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Attorney General Marty Jackley

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OFFICIAL OPINION NO. 71-18, Compromise of personal property taxes and partial payment of taxes

STATE OF SOUTH DAKOTA
OFFICE OF
THE ATTORNEY GENERAL

May 17, 1971

Jack T. Klauck, State's Attorney
Pennington County
Rapid City, South Dakota 57701

OFFICIAL OPINION NO. 71-18

Compromise of personal property taxes and partial payment of taxes

Dear Mr. Klauck:

You have asked my official opinion as to the authority of the county commissioners to compromise delinquent personal property taxes. The situation is that a taxpayer will be a number of years behind in the payment of his property taxes; he has no real estate and very little personal property, but is willing to pay current taxes. The question being whether or not the county can accept current taxes without payment of the old taxes. In my opinion, there is no provision for the procedure you have outlined; that statute is clear that the county treasurer must apply any tax money to the oldest tax first and it would be a violation of that office to do otherwise. There is no authority in the county commissioners to compromise such taxes and they may only be abated under the conditions listed in SDCL 10-18. See 1931-32 AGR 788, also 756; see also 1937-38 AGR 541 with the additional provision that the county commissioners would be liable in case of any unauthorized compromise made by the board.

As to your second question relating to the authority of the county commissioners to accept partial payment for taxes; from time to time the Legislature has seen fit to provide for an adjustment and installment payments on delinquent taxes, such statutes as for example, Ch. 241, Laws of 1937. These statutes, however, have had a cutoff date on them so that after the time specified such installment payments are not authorized on delinquent taxes. It is my opinion that SDCL 10-21-7 authorizing the county commissioners to approve acceptance of partial payment applies only to current taxes and not to the delinquent taxes and any payment received must be applied to the oldest tax first and can be accepted only on the specific approval of the county commissioners.

Respectfully submitted,

Gordon Mydland
Attorney General