### OFFICE OF



# .T~EAE~BRNEY 

# GENERAL

~AUSTIN.TEXAS
PRICE DANIEL *TTosNsY GENeRAL : ; .c’ **Mar&** 31; 1948 F*G*N DICKS

., nEm&samvAl
I-Ion.**Fraqklin** C. Williams. ,~. ,’

. ’ ” ! CountyAttorney Anderson County Palestine, Texas Opinion No.: V-530 Re: Whether a Railroad Company should fnclude the roadbed which it holds by lease in the sworn statement of rolling,stock and mileage required to be filed by Art. 7169. V.C.S.

‘Dear Sir:Your opinion request states thatthe T. & N. 0. Railroad’ Company operates inAnderson County ovex approximately six miles, ofzoadbed which it leases from the Texas State Railr~oad. inaddition to.roadbed, owned by it. This sixfmiles of roadbed has never been included in the statement which the T. &,N. 0. Railroad Company files with the tax-assessor in compliance withArt. 7169. V.C.S. You request our opinion as to whether the yearly statements filed should include the six miles of leased ioadbed.

Section 8 ofArticle VIII, Texas Constitution, ieads as follows: “All property of railroad companies shall~be assessed, and the taxes collected. in the several counties in which said property is’.situated. including so much of the roadbed andfixtures as shall be in each county. The rolling stock may be,assessed in gross in the county where the principal office of tlie company is located, andthe county tax paid upon it, shall be apportioned by the Comptroller, in proportion to the distance such road may run through any such county, among the several counties through which ,~,. the road passes, as a part of their tax assets.” ,

Pursuant to the above authority, the Legislature, inArt. 7169, V.C.S.. made special provision for the ad valorem taxation of railroad rolling stock. This Article, in part, reads as follows:

## 314 Hon. Franklin C. Williams, Page 2 (V-530)
*E,very railroad corporation in this State shall deliver a sworn statement on or before the first day ofApril of,each year, tothe assessor of the county in which its principal office is situated, setting forth .thetrue and full value of the rolling stock ofsaid railroad, together with the names of all the counties through which it runs, andthe number of miles of roadbed in each of said counties; and said statement shall be submitted to the board of equalization of the county in’which its principal office is situated for review, onthe first Monday in June in each year, or as soon thereafter as practicable; and such board shall certify such final valuation whenmade without delay to the Comptroller, who shall proceed at once to apportion the amount of such valuation among the said c,ounties in proportion to the distance such roads shall run through any such county, and shall certify such apportionment to the assessors of such counties, and the same shall constitute part of the tax assets of such counties: and the assessor of each of said counties shall list and enter the same uponthe rolls for taxation as other pers,onal property situated in said counq.. *
.” It is appar.entthat boththe Constitution and the statute use the length of the roadbed in the counties through which it runs as th basis of a formula for~~apportionfngto the various. counties the,t& due on rolling stock of railroads.

., ‘.Furthermore, Article 7173, V.CS. reads in part as follow: “Property held under a lease for a term of three, {;f;i zz;, or held under a contract for the pur:

belonging to this estate. or tkatis exempt by law fr~omtaxation in the hands of the owner

The six miles of railroad in question belongs to the State ofTexas’and is held by the T.. &N. 0. Railroad Company under a leasesfor a term of.mare thanthree years.

It is therefore our opinion thatthe T. &N. 0. Railroad Company sheuld’include inits statement to the assessor of the county inwhich its principal office is situated the six miles of roadbed leased from~the Texas State Railroad.Hon. Franklia C. Williams, Pag.e 3 (V&530) ~

SUMMARY

, : 1The T.; &.N. 0. kailroad Company should,include in its ,statement ,to,the tax-assessor of the county id which its principal office is situated the roadbed it holds under.lease from theTexas State Railroad. Sec. 8, hart,.VI& Texas Cons’titution;~ Arts. 7169 and ,,7173,V.C.S. ,~
,. ,. ~ Yours very truly

”

‘., ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS

WVG/JCP :”



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## ‘315

BY W. V. Geppert

Assistant

‘ATTORNEYGENERAL