Honorable W. L. Edwards CountyAttorney Victoriacounty Victoria,

Texas
Dear Sir: Attention: Mr. F. 0. Proctor, Jr. Opinion

No. O-5227 Re: Whethera personmay pay second half of taxes on one tract of land without

paying the second installment

on other tracts of land..
Under the date of April 15, 1943 you submit for the opinion of this department

the following

question,

which we quote from your letter:
"Wherea person has paid the first half of the taxes assessed

againsta number of separately rendered

and valued tractsunder Article7336 Vernon's RevisedCivil Statutes, is it possiblefor him to pay the second installment of said taxes on only one of the tracts.?"
In the case of Richey ?m* Moor, 249 S. W. 172, the Supreme Court of Texas clearly declared

the rl.ght

of a taxpayer

to pay his taxes assessed

againstone tract without, at the same time,paying taxes assessedagainstotherproperty. We quote from said case as follows:

"Whilethe generalrule is that taxes must be paid in full at one time, and, unless otherwise provided

by statute, a taxpayercannottender a portionof the tax and demanda receipttherefor,

yet this rule is subject to some qualificat ion. The citizen

alwayshas the right to pay the amount of any one tax listedagainsthim, or as held in some jurisdictions,

to pay the tax on any one item or piece of property which has been separately assessed,

withoutoffering

to pay the taxes on otherparts, 37 CYC. pp. 1164, 1165; 27 her. & Eng. Ency. of I.aw,

po 761. The last clause in the statement just made finds supportin the authorities cited in the notes, but in most instances the statute

directly

or impliedly

permitted the application of the exception

to the rule. There are other exceptions to the general

rule which are recognized in many, if not in all, jurisdictions."Honorable W. L. Edwards,

page 2 (O-5227)

The rule laid down by Richey YE. Moor, eupra, w&8 declared long before the amendment of Article 7336, V. A. C. S., providing the "split-payment

plan" for taxee. Your questionin effect is whether Article7336, supra,alters the right of a taxpayer to pay his taxes on one tract of land, which was separately assessed

for taxea, without paying his taxes on other separately aeseaeed

tracts. Article 7336 reads in part as follows:

"(a) If any person shallpay, on or beforeNovember thirtieth

of the year for which their assessment ia made, one-half (l/2) of the taxes imposed by law on him or his property,

then he shall have until and including the thirtieth day of the succeeding June, withinwhich to pay the other one-half (l/2) of his said taxes without penaltyor interest

thereon.
"If said taxpayer,

after paying said one-half (l/2) of his taxes on or beforeNovember thirtieth,

as hereinbeforeprovided,shall fail or refuse to pay, on or before June thirtieth

next succeeding

said November,

the other one-half (l/2) of his said taxes, a penaltyof eight (8qb) per cent of the amount of said unpaid taxes shall accrue thereon."
We find no languagein Article 7336, supra, which indicates a legislative

intention

to changethe rule laid down in Richey vs. Moor, supra. We agree with your statement that Article 7336, supra, was enacted for the purposeof furtheraidingpropertyowners in paying their taxes and does not take away from them any rights they had under the rule as announced

in Richey vs. Moor, supra.
We concurwith your opinion that where a person has paid the first half of the taxes assessed againsta number of separately rendered and valued tracts underArticle 7336, supra,he is nevertheless, entitled to pay the second installment of said taxes on only one of the tracts if he so desires.

We trust that we have satisfactorily answered

your inquiry.
Yours very truly
APPROVED

APR 28, 1943 ATTORNEY GENERALOF TEXAS /s/ GeraldC. Mann By /s/ Lee Shoptaw Lee Shoptaw ATTORNEYGENERALOF TEXAS Assistant
Ls:mw:lm APPROVEDOPINIONCOMMITTEE BY /s/ BWB CHAIRMAN