The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-03-03
TRANSITORY HERDS.
ATTORNEY GENERAL BISHOPS
OPINION ON THE TAXES.
Basis Upon Which the Cost of As
sessing and Collecting is Com
puted.

Attorney General Bishop yesterday
transmitted to County Attorney Morris
of st. George an opinion replying to sew
eral questions relative to the collection
of certain taxes. The queries, together
with the attorney generals answer in
full, are as given below:
"First-In RENTING taxes collected on
transitory herds to the county in which
they range during Il portion of the year,
as provided in section "a ct seq. page
129. of the laws of Utah, 1896, should the
county where the tax is assessed ana
collected remit one-half of the county
school tax. or only one-half of the tax
for county purposes, less the costs of as
sessing and collecting the same?
I am of the opinion that the leglslat-
ure intended that one-half of the tax
which relates to the whole county should
be RENTED in such cases, that is one
half of the taxes which are imposed by
The action of the board of county COM
miSsioners.
Section "a, article ?. page $50. pro
vides that the board of. county commits
sioners at the time of making the an
nual levy of other county taxes must
levy a county school tax, and IL also
provides that it shall be collected in the
same manner as other taxes. 1t Will be
observed that the county school tax tnus
becomes a tax upon all the property IN
the county and the theory upon which
the division of taxes provided for in
section 81. supra, is, that each county
shall be entitled to ono-han OF the taxes
for the purposes which are wholly within
the county, upon the ground that the
stock in question has been ranged in both
of the counties at different times during
the year. and while the expression county
taxes as il appears in section 81, supra,
by a strict and technical interpretation
might be limited to taxes for county
purposes. yet / am inclined to the opinion
that the legislature intended that the gem
eral county school tax was to be included
he as
poses
you will observe that there is Il dis
tinction in the manner OF assessing prop
erty between that referred to in section
a. and sections 50. 80, 81. 81 and 81 In
section 81 reference is had only TO tran
STORY herds which range in two counties
at different times during the same year,
but which are not owned by resident OF
either of said counties. Section 30 relates
to stock owned and summered IN one
county and wintered in another, Whlle IN
section IS the inverse proposition is true
and so on through the other sections, the
purpose being to provide so as to cover
a different state of facts in each sec
'.Second-JJpon what basis is the cost
of assessing and collecting the said tax
computed? -. --,,.o,,
There is no provision of law by which
this can be determined. 1t is question
which must be determined mutually be-
tween the counties interested. OF course.
if they cannot agree II would tneh De-
come q question: SuSCcplltit VI
ton by arbitration or by the courts as
the case might be.
."rhird-Are the county commissioners
entitled to charge fees when sitting as
water commissioners under the provis-
ions of section 2.775. page 1872, of the COM
piled laws of Utah, 1882
Il think this question should be an
swered in the negative. County commits
sioners are precluded from receiving any
compensation whatsoever in addition TO
the salaries provided by law
Section 6 OF chapter 124. of the laws
of 1896 provides. that members of the
boards of county commissioners shall not
receive any compensation in addition to
their regular salaries as fixed by law.
for any special or committee work. They
are entitled to their actual travelling ex-
penses incurred in the discharge of the
duties of their office. provided it shall not
exceed $500 each.
IF the law provides that they must SIT
as water commissioners for the purpose OF
determining controversies relating there
to. such acts become official duties and
would be included in the fixed and definite
salary provided by law.