Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion ( 1974 )

THEA'ITORNEYGENERAL
OF TEXAS
AUSTIN. TEXAS 78711
February 13. 1974
The Honorable Joe Resweber Opinion No. H- 229
County Attorney
Harris County Courthouse Re: How should the penalty and
Houston, Texas 77002 interest, if any, be calculated
on the additional tax due under
the “rollback” provision of the
Agricultural Use Amendment
(Article 8, 5 l-d) of the Texas
Constitution?
Dear Mr. Resweber:
You have asked for an opinion of this office on the following question:
“How should the penalty and interest, if any, be
calculated on the additional tax due under ,the ‘roll-
back’ provision of the Agricultural Use Amendment
(Article 8, 5 1-d Tex. Const. )?”
Article 8, $ 1-d,~ of the Texas Constitution provides a partial tax
exemption in connection with land use for agricultural purposes. Subsection
(a) of this provision states:
“(a) All land owned by natural persons
which is designated for agricultural use in accordance
with the provisions of this Section shall be assessed
for all tax purposes on the consideration of only those
factors relative to such agricultural use. ‘Agricul-
tural use’ means the raising of livestock or growing of
crops, fruit, flowers, and other products of the soil
under natural conditions as a business venture for
profit, which business is the primary occupation and
source of income of the owner. ‘I
p. 1070
The Honorable Joe Resweber. page 2 (H-229)
Subsection (f), about which you are concerned, provides as follows:
“(f) Each year during which the land is
designated for agricultural use, the local tax assessor
shall note on his records the valuation which would have
been made had the land not qualified for such designation
under this Section. If designated land is subsequently..
diverted to a purpose other than that of agricultural use,
or is sold, the land shall be subject to an additional tax.
The additional tax shall equal the difference between
taxes paid or payable, hereunder, and the amount of
tax payable for the preceding three years had the land
been otherwise assessed. ”
In our opinion the additional tax contemplated by subsection (f) does
not become due until the land is shown not to qualify for agriculturalusetaxation
pursuant to Subsection (a), supra. Penalties and interest become due under
Article 7336, V. T. C. S. only if the additional tax is not paid at that time.
SUMMARY
The additional tax provided for under Article 8,: $1-d(f),
of the Texas Constitution does not accrue until~the ,year in which
the land is diverted to a non-agricultural use or is shown not to
qualify for taxation pursuant to Article 8, $ l-d(a) above and is
not subject to penalties and interest, unless there is a refusal
to pay the additional tax at that time.
Yours very truly,
c/ JOHN L. HILL
Attorney General of Texas
p. 1071
The Honorable Joe Reswkber,page 3 (H-229)
DAVID M. KENDALL, Chairman
Opinion Committee
p. 1072