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## TJXEA%=FO,MNEY GENERAL

cm TEXAS

January 12, 

## 1966

Hon. Q. F. Steger County Attorney Colorado County Columbus,Texas

Dear Hr. Steger: Opinion MO. (C-532)
Re: The amount of compensat ion a County Tax Assessor-Collector is permitted to receive for the collection only of taxes for an independentschool district, including delinquenttaxes, which taxes are assessed’bythe special assessor’of the independentschool district and related questions.
You have requested the opinion of this office upon the followingquestions:

“1. What compensationis a county tax assessorcollectorpermitted to receive for the collectionONLY of taxes for an independent school district, includingdelinquenttaxes, which taxes are assessedby the special assessorof such independentschool district? “2. In the event taxes for an Independentschool district are assessedby a special assessor for such school district to be thereafter collectedby the county assessor-collector, is the county assessor-collector required to prepare the tax rolls and receipts required for such collection?”
You are advised that Article 2792, Vernon’s Civil Statutes

_ _- as smenaea my Ii.

B. 243, Page 1579, Acts of 59th Legislature, 1965, governa the amount of fees to .be chargedby the county tax assessor-collector for the collectionof taxes including delinquenttaxes for independentschool districts. Article 2792, as amended,which became effectiveon August 30, 1965, contains, in part, the following:

-2809-Hoti.

G. F. Steger, Page 2 opinion NO. (~-932)

11

. . . when'the county astiessor and collector is required to assess and collect the taxes of independentschool districts,the Board of Trustees of such school districtmay contractwith the Commissioners

Court of said county for payment for such services as they may see fit to allow, not to exceed the actual cost inCui?red In assessing= collectingsaid taxes;
. . .II (Emphasisadded)
In Attorney General OpinionNo. MS-159, this office held that Article 2922 L~governedthe fees to be chargedby the Tsx Assessor-Collector of a county for assessingand collecting rural high school taxes, and this was regardlessof whether the duties involved current or delinquenttaxes. (Bnphasis 3 e reasoning &idelnterpretatlon of the above cited oplnlk though related to the tax assessor-collector of a rural hlgh'schooldistrict, would apply to ,the tax assessor-collector of an independent school district and that the fees for delinquenttaxes are included in Article 2792. Thus, the amount of fees allowed would be limited to the amount of the actual costincurred in collectingsaid taxes, includingdelinquenttaxes.
In answer to your second question as to who prepares the tax rolls, it is the opinion of this office that the county tax assessor-collector Is not required to prepare the tax rolls when there Is a special assessor. The special assessorhas this duty by virtue of the pertinent language in Article 2792, Vernon's Civil Statuteswhich is as follows:

I‘

. . . If said taxes are assessedby a special assessor of the independent district and are collectedonly by the city or county tax collector,the city or county tax collector in such cases shall accept the rolls prepared by the special assessor and approvedby the Board of Trustees as provided In the preced.lng Arficle.

" (Emphasisadded) Among the many cases which enunciate the rule that when the language Is unambiguousand its mearilng Is clear and obvious, rules of construction are Improper,are Fox v. 157 Tex. 292, 302 S.W. 2d 405, Burgess,

Calvert v. Phillip Chemical Co., 268 S.W.2d 478 Ciilmore

v. Waples, 108 Tex. 1 19 4 error r:f ); 1.03~,'(1916) 1; addition to the clear languageof the statute, the foliowing

-2810-Hon. Q. F. Steger, Page 3 Opinion No. (C-582)

language regardlng~"assessments" Is found.ln the e,ase,of Re ubllc' 1ns;~Co.v. Rlghland'ParkI. School Dlst., 57 S.W.2d 627 *. PP*, 33 error ref.), wherein Justice Higgins cited at page 629:

"An assessmentinvolves, first, the preparation of a list of the property subject to the tax; and, second, the valuationof such property in the manner prescribedby law, ,and by the constitutedauthority.'26 R.C.L. Title Tsxat ion, *3X; 37 CYC. 987, and footnote 84.” (Emphasisadded)
In answer to your question as to whether the special assessor orthe oounty tax assessor-collector shall prepare the tax receipt forms, you are advised, thatinasmuch asthe statutes are siient in reference thereto, that' the preparationof the~tax receipt forms is a matter that should be taken care of in the contractentered into pursuant to Article 2792. It follows that if the contract provides for the county tax assessor-collector to prepare such forms that the actual case of collectingthe taxes would be lncreased.
In a subsequent letter you asked the followingquestions: I"3. Is a county tax assessor-collector, who collectedONLY taxes for an independent school district,permitted to retain as compensationfive per cent (5s) of DELINQUENT taxes collected for such school districtprior to August 30, 1965? "4. Is a county tax as6esso~collector~,.who~., collectedONLY taxes for~an independent school district,permitted to retain as aompensationfive per cent (59) of DELINQUEXT taxes collected for such school district which were in process of being collectedprior to August 30, 1965, but were actuallyremitted to the collector after August 30, 1965?”
It is the opinion of this office that Article 2792, Vernon's Civil Statutesgoverns the fees of a county tax assessorcollector for an independentschool district. Prior to the enactment of H.B. 243, Acts of the 59th Legislature, 1965 which became effectiveon August 30, 1965 the amount of fees were limited to

per cent for assessingand'one (1) per cent for collecting

-2811-Hon. 0. F. Steger, Page 4 Opinion Ho. (c-582)

1931; error ref.),'the‘court'held that a Com&sloners~ 'In Steusoff v. Libei-ts County 34 S.W;2d 643 (TexlC;;G$~p.

was without jurisdiction to allow tax assessordifferentcos@cn- ~a~~oli'.f~Klm^:~that:,ffJred~~by: statute (Rev. 'St.1925, Art. 3937). Inasmuch as It Is the position of this office that-priorto August 30,~1965 the fee allowed *as one (1) per cent for assessingand one (1) per cent for collecting,the answer to questionno.'3 is MO. Therefore, the answer to questionno. 4 Is RObl&tirtueof the answer'toquestionno. 1 and Attorney General'sOpinion We. RS-159.

The compensation

a county tax assessorcollector is permitted to receive for the collectionORLY of taxes for an Independentschool district, including delinquenttaxes, which taxes are assessedby the special assessorof such Independentschool district is limitedby the smount of the actual cost incurred in collectingsaid taxes.
In the event taxes for an Independent school district are assessedby a special assessor for such school district to be thereaftercollected by the county tax assessor-collector, It is not the duty of the county tax assessor-collector to prepare the tax rolls for such collection. The contract entered Into pursuant to Article 2792 should provide who Is to prepare the tax receipt forms. The county tax assessor-collector who collectedOKLY taxes for an independent school district, Is ermltted.toretain as compensation

one P1) per cent of delinquenttaxes collected for such school districtprior to August 30, 1965. The county tax assessor-collector who coileoted taxes after August 30, 1965 IS entitled to retain the amount of fee@

-2812-Eon. 0. P. Steger, Page 5 Opinion MO. (C-582)

contractedfor with the Board of Trustee8 of siich

Bchool district,not to exceed the actual cost incurred in collectingthe taxes,,
Yours very truly, WAQQOMRR CARR Attorney ffeneral

Assistant 

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APPROVEDZ oPwI,on cor+lMImTEE W; V;: Geppert, Chairman W; E; Allen Gordon C. Cass Kerns B. Taylor Malcolm Qiaick
APPROVED FOR TKE ATTORHRY cIEWlZR& BY: T. B. Wright

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