MCA Chapter 29

in effect

Miss. Code Ann. § 27-29-1 Collectors to have certain credits.

The auditor, in his settlements with the tax collector, shall credit him with the amount of state taxes on all lands sold for taxes and struck off to the state, with the legal fees of the publisher of the newspaper for advertising such land for sale; and the collector shall also be credited in his settlement of county or any other state taxes with the amount of taxes on all lands sold to the state. Land purchased by the state for taxes shall not again be sold for taxes until redeemed; but if a tax collector should erroneously sell any state lands, the auditor, in his settlement with such tax collector, shall credit him with the correct amount of state taxes on only such state lands as are certified by the land commissioner to belong to the state, and with the legal fees of the newspaper for publishing such lands for sale; and the collector shall also be credited in his settlement of county or other taxes with the amount of taxes on such lands certified by the land commissioner.

Miss. Code Ann. § 27-29-3 Allowance of credits not made until certain list produced.

An allowance shall not be made by any auditing officer to any tax collector for the taxes on any land for which he claims credit until he shall present a list thereof, with his affidavit annexed that it is a correct list, and that he has not received any taxes thereon from any person.

Miss. Code Ann. § 27-29-5 Filing of lists of amendments to assessments.

Before the fifteenth day of September every year and before the fifteenth day of January of every year, within which the tax collector’s term of office shall expire, the clerk of the board of supervisors shall file, with the auditor of public accounts, on blanks to be furnished by such auditor, the following lists of the amendments in assessments made by the board of supervisors, to wit: Additional and raised assessments of personal property. Additional and raised assessments of real property. Reductions in assessments of real property. Reductions in assessments of personal property. Erroneous assessments of real property. Erroneous assessments of personal property.

Miss. Code Ann. § 27-29-7 Certification of correctness of lists.

The clerk of the board of supervisors shall certify to the truth and correctness of such lists of amendments to assessments referred to in Section 27-29-5 and shall further certify that he has compared the items listed for credit with the stub tax receipts and that no taxes have been collected on any such items.

Miss. Code Ann. § 27-29-9 Penalties for failure to make lists.

Any such clerk of the board of supervisors, who shall fail to make such list or lists, referred to in Section 27-29-5, by the time specified, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction, shall be punished by a fine of not exceeding one hundred dollars for each offense.

Miss. Code Ann. § 27-29-11 Tax collector’s monthly report; taxes paid over.

The tax collector shall make reports in writing, verified by his affidavit, on the first day of each month or within twenty (20) days thereafter, except as hereinafter provided, to the Auditor of Public Accounts and to the clerk of the board of supervisors, of all taxes collected by him during the preceding month for the state, levee and county respectively; and if he has collected none, the report shall be made out and state that fact. He shall, at or within the same time, pay over all taxes collected to the State Treasurer; however, all taxes collected by him for the county shall be paid into the county depository on the day such taxes are collected or on the next business day thereafter.

Miss. Code Ann. § 27-29-13 Final report at end of fiscal year.

The tax collector’s final report and settlement with the auditor of public accounts and with the clerk of the board of supervisors for the taxes of any fiscal year shall be made on or within fifteen (15) days after the first day of November next thereafter. If the tax collector fails to make any report, or to pay over any taxes as above required, he shall pay damages of thirty per centum (30%) thereon, and interest on said amount of principal and damages at the rate of six per centum (6%) per annum for the time the same shall be due until paid. The auditor and clerk shall not omit in any case to charge the damages to the collector when incurred, but the same shall be remitted on the certificate of the governor and attorney general that they are satisfied that the delay has not been wilful or was not due to inexcusable neglect by the collector.

Miss. Code Ann. § 27-29-15 Tax collectors to make reports monthly of all levee taxes collected.

The tax collector of each county within the Yazoo-Mississippi Delta Levee District shall make reports in writing, verified by affidavit, on the first day of each month, or within twenty (20) days thereafter, to the auditor of public accounts and to the treasurer of the board of levee commissioners for the Yazoo-Mississippi Delta of all taxes collected by him during the preceding month for taxes due said board of levee commissioners for the Yazoo-Mississippi Delta, for levee taxes, and if he has collected none, the report shall be made out and state that fact. He shall, at or within the same time, pay over all taxes so collected by him to the treasurer of the said board of levee commissioners. His final report and settlement with the auditor of public accounts and with the treasurer of said board of levee commissioners for the Yazoo-Mississippi Delta for the taxes of any fiscal year so collected by him for said board of levee commissioners shall be made on or within twenty (20) days after the first day of September of the same year. If any such tax collector shall fail to make any report as hereinbefore provided for, or to pay over any taxes as above mentioned and required, he and the sureties on his bond as levee tax collector shall be liable for and shall pay damages at the rate of thirty per centum (30%) per annum thereon and interest on the aggregate amount of principal and damages so due as aforesaid at the rate of six per centum (6%) per annum from the date when such taxes should have been reported and paid over as above herein provided. The said auditor and the said treasurer shall not omit in any case to charge the damage above provided for the collector, when incurred, but the same may be remitted on the certificate of the governor and attorney general, that they are satisfied that the delay has not been wilful, or unavoidable by the collector.

Miss. Code Ann. § 27-29-17 Notification to district attorney of default; commencement of suit.

If any collector fails to pay into the state treasury the amount of taxes due the state within the time prescribed, the auditor shall immediately notify the district attorney, and shall furnish him a statement under his hand and seal of office of the amount due by the collector. The district attorney shall forthwith commence suit on the bond of the collector for the amount due, of which the statement, certified by the auditor, shall be competent evidence. If the auditor be not informed of the amount, he shall so state, and the district attorney shall investigate the matter and bring suit for the amount due.

