The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-06-22
TAX SALE MATTERS
Opinion By the Attorney General
10 Auditor Richards.
ADVISES THE METHOD OF SET
THING WITH COUNTIES.
Plan Under Which the State Auditor
Will Deal With the Counties IL
the Matter of Tax Redemptions in
the Future-Text of the Opinion
Rendered.

! Another opinion was nanOeQ GOVT
by the attorney general yesterday. II
fact it is seldom a day passes that thi.
Office is not called upon for an opir
ion on some matter or other. This tim
it is the state auditor who wants in
formation. He wrote, asking a defini-
ton on the following: AS there are
divers opinions in relation to the true
manner and intent of section 149 of III
revenue act. providing for the distr4
button of moneys received on accoun
of redemption OF property sold to thl
counties for taxes. you are hereby re-
/ specially asked to render an opinion
thereon for the guidance of this Office
! in the settlement of such collections.
Replying, the attorney general states:
The section to which you refer in the
above is as follows:
Whenever property sold to the coun-
ty pursuant to the provisions of this
act is redeemed as herein provided, the
moneys received on account of such re-
demption must be distributed as fol-
lows: The original tax and 20 per cent
paid in redemption must be apportioned
| between the state and county in the
same proportion that the state tax
bears to the county tax, and the bal
ance must be paid to the county"
The first question to consider is as to
the meaning of the words. 30 per
cent paid in redemption" It will be
noticed that the Law refers to the
original tax and the percentage of the
amount paid in redemption. 1t seems
clear to me that these words mean that
the legislature intended that they
should mean 90 per cent of the costs
incident to d tax sale, and the interest
up to the time of redemption and what
ever costs should be paid to the county
for a certificate of redemption. This
would include the so cents referred TO
in section III of the revenue act. which
is paid for the redemption certificate
upon the redemption of property from
tax sale. The remaining portion of
section 149 material to your inquiry re-
fers to the apportionment of the orig
inal tax and 20 per cent paid in re-
demption. The language of the act
seems to be plain, unambiguous and
certain, and to negative the idea that
an apportionment should be made in
any other manner than that indicated
by the letter of the act If il was not
for the result which follows the in
depreciation of this statute according to
it's letter, there could be no question
whatever as to its meaning and intent.
The plain meaning of the language
used would result in an appOrtiOnment
as follows: Taking the year 1896, for
instance, for Salt Lake county, the
state tax was mills and the county
tax mills. Applying the language of
the act, the state would be entitled to
five-eights Of the whole original tax
and five-eighths of the 20 per cent Eaid
in redemption as above indicated. The
county would be entitled TO the three
Fights of the original tax and three
eighths of the 20 per cent paid in re-
demDtion, and also the balance, viz,
so per cent of the amount paid in re-
demption.
1t is true that this construction gives
to the state more than one-hah of the
whole of the original tax, while if the
tax had been paid before sale to the
same. the state would have been en-
titled to mills of the total levy of %
and 6-i0 mills as the same was levied
in Salt Lake county.
While there is some doubt of the
construction which ! have placed upon
this act, that is, considering it in ac-
cordance with the plain meaning of the
language used, at the same time, there
is TO principle of construction (there
being no ambiguity apparent upon its
face, and there being nothing in the
act itself to show any intention upon
the part of the legislature beyond the
language uSeC) authorizing a departure
from the plain meaning of this Ian
guage, and it would seem to me that a
court would not be authorized to as ;
sumo the functions OF legislators and !
depart from the ordinary meaning or
the precise words used, merely because
an adherence TO their literal meaning /
would result in an injustice.
| would therefore advise you to de- |
nand of and settle with the county Of /
icers for tax sale redemptions on u !
basis of five-eighths of the original tax !
and 20 per cent of all costs and interest !
paid in redemption. The proportion |
as used in the conclusion herein |
reached applies only to Salt Lake
county