MCA Chapter 73

in effect

Miss. Code Ann. § 27-73-1 Taxes erroneously paid refunded.

If any person, firm or corporation has paid, or shall hereafter pay to the Auditor of Public Accounts or the Commissioner of Insurance, through error or otherwise, whether paid under protest or not, any ad valorem, privilege or excise tax for which the person, firm or corporation was not liable, or if any such taxpayer has paid any tax in excess of the sum properly due and such erroneous payment or overpayment has been paid into the proper treasury, the taxpayer shall be entitled to a refund of the taxes so erroneously paid. Taxes erroneously paid within the meaning of this section shall include double payment, or overpayment, or payment on state, United States, vacant and exempt land, and the purchase price paid for the redemption of lands erroneously sold for taxes. Claims for refund under the provisions of this section shall be filed with the Auditor of Public Accounts and shall be supported by proper documents showing the overpayment or erroneous payment for which claim is made. The auditor is hereby authorized and required to make a careful investigation and audit of all such claims and if he shall find that the taxes or monies covered by the claim have been erroneously paid into the treasury of the state, county, drainage or levee districts, he shall distribute the claim against each separate fund in proportion to the amount paid over to such fund in each case, and submit the audited claim with the voucher and evidence upon which the claim is based, to the Attorney General for his approval. The Attorney General shall have plenary power to require the claimant or the officer who collected the tax to furnish any additional documents or information as may in his opinion be necessary or proper to enable him to determine the merits of the claim. If the Attorney General shall be of the opinion that the claim is in proper form and complies with the requirements of this section, he shall approve the claim and return it to the Auditor of Public Accounts, who shall thereupon file in his office the audited claim, together with the Attorney General’s approval and all other documents relating to the claim, as a voucher, and issue his warrant on the State Treasurer in favor of the claimant for the amount of purchase money or taxes erroneously paid into the State Treasury. The auditor shall then certify to the clerk of the board of supervisors, the secretary of the drainage district board, or the secretary of the levee board, as the case may be, the amount, if any, found to be due to the claimant by the county, drainage district or levee district. Upon receipt of the certificate, the board of supervisors, or the commissioners of the drainage district or of the levee district, shall cause a warrant to be issued on the treasurer of the county or drainage or levee district, as the case may be, in favor of the claimant for the amount erroneously paid into their respective treasuries. If the Attorney General shall disapprove the claim, he shall return it to the Auditor of Public Accounts accompanied by his opinion which shall show the reason for his disapproval, whereupon the auditor shall promptly notify the claimant of the disapproval. A claimant taxpayer being aggrieved at the disapproval may, within six (6) months from the date thereof, file in the chancery court his petition for appeal and review. All petitions for appeal and review shall be filed in the chancery court of the county in which the money for which refund is claimed was originally paid, and shall be accompanied by a bond in the sum of Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) conditioned to pay all costs which may accrue in the case, which bond shall be approved by the clerk of the court. Upon the approval of the bond, the chancery clerk shall give the Attorney General and the Auditor of Public Accounts notice, as required by law, of the filing of the petition. It shall be the duty of the auditor to promptly transmit to the court in which the appeal is pending a certified copy of the entire record of the claim as shown by the files in his office, which record shall be docketed by the clerk in the cause, and the controversy shall be tried by the court on such record. It shall be the duty of the Attorney General to defend on behalf of the state, and he may request the district attorney, county attorney or attorney for the drainage or levee district, as the case may be, to defend on behalf of the county, drainage or levee district. If the claimant taxpayer shall prevail, judgment shall be entered requiring the payment of the claim in like manner as if it had been duly approved by the Attorney General. If, however, the action of the Attorney General in disapproving the claim shall be affirmed by the court, judgment shall be entered against the appealing taxpayer for the costs of the proceedings. Nothing in this section shall be so construed as to authorize the recovery or repayment of any tax heretofore levied and collected by any special road district, drainage district, or separate school district, on account of, or upon the ground that the law authorizing such tax was unconstitutional, whether the unconstitutionality of such tax be based upon the creation or mode of operation of any special road district, drainage district or separate school district. Provided further, that nothing in this section shall be construed as authorizing the refunding of state taxes paid into the State Treasury through error, or otherwise, or satisfying a judgment or decree against the state except through an appropriation therefor by the Legislature. This section shall not be construed as repealing or modifying Section 27-73-7, or any other law providing for the application for or the certification of a claim for refund, but shall be taken and construed as an additional and supplemental method of refunding taxes erroneously paid.

Miss. Code Ann. § 27-73-3 Taxes erroneously paid refunded; taxpayer must prove he bore burden of tax.

In any suit, application or proceedings by any taxpayer for any recovery or refund of privilege, franchise, or other excise tax, which has been paid to any tax collecting officer or commission of the state, any county, or municipality, by any person, firm or corporation or which may have been paid into the state treasury, the person seeking such recovery or refund of such taxes must allege and prove that he alone bore the burden of the tax involved and did not directly or indirectly collect the tax from any other person. It is the declared purpose of this section to make certain that any such taxes recovered by or refunded to any taxpayer will be recovered by or go only to, as the case may be, the person who has borne the burden of any illegal tax, or any erroneous or mistaken payment or any overpayment of any such privilege, franchise, or other excise tax for which such person, firm or corporation was not liable and, therefore, that the person seeking such a recovery or refund thereof is entitled in justice and good conscience to the relief requested and is, therefore, the real party in interest. The term “taxpayer”, as used herein, shall include the person, firm or corporation who bore the burden of the said tax and also any person, firm or corporation who transmitted or in whose behalf was transmitted the funds representing the amount of the tax though not bearing the burden of the tax.