Miss. Code Ann. § 27-29-19 Suits against tax collectors to have precedence.

Suits against tax collectors as provided in Section 27-29-17 shall be tried at the return term and shall have precedence over all other civil causes. Judgment shall be given for the amount due by the collector with thirty per centum (30%) per annum damages, after deducting all legal allowances to which he may be entitled.

Miss. Code Ann. § 27-29-21 Proceedings in behalf of county.

Like proceedings to those provided in Section 27-29-17 shall be instituted by the district attorney, or any attorney employed by the board of supervisors, for nonpayment of county taxes, on notification by the clerk of the board of supervisors of the county, whose duty it shall be to give such notification.

Miss. Code Ann. § 27-29-23 Repealed.

Repealed by Laws, 1986, ch. 459, § 44, eff from and after July 1, 1986. [Codes, 1857, ch. 3, art. 63; 1871, § 1728; 1880, § 552; 1892, § 3844; 1906, § 4361; Hemingway’s 1917, § 7000; 1930, § 3295; 1942, § 10002]

Miss. Code Ann. § 27-29-25 Failure of collector to report; suspension.

Every tax collector shall make report to the auditor of public accounts and clerk of the board of supervisors, respectively, as hereinbefore provided; and if any tax collector shall not report to the auditor or clerk, and pay over to the state and county treasurers, within twenty (20) days after the last day of each month during the time of collecting taxes, he shall not only be punishable under the criminal laws of this state, but the auditor and clerk of the board of supervisors, after notice to a tax collector in default and continued failure by him to report and pay over, as above provided, shall report the failure to the governor, who may suspend the tax collector and prohibit him from the performance of his functions, and may appoint some suitable person, being a qualified elector of the county, to collect the taxes, who shall give bond, with sureties, as required of tax collectors, to be approved in the same way. Such substituted tax collector shall proceed to collect the taxes remaining uncollected and to make such reports and payments of state and county taxes as the tax collector is required to make; and, for any failure of duty in this respect, he shall be subject to like penalties and proceedings as provided for in case of default by a tax collector.

Miss. Code Ann. § 27-29-27 Clerk to examine the report.

Whenever the tax collector shall make a report as provided, it shall be the duty of the clerk of the board of supervisors to examine the same and to carefully compare it with the duplicate tax receipts, the cash book, and all other books and records in the collector’s office pertaining to the collection of taxes, and to certify whether the report be true and correct or not. If the report be found to be untrue, and it be not immediately corrected by the collector and the proper amount paid over, the same proceedings shall be taken as though no report or payment had been made.

Miss. Code Ann. § 27-29-29 Liability of assessor and collector.

The assessor and collector, with their sureties, shall be severally held liable on their bonds and bound to pay the county or state the full amount of all sums lost to the state or county, respectively, from the failure or neglect of the assessor to assess, return, or otherwise faithfully to complete his assessment, or from any neglect of the collector to collect the taxes assessed. Any taxpayer may cause suit to be instituted for the above, against the assessor and sureties, or the collector and sureties, on his official bond, the person causing suit to be instituted becoming responsible for the costs in the suit. But the failure of the assessor to assess the taxes, or of the tax collector to collect the same, shall not affect the liability of the person or property, who or which ought to have paid the taxes or been assessed.

Miss. Code Ann. § 27-29-31 Tax collector about to go out of office; duties.

Every tax collector, at the expiration of his term of office, shall file with the clerk of the board of supervisors of the county, on the first Monday of January, a list of all the uncollected taxes for the current fiscal year, which shall show the name of every person owing taxes, the amount of personalty assessed thereto and the description, section, township, range, and assessed valuation of realty assessed thereto. Said list shall be copied from the real and personal assessment rolls in the order that the assessments occur thereon. The board of supervisors and the county auditor shall carefully examine said list, comparing it with all records pertaining thereto, and allow the retiring tax collector credit for all taxes on so much of said list as they find to be truly and correctly uncollected, and the board shall charge the succeeding tax collector with all taxes so found to be uncollected. Such succeeding tax collector shall proceed to collect them as required by law; and the change in the office shall not in any manner affect the collection of any taxes or the advertisement or sale of any property for taxes; but all books, papers, receipts, assessment rolls, and other documents pertaining to the office of tax collector, and all personal property seized for taxes, shall be delivered by the retiring tax collector to his successor without delay. Sales of real and personal property shall be made by the tax collector in office at the time of the sale.

Miss. Code Ann. § 27-29-33 Tax collector about to go out of office; statement of uncollected taxes; collection of taxes.

The clerk of the board of supervisors shall transmit to the auditor of public accounts a certified copy of the list of uncollected taxes, furnished by the tax collector whose term of office has expired, on or before the first day of February, after it has been filed, together with certified transcripts of orders of the board relating thereto, and shall certify to the truth and correctness of said list. The retiring tax collector shall, within ten (10) days after the expiration of his term of office, pay into state, county, and levee treasuries all taxes collected by him and payable therein, and shall, within said time, make his final settlement with the auditor of the county and with the auditor of public accounts.

Miss. Code Ann. § 27-29-35 Counties and municipalities required to reduce ad valorem taxes in a certain amount if they receive severance tax revenue from offshore drilling on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

From and after July 1, 2004, the board of supervisors of a county shall reduce the ad valorem taxes levied by the county in an amount equal to one-half (1/2) of the county’s share of the revenue derived from the oil and gas severance tax under Sections 27-25-505 and 27-25-705 as a result of offshore drilling on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. From and after July 1, 2004, the governing authorities of a municipality shall reduce the ad valorem taxes levied by the municipality in an amount equal to one-half (1/2) of the municipality’s share of the revenue derived from the oil and gas severance tax under Sections 27-25-505 and 27-25-705 as a result of offshore drilling on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.