Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion ( 1978 )

The Attorney General of Texas
June 20, 1978
Honorable Ben T. Reyes Opinion No. H- 118 7
Chairman
House Committee on Rules Re: Validity of a homestead tax
P. 0. Box 2910 exemption for senior citizens
Austin, Texas 78769 whose income is limited to a
certain amount.
Dear Representative Reyes:
You have requested our opinion regarding the validity of a homestead
tax exemption for senior citizens.
Article 8, section l-b of the Texas Constitution provides, in pertinent
part:
Sec. l-b. (a) Three Thousand Dollars ($3,000) of the
assessed taxable value of all residence homesteads of
married or unmarried adults, male or female, including
those living alone, shall be exempt from all taxation
for all State purposes.
(b) From and after January 1, 1973, the governing
body of any county, city, town, school district, or
other political subdivision of the State may exempt by
its own action not less than Three Thousand Dollars
($3,000) of the assessed value of residence homesteads
of married or unmarried persons sixty-five (65) years
of age or older, including those living alone, from ad
valorem taxes thereafter levied by the political sub-
division.
You advise that the Board of Education of the Houston Independent School
District recently enacted the following resolution:
Section 1 That the Board of Education of the
Houston Independent School District grant a $5,000
homestead tax exemption to citizens sixty-five years
p. 4782
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Honorable Ben T. Reyes - Page 2 (R-1187)
of age or older who timely file a sworn application with the
District’s Tax Assessor-Collector, the exemption to be
granted according to the procedures and under the condi-
tions employed by the City of Houston, the Tax Assessor and
Collector of the Houston Independent School District.
Section 2 That the Board of Education of the Houston
Independent School District grant an additional $10,000
homestead tax exemption to citizens sixty-five years of age
or older (for a total of $lS,OOO), who timely file a sworn
application on a form provided by the District, through
which the taxpayer establishes that his or her income does
not exceed $5,000 annually if only the taxpayer claiming the
exemption resides in the residence homestead, and a
combined total of $7,000 annually if the taxpayer claiming
the exemption and his or her spouse reside in the residence
homestead, the exemption to be granted according to the
procedures and under the conditions employed by the City of
Houston, the Tax Assessor and Collector of the Houston
Independent School District.
You ask whether the board may validly condition this additional $10,000 exemption
upon the taxpayer’s annual income.
A political subdivision is empowered by article 8, section l-b to grant to every
person a tax exemption on certain property, provided the property is the residence
homestead of the taxpayer, and provided further that the taxpayer is at least 65
years of age. The board of education, while authorizing an exemption in the
amount of $5,000 to all taxpayers on the sole basis of the two constitutional
criteria, proposes an additional exemption for those taxpayers who also qualify
under an income test.
The Supreme Court of Texas has frequently declared that “lax exemptions are
subject to strict construction since they are the antithesis of equality and
uniformity.” Hilltop Village, Inc. v. Kerrville Independent School District, 426
S.W.2d 943, 948 (Tex. 1968); see also Davies v. Meyer, 541 S.W.2d 827, 829 (Tex.
1976). In our opinion, the school board may not limit the grant of an exemption to
any condition not derived from the constitutional amendment itself. ln Sparkman
v. State, 58 So. 2d 431 (Fla. 1952), a constitutional provision authorized a homestead
tax exemption of $5,000. The legislature subsequently required that any person
claiming the exemption must have been a legal resident of the state for one year
prior thereto. The Supreme Court of Florida held that
the class or group entitled to homestead exemption under
the constitution, and the class or group entitled to such right
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Honorable Ben T. Reyes - Page 3 (H-1187)
or privilege under the constitution as attempted to be
restricted by legislative enactment, are quite materially
different.
As a result, the court found the residency requirement invalid. 58 So. 2d, at 432.
Likewise, the Texas Constitution empowers a political subdivision to grant a
homestead tax exemption on the basis of the taxpayer’s age and residence on the
homestead property. To these constitutional conditions, the school board has
appended a third based on income. When a constitutional amendment has
specifiiedl . . . circumstances and purposes . . . the Legis-
lature is without power to add to or withdraw from the
circumstances and purposes specified.
Deason v. Orange County Water Control & Improvement District No. 1, 244 S.W.2d
981, 984 (Tex. 1952). It is our opinion, therefore, that under the present language of
the constitution a school district may not limit the grant of a homestead tax
exemption for senior citizens to those whose income is below a particular amount.
SUMMARY
Under the current language of the constitution, a school
district may not limit the grant of a homestead tax
exemption for senior citizens to those whose income is
below a particular amount.
C. ROBERT HEATH. Chairman
Opinion Committee ’
P. 4784