Miss. Code Ann. § 27-73-5 Period within which suits may be filed for refunds.

Except as otherwise provided in Sections 27-7-49, 27-13-49 and 27-65-42, all suits by any taxpayer for the recovery of any privilege, income, franchise, or other excise tax, and all applications or proceedings for any refund or credit of these taxes shall be filed or made within three (3) years next after the return was filed, or from the date the assessment of the tax was made, or from the date the tax was paid, as the case may be, whichever is the earlier, and no recovery of taxes under any such suit shall be had and no refund of taxes shall be made unless the suit or application was filed within the period of limitation. However, as to income taxes the three-year statute of limitations shall be extended to six (6) years in cases where the reported net income of a taxpayer has been reduced by the Internal Revenue Service for any taxable period.

Miss. Code Ann. § 27-73-7 Erroneous tax payments refunded.

The tax collector is authorized and empowered to refund any individual, firm or corporation any ad valorem, privilege or excise tax which has been paid or collected through error or otherwise when such person, individual, firm or corporation has paid any such tax in excess of the sum properly due whether paid under protest or not. Taxes erroneously paid within the meaning of this section shall include, but not be limited to, double payment, or overpayment, or payment on state, United States, vacant and exempt land, and the purchase paid for the redemption of lands erroneously sold for taxes. All refunds under this provision shall be made out of any monies collected by the tax collector from the same source of revenue, or if such source of revenue no longer exists the refund shall come from the general fund collections. The tax collector shall issue a warrant to the claimant and deduct the proper amounts from his next settlement.

Miss. Code Ann. § 27-73-9 Payment of federal and state tax refunds due to decedent individual without administration.

In any case where the U. S. Treasury Department or the Mississippi state tax commission determines there exists an overpayment of federal or Mississippi tax of an individual, and the person in whose favor the overpayment is determined is dead at the time such overpayment of tax is to be refunded, and irrespective of whether the deceased had filed a joint and several or separate tax return of any sort, the amount of such overpayment, if not in excess of five hundred dollars ($500.00), may be paid, without the necessity of administration, to the decedent’s surviving spouse, if any, or if the decedent left no surviving spouse, then to decedent’s surviving children; and if decedent left no children and no spouse surviving decedent, then to decedent’s surviving mother; and if decedent left no spouse or children or mother surviving decedent, then to decedent’s surviving father; and if decedent left no spouse or children or parent surviving decedent, then to decedent’s surviving brothers and sisters; and refund of said overpayment directly to said surviving spouse or children or parent or brothers and/or sisters by the United States or the State of Mississippi shall operate as a complete acquittal and discharge to it of liability from any suit, claim or demand of whatsoever nature by any heir, distributee or creditor of the decedent or other person. In the event that, at the time of payment, any one of the above referred to persons shall be a minor, said payment may be made to the minor directly without necessity of guardianship.

Miss. Code Ann. § 27-73-11 Overpayments by tax collector or chancery clerk refunded.

Where any tax collector or chancery clerk has, or shall hereafter, by mistake or oversight, erroneously pay into the state treasury any moneys on account of ad valorem or privilege taxes, such officer may make application to the auditor for repayment of such taxes, and the auditor and attorney general shall thoroughly investigate such claim, and if found to be due, the attorney general shall so certify to the auditor, who shall draw his warrant in favor of such tax collector or chancery clerk, to be paid out of the same fund in which it was erroneously paid into the state.

Miss. Code Ann. § 27-73-13 Withdrawal of consent to, and abatement of, suits for refund of tax on mineral interests, etc.

The consent of the State of Mississippi, however expressed, for maintaining any suit to recover from the state or any county thereof, or any supervisors’ district, or any road district, school district, or other district thereof, a refund of ad valorem taxes heretofore paid upon royalties, overriding royalties, working interests, leases, or any other interests in oil, gas, or other minerals however described or created, either owned separate and apart from the surface rights or otherwise, is hereby withdrawn and the state hereby declares that it refuses to consent to any suit in any county or state, or any federal court therein maintaining the suit for the purpose of securing a refund of any ad valorem taxes on any such mineral interests, heretofore paid into the state treasury, or any county treasury, or any other officer or depository authorized to receive such funds. In any case, where suit has already been instituted to recover such taxes, so paid into any public treasury or depository, unless paid under protest, or duress, it shall be and is hereby abated, dismissed, and further proceedings forbidden. Any order hereafter entered by any person, board, or officer whether state, county, district or other body, which has allowed, issued, or approved a refund of such taxes is hereby abated, made void and payment prohibited as to such ad valorem tax on such interests of any kind whatsoever in oil, gas, or other minerals having or purporting to have the authority to allow, approve, or refund any taxes so paid to any officer or depository, such order or evidence of debt purported to authorize, approve, allow any such refund is withdrawn and rendered wholly null and void so far as any such refund is authorized or purported to be authorized thereby, unless the taxes for which refund is sought, were paid under protest or duress. This section shall operate to prohibit any such refunding of such ad valorem taxes mentioned in the preceding paragraphs from and after April 9, 1948, so that no further proceedings may be taken in any of the provisions mentioned heretofore for such purpose, and no appeal shall be authorized or allowed from the order of abatement or dismissal and such orders allowing appeals from the dismissal or abatement of said suits are rendered null and void in the court to which such appeals are prosecuted. They shall be dismissed by such court, with costs.