The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1919-10-22
ATTORNEY-GENERAL'S OPINION
Addressed To SheriffS.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS OPINION
Addressed To Sheriffs.
Jackson, Miss, Sept. 80, 1919.
My Dear Friend:
l am setting out below an opinion
constructing one phase of the new
salary law. This opinion is of vital
Importance to every tax payer Of
your county and l am anxious that
they know exactly their status under
the new law so / respectfully suggest
that you give it due publicity, other
wise a large number of taxpayers in
your county will be obliged to pay
penalties besides their taxes if they
fail to pay their taxes before January
5, 1920.
OPINION.
Section ABA of the Code of 1906
provides that it is the duty of every
person assessed to pay his taxes to
the collector on or before the 18th day
of December, and under Section 4315
all taxes remaining unpaid on the Is
day of December shall Immediately
be collected by the collector by dis
tress or otherwise, and under Section
2197, the collector is allowed ten per
centum on all taxes collected after
the 18th day of December whether
collected by distress or otherwise.
But, in constituting this section u
court has held that the tax collector
shall not be entitled to such compen-
sation even after the 18th day of
December unless a resort was made
by him to distress or some of the 9TH
er statutory modes of enforcing pay
ment of delinquent taxes. The tax
collectors of the various counties,
however, have uniformly elected not
to do those things necessary to col
lect the ten per centum commission
allowed them, and the public has,
therefore, fallen into the general be-
lief that if taxes were paid by the
first day of February no penalty or
commission could be charged against
them. The first day of February
is the last day on which a
person may pay his taxes without
being disqualified to vote, and the
public has lost sight of the fact that
it is their duty to pay all taxes on or
before the 18th day of December.
The situation beginning January 5,
1920 will be entirely different for the
new salary law, being Chapter l02
Laws of 1916, will go into effect on
that date and Section 8 of this Act
provides that all fees and commissions
and other e~moluments, which the law
now provides, may be demanded, re-
ceived and taken by the sheriff and
tax collector, chancery clerk, circuit
be collected by each respectively, but
all of said commission, fees, and emu
luments shall hereafter be paid by
said officer respectively into the coun-
ty treasury. 1t is, therefore, the duty
of the incoming tax collector to collect
by distress or otherwise this ten per
centum commission from all persons
paying taxes after he goes into office,
and also against all persons paying
taxes after the 18th day of December
thereafter
There is no obligation in this new
=. salary law requiring you and the 9th
err tax collectors, whose terms expire
on January d, 1920, to collect this ter
per centum commission, and l sug.
!, gest that you don't begin proceedings
by distress or otherwise to do SO, but
, conform to the previous practice OF
tax collectors, at the same time Civ.
ing publicity to the provisions of the
new salary law so that the public may
not be required to pay ten per cen
tum additional to their already high
taxes.
Yours very truly,
=. ROSS A. COLLINS.