# T~CATTQRNEYGENERAL OF TEXAS

PRICE DANIEL AuwrIN 11. -rExAs ATTORNEY

GENERAL July 25. 1949

Hon. L. A. Woods State Superintendent Department of Education Austin, Texas Opinion No. V-862. Rt: The authority of a school district to 

### sue to collect personal property 

### taxes on automobiles and related questions. Dear Dr. Woods:

Your 

### opinion request submitted at 

### the request ofthe officials ofa school district is as follows:

‘1. Referring toArticle 7297, it states that a school district has no authority to file suit for taxes **on ‘** **unrtndtred ’**  personal property unless the amount of @t tax is in excess of twenty-five dollars. “We have a condition in our district wherein the 

### owners ofseveral thousand automobiles refuse to 

### rtndtr 

### them to tht~ tax 

### assessor as 

### theidea has 

### gottena**round** that since small items ofpersonal property tax cannot be sued on, the owners ofthe automobiles refuse to 

### render the property and therefore evade 

### thetax. 

### Our School Board has put pressure on owners ofthese unrendtrtd automobiles and with the cooperationof 

### the school tax collector we have indicated to these 

### owners if

## thetaxes art not paid that suit will be filed. “If the above article refers to this 

## typeof ptrsonal property tax as notbeing subject to suit, we **of** 

### course do not wish to 

### threaten suit and **then** 

### notbe able toback:it up. In fact, Board members have the feeling that if we have nobetter law to

### enforce the collection 

### ofthis tax, it would be abetter policy to leave these unrendtrtd automobiles. as well **aa** the **other agtomo**  bilts, off the tax roll entirely. We come to this line 

### of thinking for the reason that people who do render 

### their automobiles and pay taxes on

### them art being discriminated against, when about forty per cent of

### thetaxpay

### ers refuse to render **their** automobiles and **get by**  **with** itbecause we have no law to 

### enforcecollection.Hon. L. A. Woods, Page 2 (V-862)

“Another point in connection with this, would the school board be showing discrimination in the asstssmtnt of taxes **on** automobiles by making sixty per cent pay and letting forty per cent 

### gotax 

### free?

‘2. Another practice which has been followed in our tax offices in 

### thepast has been to drop automobiles from the tax roll when 

### theybecome five years old. Would our tax assessor bejustified under 

### the law in dropping automobiles from 

### thetax roll at any given period. so long as the automobile has value?

‘3. Is there any law which allows a man and his family 

### oneautomobile for transportation tobe exempted from taxes under the old law that a man and his family 

### were entitled to a wagon and team exempt from 

### taxes? ” 

### Article 7297, V. C. S.. applies only toState and County 

### taxes, and not to school districts, as your request implies.

Section 1,Article VIII ofthe Constitution 

### ofthis State, provides in part as follows:

‘All property in this state
. . . other than municipal, shall be taxed

. . .in proportion to its value. * Section 2 ofArticle VIII of

### theConstitution declares that 

### the Ltgislaturt may exempt from taxation certain specified property, and declares further that ‘all laws exempting property from taxation 

### other than the property above mentioned shall be null and void.” Automobiles art not listed in

### the'Constitution as an item of proptrtywhich the Legislature is authorized to exempt from taxation. Therefore automobiles are taxable in the same manner and to the same extent as other personal property subject to

### thejurisdiction of school districts.

School districts have no inherent 

### power to tax as dots the State. but the Constitution and statutes have 

### conferred upon 

### them thepowtr,to levy ad valorem taxes to support 

### theschools tstablished and maintained therein. Crabb v. Ctlestt Independent School District, ,105Ttx. 194. 146S,W.-fzBT1912) BI L.1 District, 285 SW. 271 (Comm. ALP. tw1tt 

### Megargel C. ~~L@J).~‘N

0useful purpost wilTIt served to discuss 

### these constitutional and statutory provisions in detail. It is oufficient to say that all property, real and personal, not 

### otherwise exempt, is subject to ad valortm taxes by school districts as to such property as is located within the confines of such a district. This, of course, includes automobiles.Hon. L. A. Woods, Page 3 (V-862)

Article 7147, 

### V. C. S., defines personal property 

### for the purpose oftaxation. Itprovides in part as follows:

‘Personal property for 

### thepurpose oftaxation shall include all goods, chattels and effects

. . .” Wtbater defines a chattel as “any item ofmovable or immovable property not real estate. * An automobile falls in this classification. 

### Moreover, any doubt as to the legislative intent is removed by Article 7162, V. C. S., which indicates 

### theptrsonalty which shall be listed 

### or

### renderedby taxpayers for taxation. This article requires that 

### the following items, among 

### others, with their respective values, must **be** listed:

‘Number of carriages, buggies, wagons, automobiles, bicycles, motorcycles, 

### or othervthiclts~tmr kind.” Section 1ofArticle VIII ofthe Constitution provides: “Taxation shall be equal and uniform.” It would be aviolation ofthis constitutional provision if sixty per 

### centof the automobiles and their owners were assessed for 

### taxes by a school district, and the remaining forty per cent 

### were arbitrarily and intentionally not assessed at all. This procedure would be neither equal nor uniform. **Our** Supreme Court has laid down 

### the rule that ‘equality of taxation necessarily depends upon uniformity ofassessment.” Livtlyv. Missouri QK. T. Ry. Co., 102Tex. 545, 120S.W. 852 (1909). Such a procedure would be discriminatory.

In answer toyour question No. 2, you art advised that 

### thereis nothing in the statutes to **support** 

### the arbitrary dropping of automobiles from the tax rolls at any 

### age of such car. Automobiles. as other property, 

### are to be taxed according to their value. Age, of **course,** would 

### bea factor in determining such value. Article 7174, V. C. 5.. provides:

‘Personal property of

### everydescription shall be valued at its true and full value in money.” In answer to your question No. 3. you are advised as first stated that 

### thereis no law in this State exempting automobilea from taxation. 

### One automobile is exempt tothe family under Article 3832, V. C. S., from forced salt, that is, from execution in satisfaction ofdebts; but this exemption has no reference to taxation. This rtatute specifically 

### refers to carriages. Our courts, however, 

### haveheld that an automobile is a carriage within the meaning of this statute, Willis v. Shoelman, 206 S.W.2d 283 (Tex. Civ. App. 1947).. .- .



### Hon. L. **A.** 

### Woods, Page 4 (V-862)

SUMMARY Automobilts.art subject toadvalortm taxation byschool districts as anyother item ofpersonal property. Thetaxing officials ofschool districts have no authority toassess sixty or anyother percentage ofthe owners ofautomobiles, andpurposely relieve others of 

### assessment. All automobiles thathaveavalue art subject toad valorem taxation 

### byschool districts. There is nostatute exempting family automobiles from taxation. Arts. 3832, 7147, 7162, 7297, 7298, V. C. S.; Ttx. Const. Art. III,Sec. 55; Art. VIII, **+zcs.** 

### 1, **2; Crabb**  **v.** 

### Ctlestt IndependentSchool District, 105Tex. 194, 146 m 520 (I9 ) Bltwitt v. Megargtl C. L. School Distric; 285 S.W. 571 (Comm. 

### App. 1926)’ Lively v. Misii& &K. T. Ry. Co., 102Ttx. 545, li0S W 852 (-l9’09); wl?ns v. Shotlman. **236** 

### S.W.2d 283 (Ttx. &ii. App. 1947). Yours **very** 

### truly ATTORNEY GENERALOFTEKAS

: LPL/mwb L. P. Lollar Assistant

FIRST ASSISTANT ATTORNEYGENERAL