Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1897-08-06
CERTIFICATES AS CLAIMS
Opinion of the Attorney for the District AZ
fecting Pending Assessments.
They Should Not BE Entered CpOn Tax
Certificates improvements in
Progress Not Assessable.

Hereafter pending assessments will not
be entered upon tax certificates furnished
by the District as outstanding claims
against property.
This is the gist of an opinion which has
just been rendered by the attorney for the
District upon the subject of tax certificates
and what they should show in the matter
of delinquent taxes.
The opinion was called forth by letter
from the special assessment clerk, who di-
rected attention to the practice heretofore
existing without authority in citing upon
tax certificates q record of all tstanding
assessments, and asked if the Commission
ers desired Such assessments entered upon
the certificates, and if SO to make an order
to that effect.
A great deal of labor is necessary TO get
record of pending assessments, and as
the Commissioners did not believe they
operated as lien upon the property until
they were levied and the work completed
it would be unnecessary and inadvisable TO
make record of them upon the certiti-
Gates. They were not quite certain, how
ever, as to the law which governed the
case, ard submitted the matter to the at
torney fol the District, with instructions
to furnish them with legal opinion upon
the matter. This he did today, as follows:
Provisions of Public Act.
Public act approved February g. 1870,
provided that the collector of taxes, when
called upon SO to do, shall furnish GER
t'ficate or statement under his hand and
official seal of all taxes and assessments,
general or special, that may be due at the
time CT making such certificates, and which
may III any manner be lien upon any
real estate located in said District =
and such certificates, when furnished = /"
shall be Il bar to the collection and re-
covery from any subsequent purchaser IF
any tax or assessment omitted from and
which may be a lien upon the real estate
mentioned III said certificate, and said lien
shall be discharged to such subsequent
purchaser, but shall not affect the liability
of the person who owned the property at
the time such tax was assessed To pay the
same.
BY act of May IL, 1892 the act of Feb
Iuary q, 1879 was amended SO as to make
it the duty of the assessor to furnish the
certificate when required.
The act of February 6, 1879, requires
that the tax certificates shall show the tax,
general and special, which at the date of
the certificate may in any manner be d
lien upon the real estate described in the
certificate.
when Ii Becomes Il Lien.
Until the assessment is completed and
entered upon the tax records, it does not
become a lien. 1t is not necessary, there
fore, to note the. fact upon the certificate
that improvements are in progress which
may affect the property subsequently with
an assessment.
In my opinion it is inadvisable that
pending special assessments be noted on
tax certificates. The purchaser of a piece
of property will very likely know whether
an improvement is being made, on a street
an alley abutting the property he pro-
poses to purchase, which may call for
special assessment, and will provide against
it."