Honorable Lloyd G. F!ouldin 

County Attorney 

-PaId mtlto county 

Palo Pinto, Texas 

Dear Sj.r: 

Opinion No 0..2227 

Re: (1) Liability of farm tractor 

for ad velorq taxes of indewdent 

school district; 

(2) Statu,t,@y right of tax assessor 

of :'ndemndent school distrkt to 

assess proparty for taxation where 

owner refuses to do so. 

This Department is In receipt of yo,ur letter of April 12, 1940, wherein you 

submit for om determination the two ;@llow.i.n:: questions, which we quote 

tharefram: 

.~. 

"Mrr L,?yd %. Stevens, Tax Assessor and Collector of the Santo Independent 

School District. has asked me: in wri~t5.n~ -I~%0 obtain an opinion from 

your dea-tmen'c on the following questLons: 

"(1) Is a farm tractor subject to assessment for taxes? 

"(2) IP said tractor ins subject to assessment for taxes, what can 

the ta;: assessor of an Independent School distrrct dl3, I~f the owner 

of said tractor refuses ts render said tractor for taxat?on?" 

We concu? in your conclvs!.on that c farm tractor is not exempt from ihe 

taxes levied hy on ?ndci)endent sch,ool d:strict under pertinent statlkes. 

In thiq connection, Article ;lk>, Vernon's Annotated Civil Statutes, 

provides as follows: 

"All proi,erCy, real, personal or mixed, ek$cept such as may be hereinzliper expressly exe$@.ed, Is subject to taxation, and the same shall 

he rendered and listed aa herein prescribed." 

Article '7147 provides that, "?&sons1 property, for the purposes of 

taxation, shall be construed &include all goods, chattels and effects." 

and proceeds to enumerate certain species of personal property as being 
Honorable Lloyd G. Bouldin, Page 2 (O-2227) 

within the intendment of the tax stu tutes . Nothing appears therein to 

remove a farm tractor from the 1” ‘-1 category of taxable personal 

property 

Article 7150, Vernon’s Annotated Civil Statutes, enumerates certain 

specific c*assifications of property, real and personal, which the 

legi;latu~e, under enabling provisions of the Constitution, has elected 

to exempt. Farm tractors not appearing there in, it must follow that they 

are subject to various ad valorem taxes, includi.ng those of independent 

school districts. 

Turning our attenti.on to your second question, it appears that the rights 

and duties of the tax assessor of an f~ndependent school district are 

fixed and governed by applicable generel laws rel;-,lating the time and 

manner for the assessment of State and County ad valorem taxes by county 

tar assessors-collectors. This is so by virtue of the following specific 

provisions of Article 2791, Vernon’s Annotated Civil Statutes: 

“It shall ba within the discretion of the board of trustees of any 

independent school district t.o name an assessor of taxes who shall 

asoesa the taxable property l*ichin the llmita of the Independent rahwl 

met within the time _-end In the mannar provided by existing laws, 

in oo far .ai they are appJioable, and when said arsarsraent hag been 

equalized/by a bosrd of equaliesti.on appointed by the board of trr:tear 

for that purpna, ahall prepare the tax rolls of raid district and 

shall duly ‘n?.m and oertify oamc to tha county tax aolleotor as provided 

for in the sucaeedlng artlola.” ( Underscoring ours) 

these :Mrtinent general statutes are Articles 7192 and 7193, Vernon’6 

,,r.r;titated Civil Statutes, which provide, respectively, a6 followa: 

“In every case where any person whose duty It is to lint any property 

for taxation has refused or neglected to list the same when called on 

for that purpose by the easesaor of texeo , or has refused to aubecrlbe 

to the oath in regard to the truth of hia statement of property, or 

any part thereof, when required by the tax assessor, the .seseasor rhall 

note in a book the nahe of such person who refused to llat or to 

swear; end in eysry case where any person required to list property 

for taxation has been absent or unable from slckncas to list the same, 

the tax assessor shell note In a book such fact, together withthe 

name of such person. rr 

“In all oases of failure to obtain a statement of real and personal 

property from any cause, the assessor of taxes shall ascertain the 

amount and value of such property and assess the same 8s he believer, 

to be the true and full value thereof; and such easeasment shall 

be as valid and binding as If such property had been rendered by the 

proper owner thereof. ” 
mnorable kloyd C. Bouldin, Paze 3. (o-2227) 

It readily appears' from the foregoing statutory provisions that the tax 

assessor of Santo Indkpsndent School District would be authorized and 

r&ulred to 8esem the farm thactor In question for taxes of said 

school district, upon the failure and refusal of the owner thereof to 

rpler s*me for taxation purposes. 

Trusting we have fully answered your inquires, and with best regards, 

we me 

Yours very truly, 

AT!EXNEYGENFFALQFTFXAS 

a/ Pat M. Neff, Jr. 

Pat M. Neff, Jr. 

Assistant 

PMN:AMM/ldW 

AppRovED wi 27, 1940 

s/GERALD c. MANN 

A!MORNEYGENERALOFTEXAS 

APPROVED OPINION COMMITTEE 

BY B. W. B. 

CHAIRMAN