Mississippi Code 1972 (2023) › Title 27 - TAXATION AND FINANCE (§§ 27-1-1 — 27-117-15) › Chapter 51 - AD VALOREM TAXES-MOTOR VEHICLES (§§ 27-51-1 — 27-51-107) › IN GENERAL (§§ 27-51-1 — 27-51-49) › Section 27-51-29 - Procedure where municipality desires county tax collector to collect motor vehicle ad valorem taxes; fees; inspection of tax collector's records; penalties; liability of tax collector on official bond

Any municipality in the state desiring to have its motor vehicle ad valorem taxes collected by the county tax collector at the same time and in the same manner provided for by this chapter for collecting county and state ad valorem taxes on motor vehicles may do so by proceeding as follows:
On or before the 1st day of May, the municipal board shall enter an order upon its minutes signifying its desire to have the county tax collector collect its motor vehicle ad valorem taxes at the same time and in the same manner that he collects the county and state ad valorem taxes on such motor vehicles for the ensuing fiscal year. A certified copy of this order shall be furnished the tax collector of the county, the state tax commission, and the administrator of the road and bridge privilege tax laws. In such case, it shall be mandatory that such municipal ad valorem taxes be collected by the county tax collector.
The authorization of the tax collector to collect municipal taxes on this class of property shall also include the collection of such taxes on such property located in the municipal separate school district, if any, although such property is located outside of the corporate limits of such municipality.
On or before September fifteenth, the municipal clerk shall certify to the county tax collector a copy of its official tax levy for the then ensuing fiscal year. On this tax levy, the clerk shall not only certify as to the tax levy for each purpose for which it was levied, but he shall also certify as to the total amount of the levy for all municipal purposes, and he shall show separately the total amount of the levy for the municipal separate school district, if the said municipality is a part of a municipal separate school district.
After collecting such municipal and municipal separate school district ad valorem taxes, the county tax collector shall retain the fee, as allowed in Section
25-7-21
, Mississippi Code of 1972, except in no instance shall his fee be less than two percent of such collection for the services furnished by a county office in collecting municipal separate school district taxes. Such fees shall be paid into the county general fund. The tax collector shall, on or before the twentieth day of the following month, remit to the municipality the remaining portion of such taxes so collected for and during the preceding month. A report of the total assessed value of the subject motor vehicle on which such municipal ad valorem taxes were collected for the preceding month shall be forwarded to the municipality along with the said remittance.
The records of the county tax collector shall be available at any time during regular office hours for inspection by the municipal authorities or their authorized agents to determine as to whether or not any such taxpayer has been properly assessed, both as to value and as to situs of the subject motor vehicle, and as to whether or not the proper tax has been collected and remitted for the benefit of the municipality and municipal separate school district, in proper cases, if such municipality has officially authorized said tax collector to collect its motor vehicle ad valorem taxes as provided hereinabove.
For similar violations of this chapter, the same penalties shall apply in favor of any municipality, in proper cases, which apply in favor of the counties. The tax collector shall be liable on his official bond to the municipality for any failure on his part to assess, collect and remit the correct amount of taxes due any municipality under the provisions of this chapter on any motor vehicle for which he collects county and state ad valorem taxes.
Codes, 1942, § 10007-15; Laws, 1958, ch. 588, § 15; Laws, 1960, ch. 413, § 5; Laws, 1968, ch. 549, § 2; Laws, 1968, ch. 361, § 47, eff. 1/1/1972.