Qerald C. Mann 

w?amx~~~~xxx *-mexDzY "-Am. 

AuFrrIN Il. -rrcxAs This Opinion overrules 

in part letter opinion 

to W.M. Porter dated 

2/12/38. 

Hon. John M. Turner 

County Attorney Opinion No. O-4424 

Eee county Re: Penalty on delinquent taxes 

Reevllle, Texas of Independent school district. 

Dear Sir: 

We have received your letter of recent date in 

which you ask'the opinion of this department upon the following question: 

"Can an independent school district 

legally charge ten per cent penalty on its 

own delinquent taxes?" 

Article 7336, Vernon's Annotated Civil Statutes, 

provides In part as follows: 

"If any person fails to pay one-half 

(l/2) of the taxes,; Imposed by law upon him 

or his property, on or before the thirtieth 

day of November of the year for which the 

assessment Is made, then unless he pays all 

of the taxes (Imposed by law on him or his 

property), on or before the thirty-first day 

of the succeeding January, the following 

penalty shall be payable thereon, to-wit: 

During the month of February, one (1%) per 

cent; during the month of March, two (2$) 

cent; during the month of April, three (3% P 

er 

per cent; during the month of May, four(4$) per 

cent; during the month of June, five (5%) per 

cent; and on and after the first day of July, 

eight (8$) per cent." 

We quote from the opinion of the recent case of 

Love v. Spur Independent School District, et al, 143 S.W. 

(2d) 793: 

"Article 7336, Revised Civil Statutes of 

1925,.provided In effect that a penalty of lC$ 

on the entire amount of delinquent taxes should 

accrue~and be collected as penalty.- Thereafter 

in 1934 article 7336 was amended by the Fourth 

Called Session of the party-thlrd~Leglslature, c. 

10,$2, Vernon's Ann. Clv. St.art.'7336, and reduced the penalty on delinquent taxes to 8$, but 
Honorable John M. Turner, Page 2 

the amendment became effective ninety days 

after the date of the adjournment of said 

session November 10, 1934. Article 7336d 

provides that the State or any county or other 

subdivision of the State 'except such cities, 

towns, villages, special school districts and 

independent school districts which do not 

adopt the provisions of this section' shall 

collect penalty on a different basis but this 

last article has no application to the case 

under consideration for the reason the record 

falls to show that Its provisions were adopted 

by the City of Spur or the Spur Independent 

School District. Therefore the penalty would 

be calculated according to article 7336 and 

article 7336 as amended by the Forty-third 

Legislature. 

"It will be noted from the delinquent 

tax record of the City heretofore set out that 

It charged lC$ penalty for the years 1928 to 

1938, inclusive, when under the law it should 

have charged only 8$ penalty for the years 

1935 to 1938, inclusive, which would have reduced the penalty due the City by $1.97. 

"The judgment In favor of the City for 

$1.97 penalty in excess of the legal amount 

is a mistake which in our opinion comes under 

the doctrine of de minimis and does not require a reversal or modification of.the 

judgment. Texas & N.O.R.Co. v..Stumberg, Tex. 

-Civ.App., 115 S;W.(2d) 1~26; Lewis v. Lewis, 

Tex.Clv.App.. 125 S.W.2d 375; Wichita Falls 

& Oklahoma Ry. Co. et al v. Pepper, Tex.CiV. 

APP., 101 S.W.2d 365. .We also note that in 

1930 the Spur Independent School District 

charged a penalty of but $2.40 on delinquent 

taxes of $48. This was to the defendant's 

advantage In the sum of $2.40. 

"An examination of the schedule of the 

delinquent tax record of the Spur Independent 

School District heretofore set out discloses 

that the School District charged lO$ penalty. 

up to and including 1933 but only 8% penalty 

thereafter and the defendant is entitled to no 

deduction therefrom." 

You are respectfully advised that the penalty 

should be calculated according to Article 7336 before and 
. . 

Hondrable John M. Turner, Page 3 

after its amendment. In other words, for the years prior 

to the amendment a penalty of lO$ is authorized. For the 

years after the amendment a penalty on a graduated scale 

Is authorized from February to July following the date of 

delinquency, and a penalty of 8$ after the first day of 

July. The letter opinion to which you refer in your letter 

of request was one written February 12, 1938, to Honorable 

W. M. Porter. The author of the opinion cited Article 

as amended, providing for an 8$ penalty. He closed the 

7336, 

opinion w1th.a statement that the district could charge a 

lO$ penalty. We believe that the author Inadvertently wrote 

lC$ when he meant 8$. This statement is expressly overruled. 

Yours very truly 

ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS 

By George W. Sparks 

Assistant 

OWS:IM:bt 

Approved March 4, 1942 

Grover Sellers 

First. Assistant 

Attorney General 

Approved Opinion Committee 

By BWB, Chairman