Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-08-11
THE ATTORNEYS OPINION
He Takes Issue With Nh. Glover on Tax
Certificates.
Not Necessary, He Says, to Include
Notice of Tax Sales-OnIy District
Liens Certified To.

The attorney for the District Mr.. S. T.
! Thomas, today submitted to the Commas
sioners an opinion upon the subject of tax
| sale certificates. Mr.. Thomas holds that ii
| Is not necessary to embody in tax certill-
Gates notices of tax sales. The opinion was
called forth by the reference to the attor-
ney of the letter of Mr.. C. c. Glover upor
this subject. In his opinion Mr.. Thomas
speaks of the history of the legislation in
point and tells of the passage of the law
requiring the issue of tax certificates for
the protection of those who desired to pur-
| chase property, and who, although taking
reasonable care in the examine ton of titles,
were yet unable to tell whether tax liens
existed. Often in such cases, old, obscure
and forgotten taxes and assessments to a
very large amount were sprung upon par
ties, which they were forced to pay, long
after they had purchased the property and
settled with the seller. 1t was for the pur-
pose of avoiding these pitfalls that tie Ia
was passed. says Mr.. Thomas.
In regard - the questio of liens the at
torney says: L cannot concur in Mr.. Glov-
er's contention that a tax due and I'M
paid is lien" on the property, even
after a public sale. The effect of a tax
sale except where the District purchases
is to pay the tax and discharge the lien.
After the District receives its tax at a tax
sale it cannot be said that the tax on the
particular property for which the sale was
made Is due and unpaid" Or that it is n
Hen on the property. That the law al
lows a delinquent taxpayer to redeem his
property iron. a tax sale, at any ,lme with
in TWO years after the SALE has nothing to
do with the question. If the delinquent tax
payer redeems, Ii does not reinstate the tax
or the tax ledtsers of the District. The de-
linQuent owner may seek the purchaser and
settle with him, and take up the tax sale
certificate, or he may place the money In
the hands of the collector of taxes, to be
nla1 n he ho on 10
of tie certificate. In the event property
sold for taxes is not redeemed from sale.
and the purchaser receives a deed the same
Is recorded in the line of title, and will be
noted on the purchaser abstract
Mr.. Thomas also differs with Mr.. Glover
on his point that prior to the tax deed there
is no way of telling how taxes stand, ex-
cept from the books of the assessor, or his
ion says:
Section It's of the Revised Statutes of the
District. drawn from an act of Congress ap-
proved February 10. 1919, requires the col
lector. within ten days after every tax sale
to transmit to the recorder of deeds an ac-
curate report in writing. duly certified. con-
tanning a particular description of the prop
erty sold the amount OF taxes for the rails
ing of which 1t was Sold the name or
names and residences of the person or peg
sons to whom such property belongs. or to
whom such property has been assessed, and
the amount of the purchase money. etc.
etc. Whilst this law. for nearly sixty years,
was honored in the breach. il has been
strictly observed by the collector since 1873
Mr.. Glover assumes that no one can have
legal notice of a tax sale until a tax deed rs
recorded, whereas the first section of the
act of 1879 provides that a complete nu-
n erical lis: of all tax sales shall be prepar-
ed and kept in the collectors Office for pub
lie inspection. This IS legal notice Before
the passage Of the act of 1879 the trouble
was, there was no such arrangement, and
consequently much time was spent by title
examiners and others in having to run over
the entire list of sales. to find particular
one. 1t would. perhaps. be a convenient
thing for business men to have tax sales
noted on tax certifica tes but the incon-
Venience to the public resulting from delay
i'm getting the certificates with that informa-
ton In them would more than counterbal-
ance the advantage"
In giving his opinion the attorney says:
The whole difficulty in this case seems TO
have arisen over the practice of the asses
sor of inserting in tax certificates the words
Tax sales not included These words are
superfuous. and are not required by law to
be stated in the certificate. and besides.
they are misleading. To put any informa-
ton into tax sale certificates which is not
required by law to be contained in them
not only imposes labor and expense upon
the District, without any CORRESPONDING
beneft, but has a tendency to mislead the
public. am, therefore, of opinion that tax
certificates should contain Only statements
of unpaid taxes and assessments for which
the District claims lien against the
property described In the certificate this
VIII include tax sales where the District is
the purchaser, because the lien is retained
in such case). and after a sale for the sat
isfactton of a particular tax or assessment
such tax can neither be said TO be due and
unpaid or lien upon the particular prop-
erty, unless the District is the purcha SER