. 

OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS 

AUSTIN 

sonorable K. P. Berms, Jr. 

Coun t7 Audi for 

K8ll er County 

lIempat48dr TeXae 

Dear lb. Eepm6l 

i 

Oplnlou lie. 0-7@38 

n 

Department 

has reqneate 

IC of the Board 6t EqualI4, euah Board oonridered 

durlnr Its nald 1944 meetlnF, proceeded to change such 

rend1 tlon sheet by addlnp thereto ‘personal wonarty--- 

$1 ,on!; .r? . , Frank ZcPnl ras not nCt~ifie1 crf such aeptInPr and did not anrear thereat. Frank Echo1 firfit hecame anwised of the acta ni the P.oard of EqualIratlon 

chanFllrr the rendjtinn sheet, or, the 3lnt dar of January, 1946 rhetr he rent. to the tax collector t,o nay his 

taxes. Re refused to ma? such taxes that dar but nald 

their the next dav, February 1, 1945 hv check, unm the 
279 

Y,-. W. P. Bems, Jr. - Paw 2 

free of whfah he wrote, 'paid under pretest’. Frank 

lrohol eteter that he dld not oa en7 perwonal property 

on January 1, 1944, but that he did hare 8uatoU7 an6 

f~ossa~slem oi about fifteen (1s) head of mother eowo 

rhlah belonged to him wm crho was a non-realdent. The 

v.alw of muah eowa was aumtoaarlly tlxed by tbe Board 

of Bquallratlon at @O.OO eaah. Mr. ICehot elalrs that 

he made aa over prymeat of $lsd6 tor the rear 1944; 

that suoh paywent was lYYe@l?7 demanded Of bir# that 

he lmtaluntarll7 paid the mm. and that the County of 

Ka llor BOW o wes h im sa ob l wa a f~ 

'Mr. Babol also not with the Bear& O? Equaliaatlon 

at its 1945 aeetlng, at wbleb mafia& blr pbreonal preparty warn ndu~d ln taluo to @80&O, OII abicb utount 

be paid taxes on Jauuary 8lr L*Id. &t that tlw thr 

armhers oi the Board af Pquall8atiOn agreed rrrballr 

tb8t such sum of @R&V3 vms lflogal1~ l r meued aqrlnrt 

him top 1844, and shOuld a?t bare been eolYeatedr but 

tbrougb iaaUvsrtanoe or IMglOOt ISO Order to that l i-. 

teat was put on the minutes ot moh,Board. 

*Y7 quoatiana arlalng trot the above fasts are as 

follo~rc 

Ma7 the Comisdeners%urt et Kall*r 

Ceuat;, Texas, IaWullf lrsccr a Warrant * 

the awouat of @lcle.iM to tbe eald %a& Bsbol 

in aoadderatlOn tor tha exeeutioa~ br the 

ultl #hak Eebol, 0t a raloamc Of all auita 

or l a tc seoa t l a tlo n wb la h he l l.g hhare t 

apslnst Wa1.l~ Gun tr based an the alnwo 

transratlims? 

2.’ It t.he toreiabs quection 1s an&-- 

ed in the ncpatlrer ma7 the Comdselonsrw 

Court sitting au a~ Poerd of Squallratlon 

correct. tbe minutea at said Board at thle 

time, in such Eanner as to retlaat the actual ocourrence It j ts meetln~ In 1944, and 

If l o, aould @ rarrant tken bo issued for 

the twrpocms described in questSor I?’ 

Beth of your questIOns are arnered $3 the nepatfre. 

From 7our utatement of the taats, It Indisputably rp 

reare that f!r. EchoY, wjth a !'uTl knorladpe of the exact sltuatlan, rolmtarlly Talc! the taxes 3~ dlsgxte. ‘Thj s 1a conolualre 
: . 

