333 .I 

OFFICE OF~EA-ITORNKY GENERALOFrrXA6 

AU8TlN 

Boaombble Charles E. Reagan 

cmmlmxl Dlstrlot Attoraey 

Xsrlla, T&x88 

Dear Slrt pinion Ro. O-4085 

% 0: (1) &y a oouaty rel!aburre 

a tarpyer vhloh hnr paid a 

road 418trlot tax on property 

vhloh a rurwy 8hovr Va8 not 

vlthal th8 dlrtrlott 

(2) I(ey 8Uoh X’efttI~d be made 

Out Of th@ intWO8t 8ad 8kklag. hurd of raid road dirtriot? 

We have reoelved yOlU' l&tar l'OqUO8ting an Opinion 

iMlpD this ~ptU’t8Ulat. MCI Quote frolp Jour I'O~~llt. 

“A receat IIUPVO~ di8olorad that a taxpeyer 

had been Dering t8Xl38 Qa prOp@l'ty, 0 pOrtian Of 

vhleh not vlthla the lilllit8 or mm4 diitrict #J, 

pall8 COUQty, -8, for P per104 Of 20 plbl’llq 

Dem8ad he8 been made upon the county for nlmbur8ealeat to the oxteat of uly awl m OX0088 

ptqments. 

“18 it legtAlly p088iblO for the CaUnty t0 reimbur8e 8UOh texpoyer? xi 801 OaO 8U& pIYtII6atS 

bemade Oilt Of th0 intXtIWcltUld8iliklUR f"UIIdOf 

road district #9? 

'(All t8X Paylnent8 VOW VOlUlltWilY mSd0) 

nAuthoritle8, (Au&la Rat'1 Rank of Auetin 

V8. Sheppard et 01, 71 8. W. (24) 242.) 
Honorable Ch4Ples E. Reagan, page 2 

Chspter 3 Of Title 22 Of vWIlOll’8 CfVil 8t8tUtC8 Of 

Texas 1s the statutory lav relating to the prooedure pertaining t0 the lS8uSnCe Of road dlatrlat bon48 md the malump of 

payment of suoh bonds. 

The fundamental rules of law applicable to your 

first qUe8tiOn h6Ve been di8CU88ed by thi8 I)epal%nWmt in our 

opiaion HO. 0-1266. A oopy of raid opinion 18 enolored for 

your l.nfoxmatlon. Also 8ee our opinion fo. o-2836, a oopy of 

Vhbh 18 8180 OIlClOfKZd. 

In aaoordance vlth the authorltls8 olted ln es14 opfniOIl8, your first questian is accordingly Pn8WeZ'l34 in the affirmative. we tlOXt COMidOl' VW 8WJOIid QUC8tiCL 

The lien oq the property in the road dlrtriat areated 

in favor of the bond holders oould not be said to extend beyond 

the bOUUd8r~e8 of the road diatrlot. ,The tax va8 levied, an8e88ed and oolleoted by the t8$&g u&t, probably und+E 8 X%8- 

take of faot, aertairily vithout authority of lav. m t8x v&8 

pal4 by the property ovner to the taxlag authority undiir a 

alst6ke of Sact. From the faOt8 8UtE%tted thea3 i8 nothing to 

8h0v thfbt the taxpayer v88 aegllgeat la falling to aloertaln 

vhether all of hi8 property ~88 vithin the rbad di8triat bouadOr108. we do not believe, in this oonnectlon, that the lav 

vould rwmlre a pemoq to go to the traubl@ and experue of haying his property eurveyed to determine lf it 18 properXy tit&In 

the bOWad8rl,es of the taxing unit in order to px-ealude‘the rfak 

of paying taxes vh.loh could not rrubrrequently be reoovered when 

it bCCosPe8 IYI 88tabli8hCd faOt thrt 8UQh t&UC8 VCFC ZWt in fWt 

properly collectible In acoo&dance vlth existing lava. ,To hold 

othervlse.voul4 be contrary to every prlnclple of equity an4 

justice. It follovs, therefcre, that 8lnas the taw8 aolleoted 

vere on property not looated within the road dirtriot awl vere 

therefore vrongfully levied, assessed, colleclt@.and pal4 under 

a mistake of fact, the amount of suah taxes never beceape the 

property of the road dletrlct as agalnet the property owner. 

Opinion Ho. o-1266, suprat Auet'ln Ratlotil Benk of Austin v. 

Sheppard, (Wm. of App.) 71 S. W. (24) 242. 

Texes that have been illegally exiiited may be iwaovered by the ovuer even though auoh taxer haye gone Into the 
Honorable Charles E. Reagan, Page 3 

treasury and have been pald out by the disbursing offlaera. 

Austin X?ctlonal Bank of Austin v. Sheppard, eUpra. Thla Department has held in opinion Ho. 0-24g6, supra, that vhere 

a person mistakenly paye taxes on another's property, thlnkdng he Is paying tsxee on hle own , 8Uah per8On may recover 

8Uoh Eanomt from the county and it is the county's duty to 

nuke suah refuad. It 18, therefore, our opinion i&at, the 

per8on, referred to ln yaw reque8t, end undp the facts 

therein stnted, mfly properly be pal4 the pro rata amount of 

taxes wrongfuQy aolleated and mistakenly paid, upon the 

property not situated vithln the actusl boundaries of the 

road diatrlat and that aA$d amoUnt may properly be pal4 out 

of the intersat and sinking f~n4 of said road dletrict. 

we tPUBt th6t in th38 

your inQul.rlelJ. 

nmnaer we have full7 ~an8vered 

c