PRICE DANIEL *TTOHNEY

GESERAL Februsry 26, 1948

Ron. L. A. Uoods Qpinioa Ho. v-5l.a State Superintendent ... Departmentof Educati.oa Re: Se&w1 questionsrelAu&la, Texas atlve to the taxation of vheat while stored Attn: Hon. T. M. Trimble in an elevator First Assistant
Dear Sir:
You request the. opinion of this office upon the questions~oontained in the letterof Mr. George M. Waddill, BusinessManager of the Amarillo Public Schools addressed to you under date of February 5, 1948. His letter reads in p&t as ~follovs

: kho Is responsibleto pay the taxes on wheat stored in an elevator? “(a) Is the elevator obligatedto give ‘, the tax assessor informationas to the. ~mnery of the stored wheat, the same as applies~to wa.rehous

es1 “(b) Is the farmer whose farm Is in the Amsrillo IndependentSchool Districtbut whose wheat Is stored in an elevator in the School District responsiblefor the tax on the stored wheat? s(c) If the farmer lives In another county and has wheat stored in an elevator In the Amsrillo IndependentSchool District, is the fermer who owns the wheat supposed to pay z;zr$xes In the Distriotwhere the wheat Is

, or in the District in which he lives? “(d) Would wheat stored in the. elevator still belonglng to the farmer be exempt under Section 19, Artlole 81” Prellmlnsryto answerlog the foregoingquestions containedi,n

Mr. Waddill’s letter, ue quote Article 7243‘“1

. :
.

. "'Ron L A Woods - Page 2 (V-511)
. . .

V.C.S.'snd

Article 1060a, V.C.S. and Seotlon 19 of Artlole VIII of the Constitution of Texas.

Artlcle.7243,

V.C.S., provides, in part, as follous: 'Anyperson, co-partnership,assoclatlon or corporation doing business in this State as a warehousemenor operating pr controllinga warehouse or place of storage, shall, upon demand of the tax assessor of the county, In which said business Is operated or in which property is so stored, on Januery 1st of each year, furnish to the ssld assessor,a list of the property so stored In such warehouse or plaoe of storage, together vith a list of the owners of such property

. 'and their resldenoe.

. . ." \ Article 1060aV.C.S; providesas follows: : "Thatall of the provisions of Title 122, 'ofthe Revised Clvll Statutes of Texas' of 19'25, be, and the same are made available In so far as same may be applicableand necessaryto all schooldistrictsand q unioipalcorporations organizedunder any general or special law of

. this State and which have power and authority to levy and colleot thelr own taxes, and that each of such oorporationsshall heve the beneSit of all liens and remedies for the security and colleotionof taxes due them as is provided in said Title In the case of taxes due the -' State and Counts. '~~Aots 1935, 44th Leg., p. 666, ch. 281, 111." Section 19 of ArticleVIII of the Constitution of Texas,providesas Sollovs:

"Farmproducts in the hands of the producer, and family supplies for home and farm use, are exempt from all taxation until otherwise directedby a two-thirdsvote of all the membsrs

_ elect to both houses of the Legislature."

It Is apparent from the provisions of Article 106Oa,V.O.S., supra, that the provisions of Article 7243,V.C.3. are avallableto the Amarillo Independent School District for the reason that said article is com-‘ , ’ 1 ‘! z~
_

- . Hon. L. A. Woods - Page 3, ,(V-511) .~,."

prehended under the provisionsof Title 122 of the Revised Civil Statutes’ of Terns of 1925.

In answer to qkestion (a) it is sufficientto' say that a gmln elevator comes within theVprovislons of the foregoingstatutes. IS it 1s not a warehoizse under the oommdnlyaccepted use of the term, It is ctirtainly a 'place of storage ‘
.

It Is, therefore,the duty of any nierson partnershipor corporation doing busltiess

in this &a~~ - operatingor controllinga grain. elevator" In the Amrillo IndependentSchool District to give the Tax Assessor of said dlstrlot the informationrequired by the foregoing statutes. Thr,

name and address of the owner and the number of bushels of wheat stored by such ovner as of January 1, of each year would seem to be a suiflcientoomplia'nce with the,statutes. In the 'caseof InterstateForvarding Conpang v. Vlnyard, 49 g.U. (2d) 403, the Supreme Court said:
"It is reasonableto believe that the Legislature Intended to r~equire of the warehouseman.

nothing more than that he furnish .J ': the assessor such informationconcerning the

general nature of property on storage, and .-thenames and addresses of the various owners, as.the warehousemannecessarilyacquires In handllng the property in the ordluarycourse of business.

. . .“ We next ansver question (d) for the reason thst our answer to this questlonwill render an extendeddiscussion of questions (b) and (c) unnecessary.

The Legislaturehas never, by two-thirdsvote of all members of both houses, Imposed a tax on farm products Fn the hands of the producer. This provislon of the Constitution is still in full force and effeot.

You are, therefore,respectfullyadvised that, ' wheat, owned by the, producer, stored in an elevator in the Amarillo IndependentSchool District or elsewhere in this State Is still "In the hands of the producer”,vithin the meanlug of the above quot8d section of the Constitutionand not subject to taxation.

~BrieflyreSerrFrgto questions (b) and (c),we think It safe to essuae from the questions that the farmer



## ‘ 3

.Hon. L. A. Woods - Page 4, (V-511)

referred to is the produoer and the3 he is still the ovner' of the vheat. The fact thathitis %tored In an elevstorby him until sold is immsterlal. Under such conditlons'it~ vould still be exempt from taxation under Seotlon 19 of Artlole~VIIIof the Constitutionof Texas. OS course, after it passes from the producingfarmers ownership,It is no longer in his hands as the producer,and Is, therefore,taxeble, as any other personalproperty to the then owner under existing laws a.pplloable to persona1property. The residence of the farmer or the ~locatlon of the elevator in which the vheat la stored are llkevlse immsterl.al: It vould still be exempt from taxationas a farm product in the hsnds of producer until sold.

. ..,' SUMMARY A gra,ln elevator is a ?plaoe~ofstorage",and Comes undeyArtlole 7243 V.C.S. and Article 1060a. V.C.S. Wheat stored In a grain elevatorby a Ssrmer is not taxable If he is the producer of thewheat, so long as he is its ovner. Hovever, irhea the wheat is no longer owned by the farmer, as the producer, it.ia subject to.tax as any other persons1 property of the then ovner.'Seotlon 19, Ar- .tlcleVIII, Constitutionof Texas. -_ Yours very truly ATTORIiEY

GENEXAL OF TEXAS

LPL/lh

APPROVED: