-. - 

'I'HEA~~RNEY GENERAL 

OF-TEXAS 

September 6, 1957 

Hon. W. G. Woods, Jr. 

County Attorney 

Liberts Countv 

Liberty, Texas 

OPINION NO. WW-242 

Re: Whether or not the car which 

a Deputy Sheriff owns and 

maintains exclusively for 

law enforcement work Is 

exempted from the State 

Motor Vehicle Sales Tax, 

Dear Mr. 

question 

we quote 

Woods: and related questions. 

You request the opinion of this office upon the 

submitted in your letter of July 25, 1957, which 

as follows: 

"1 have been requested by Mr. W. M. 

Perkins, one of our deputy sheriffs of 

Cleveland, Texas, to get an opinion from 

your office concerning the State Motor 

Vehicle Sales Tax. Mr. Perkins owns two 

cars and a vehicle referred to as a 'jeep*. 

One of said cars is used exclusively for 

his personal benefit and the 'jeep' is used 

for his personal benefit as well as his law 

enforcement work. One of said cars, however, 

is equipped with a short wave radio and is used 

exclusively for carrying out his law enforcement duties as a deputy sheriff. 

"Is the car which Mr. Perkins owns and 

maintains exclusively for law enforcement 

work exempted from the State Motor Vehicle 

Sales Tax? If so, are the tires and equipment thereon exempted from the state sales 

tax? 

"Article 8, Section 2 and Article 11, 

Section 9 of Texas Constitution and Article 

7150 of V.A.C.S. exempt certain property 

used for public purposes from taxation, 

however I was unable to find any authority 

for exemption from taxation in a case 

similar to Mr. Perkins' request. It is 

requested that you furnish this office 
Hon. W. G. Woods, Jr. Page No. 2 Opinion No. WW-242 

with any previous opinions rendered by the 

Attorney General's Office on this subject. 

If no related opinion has been rendered, 

I would be willing to prepare a formal request for opinion." 

In our letter of July 29, 1957, we requested more 

specific Information but we have concluded that we may answer 

your request without this information. 

We are here concerned only with the car owned by Mr. 

Perkins, the deputy sheriff of Liberty County, which he uses 

exclusively in his work as deputy sheriff. For this car to 

be exempt from taxation we must find the authority in Section 

2 of Article VIII of the Constitution of Texas or Section 9 

?f Article IX of the Constitution or Article 7150 of Vernon's 

CLvil Statutes or in the taxing statute. We do not think that 

either of Lnese constitutional provisions or Article 7150 V.C.S., 

affords any basis for the exemption of the car owned bye Mr. 

Perkins from the sales tax of 1.1s imposed by Section 1 of 

Article 7047k, V.C.S. For property to be exempt from taxation 

under either of the constitutional provisions or the statute 

mentioned above as public property, it must be publicly owned 

as distinguished from privately owned. Concededly, under the 

facts submitted, the car is privately owned by Mr. Perkins 

even though he may devote it to a public use. 

The case of Texas Turnpike Company et al v. Dallas 

County, et al., 158 Tex. 474, 2'71 S.W. 2d 400 (19541, holds 

as follows: 

"Under the foregoing facts is the property 

in question 'publicly owned' so as to be exempt from taxes under Article XI, Section 9 

of the constitution? Public ownership, for 

tax-exemption purposes, must grow out of the 

facts; it is a legal status, based on facts, 

that may not be created or conferred by mere 

legislative, or even contractual, declaration. 

If the state does not in fact own the taxable 

title to the property, neither the Legislature 

by statute, nor the petitioners and the Authority by contract, may make the state the owner 

thereof by simply saying that it is the owner." 

Moreover, we assume that Mr. Perkins is reimbursed 

by the county as provided in Article 6877-1, Vernon's Civil 

Statutes upon a maintenance and-mileage basis as provided by 

said statute. In effect he devotes the use of the car to the 
Hon. W. G. Woods, Jr. Page No. 3 Opinion No. WW-242 

County and State in pursuing his official duties as deputy 

sheriff, but for this he is compensated as provided by the 

terms of the foregoing statute. 

The key definitions found in Article 7047k, V.C.S., 

the taxing statute are "sale" or 'sales'\ "retail sale" or 

"retail sales". These are as follows: 

"Sec. 3. (a) The term 'sale' or tsales' 

as herein used shall include installment 

and credit sales, and the exchange of property, as well as the sale thereof for money, 

every closed transaction constituting a sale. 

The transaction whereby the possession of 

property Is transferred but the seller retains 

title as security for the payment of the price 

shall be deemed a sale." 

"(b) The term 'retall sale' or 'retail sales' 

as herein used shall include all sales of motor 

vehicles except those whereby the purchaser acquires a motor vehicle for the exclusive purpose of resale and not for use." 

It will be observed that the tax is applicable to all 

retail sales unless the car is bought for the exclusive purpose 

of resale and not for use. The car in question is certainly 

not bought for the exclusive purpose of resale, but for use. 

The retail motor sales tax imposed bye Article 7O&'k, V.C.S., 

would, therefore, be applicable to the car ovrned by Mr. Perkins, 

even though he devotes it exclusively to law enforcement purposes as deputy sheriff of Liberty County for which we assume he 

is reimbursed under the terms of Article 6877-1, V.C.S. 

There remains for consideration that portion of your 

request dealing with accessories on the car. By the express 

terms of Article 704'k, V.C.S., "all accessories attached thereto 

at the time of.the sale" are for the purpose of this tax considered a part of the car and the tax would be calculated upon 

the total consideration including the accessories attached thereto at the time of the sale. If the tires, and other equipment, 

such as a short wave radio were attached to the car at the time 

of the sale and included in the sales price of the car, the tax 

would apply~. If the accessories were attached after purchase 

and after the sale, the motor vehicle sales tax would not apply 

to such accessories. 
Hon. W. G. Woods, Jr. Page No. 4 Opinion No. WW-242 

SUMMARY 

A car owned by a deputy sheriff and used exclusively by him in connection with his duties 

as a deputy sheriff, Is subject to the Motor 

Vehicle Retail Sales Tax imposed by Article 

4047k, Vernon's Civil Statutes, and all accessories attached to the car at the time of 

sale are also subject to the tax. Accessories 

purchased and attached subsequent to the sale 

would not be subject to the tax imposed by the 

mentioned statute. The deputy sheriff may receive reimbursement for the USC of the car as 

provided by Article 6877-1, Vernon's Civil 

Statutes, on a maintenance and mileage basis, 

as provided by that statute. 

LPL/fb 

APPROVED: 

OPINION COMMITTEE 

Geo. P. Blackburn, Chairman 

Mary Kate Wall 

W. R. Hemphlll 

Roger Daily 

REVIEWED FOR THE ATTORNEY GENERAL 

BY: James N. Ludlum 

Yours very truly, 

WILL WILSON 

Attorney Qeneral