Hr. KF. P. Benrs, Jr. - page 3 

apalnst his right to raeover the name , and comnequantly lt Is 

aonalurlra of the rlpht, of tbs Comfsrl~nars Court to pay him 

alsfmt the ssma not belmr a valid antoraeabte dainand l pafnst 

the oounty* 

It has lon; been the rule that one who, knowInK that 

a tax has bean ll?rga??y assessad l txalnst bfa, toluntarlly pays 

the came without any Rind of duress or 1 am? aoeralon, may not 

reoaveF It upon the ground of ettoh llfeglit~. The taet that 

Vr. Echo? paid the tax *under proted does not shange the l ltuat.jon, elaoe he was la ao wlmo noawed his l a tua papant ? was 

roYuntar7. flis oase rould stand la a dliterent light lf his 

tallure to my mch tax eon18 lega?Yy have beam follorad up by 

a wnmary impoadtlon ot a penalty, torfelturer or the Ilko, 

agalnat him, l nU be had made tha p&men t to pre+en f ouch penalty or torteltura. fbat aoald bar0 baaa legal dllrbsm, antltLang bin to reeever the peywtt, whsther mado under erpresa protest or not. 

fn Aumt9.n Xatlona'l Dank vo @mppard, 71 6* If. (2) QU, 

the Swwemo Court ssldc 

*(a) A per@n who ro?untsrl?y pays an ll?eg~l 

tax hai no slalm tor Its repefment. Qa R.C.T.. p* 

465, S 411; City at Boustm v* Foe-r, Pa tex. 555, 

13 8. K. 566f Qalrestm City Og* 'I* City ot Qalrar 

ton, 56 0.x. 455f Bear, Roott & CO. 10 dlhdnnon, 52 

Tex. CIT. App. 554, 115 se Il. Qol (rrit ref.), and 

l nthorltfaa eltad on page 354. This @ a so ram l ?f3r med by the United states Qtaprame Court, 223 V. 8. 468, 

a2 8. ct. aaa, 55 t. ~5. 510. 

‘(I) A person rho mfn an Illem? tax under durosa has a leea? claim fey 3tc repament- * l !! 

l (8) hlress In the lxwm0pt of an llle~l tax 

say be either exnress or laplied, and the ?e,co? &I ty 

te refund fs the saw jn hcth lnntnnccc- 20 PX.i . 

p.4R7, z 413. 

.(R) Vhen the statute worldes that the taxnayer 

c):? f-al?+ to py the tax shall fortej t his rlxht to dn 

bu~!r.e~s In tke stats, 3rd l~are the cclirt.c c1c.133:~, to 

hjm, be js not requjred to teYa the rick CT harfrg hi6 

rlpht to resort to the courts djsputed and hla husinesc: 

jnjured while the lnraYldlt~ of t~he tax Is kei.ns: adjndica ted . 26 R. C. 1. p. 46s. 
Ur. e* P. Asrlas, Jr. - 4 

to 

ia’ 

*(lo) In the absence of a specific statute 

the sontrary, the iaat that an illen tax im 

lr not paid under prote8t Is of no inprtanac. 

R.C.L. p. 450 8 414.‘ 

ths unnm holdiac was made l?r tht3$mpme Court In 

IFaClonaI Riroult Co. v. Gtate, .I311 6. 1c. (6) 687, and ntlll 

l .gaitj in thlon Central TAfe Ins. 

al, et al, 188 &e ‘1. (B) (ITCo. T* Mmm, Attorney CcnerTbhe altumtian would not be any different if the Board 

of Equallratlon should now rescind it8 erronuoun @rtler (if ladeed It would haTo the power to do so)* That would be mere ~OIW, 

and it ooald mot operate to ~l~mlr;e the claim Into 8 legal enroroeoblu obllg8tion of the OountY , for 6ha rights of the respactire partlea were fixed at the date of the voluntary payment. 

One arnnot do by indjreotion wIrat he oannot lo direotly. 

0 t+xB