chairman
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