The north Mississippi herald. (Water Valley, Yalobusha Co., Miss.) 1888-1929, 1923-07-20
TAX COLLECTORS TO
TAKE PAY TO COURTS
Ask IF Collect in Two Districts
Is Pay Doubled.

Jackson, Miss, July 18.-The right
of the sheriff and tax collector to
collect commission on tax collections
separately on each court district Of
county, in counties having two ju-
dical districts, is to be tested i'm
mediately in friendly law suit in
Jones County.
Under the law the sheriff's fee for
tax collections are graduated on
commission basis. This commission, as
fixed by Chapter 160 Laws 1922, is
five percent on the first $4,000 col
lected; two per cent on the excess
over $4,000 up to 1000, and one
per cent on the excess over 550, 1000
These commissions are allowed
both on the stat etaxes, collected and
the county school, etc., taxes collect
ed separately. That is to say, the
sheriff gets five and two percent on
the first $4,000 of state taxes and
five and two per cent on the first
$4,000 of county, school, ETC., taxes
or $1,000 commissions on each, max
ing total of $4,000 and this amounts
would be doubled, of course, if it is
collected on the taxes of each district.
In counties having two separate i'm
dicial, or court district, the sherRf
maintains separate Office and sepa-
rate force of deputies at each court
house, and the quetion has arisen as
to whether in such cases the sheriff
is entitled to collect commissions on
, this basis in each district separately,
as though it were separate county,
thus receiving the five and two per
cent on the first $4,000 collected in
each, or whether he must lump the
/, collection of both districts and only
collect commissions on five and two
per cent of the total gross sum COL
lect in the whole county. Separate as
sessments rolls are made for each dis
trict and separate records are kept
for each this requires a separate
force of deputise for each.
In order to get the question judis-
ally settled as quickly as possible.
Attorney General Potter has prepar-
ed bill in crancery, to be filed in
Laurel, Jones Couny, against Sheriff
w. E. Welch of that county. This bill
sets out all the provisions of law and
recites that Sheriff Welch has col
lected more than $4,000 state taxes
in each Of the two judicial districts of
Jones County, and more than $780,
900 county and taxing district tax
es in each district. If he is entitled
to assess the commissions on each
district separately, he will receive
his five and two per cent on the first
$4,000 of state taxes and the same
on county and taxing district funds,
for each district, or a difference of
about $4,000 in fees for the two
districts.
Chancellor G. C. Tam has agreed
to hear the case in vacation as an
early day and as it will be submitted
on an agreed statement of the facts
he will have only to determine wheth-
er or not the law contemplates allow
ing the double commission basis, or
whether the sheriff must lumb the
commission on the whole sum. 1t is
expected that the chancelsor will
the case can go to the supreme court
render an immediate decision so that
for hearing at the September term.
There are eleven counties in the
state having two court districts which
are interested in the question. These
are: Bolivar; Calhoun; Carroll, Chick
asaw; Choctaw. Kinds, Jasper, Jones,
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