Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion ( 1940 )

OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OFTEXAT
AUSTIN [,.I I
~ci.MANW i)
ra”“svQrnIIAI. ?:
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Honoroble 060. H. Ghsppsrd <. ,,/?
Colaptroller of Public Ac&ouotr
kuatin, Toxar (!, \
Daer Sir:
ror an opinion
on wh*that or not t Communltlrs, a
oorporatlon, 18 6
mlunitl6s im ln-
corporatiwl in t nwolent purposes.
c. s. Mlde, county Attor-
; attaahe4 to your requo8t.
66 that the properties an uaod
hat there lrr also looatetd on a
~808 which ara rant04 to iallp
e hobatown area. The oxaot uao
la put by the transient rarm laborera
the fast that a portion or the property
00 eurriowit raatr ror UII to oomply with
oation e or th6 Constltutlon 0r *foxa* provldos
w my, by general law, oxsmpt from taxation
pubila property umed ror publlo purporea; aatual plaoma of
religious worehlpt proporty owned by a ehuroh or a strlotly re-
ll$lour soolrty for the sxolutalre wso a8 a 6weXllng plaoe ror
the ministera; plaoee of burial; property owned and web exclu-
8lrely for sahool purpo~~e.s; property used exolualvely Lo the pro-
motion of religious, rduoatlonal and physlaal development of boys
end girlsi and institution8 of purely pub110 oharlty.
.-.
56
Bon, Gee. 5, Sheppard, page 2
%a property owned by Texas hurai Cosasunltles obviously
161not in the catago- Or any or the above authoriaad ex~ptlonm,
unleaIJ it ie 8n institution of pUr6iY public oharity.
Pursuant to the above mantloned article of the Gonatitutlon,
I the 4dflslaturs pacrsed *rtiele 91b0, Vernon*~ Annotatsd Civil
/ 4;tatutos, whloh prwia06 In part as r0il0w8a
"The roUorlns property shall be exezipt rrosi taxa-
tion, to-ritr
"1. Pub110 charitles.- All buildings bololylry to
lnstitutlons of purrly publla oharlty, tosether rlth
the lauds beloqlug to an6 OOOupledby au6h ln#tltu-
tlons not loased or othexwlre ussd with (I view to pro-
rlt, unlssa suoh rentr and profits aod all ~~ohoys an4
ore&its are approprlsted by such lnetltutlons solely
to sustain suoh ln6tltutlons end ror the beueflt of the
slok~antl disabled swmbsrs end their raaailles anQ t&s
burial or the same, or for thr malntsnanoe of persons
when unable to proride for themsIve8, whathsr such
parsons are rrambers or such institutions or net. An
lustltutlon of purrly publics oharlty under this ‘arti-
010 IS one whiohdlsponses Its al& to lte members so4
others in slakusss QT Olstress, or at heath, without
regard to poverty or rlohes oi the reolplsnt, also
when the funtlr, property ant2 assets of rush lnstitu-
tlons 8ro place4 aab bound by its laws to roliave,
aid end adntinlskr 133 sny wsy to the diei or its
msmberr when ln want, slaknosr and amM88, an& pro-
vide hoprsa for its helpless and dependent members and
to educate and nainta5.u the orphaus of lta deoeased
nomb8rs or othrr p%r;lons.*
To deter&m the questlou, we must arrive at the aorreet
ml0 ~onrtructlon.
or The Coustltutfon provibes that all tars8
shall be *Qua1 and ucltorm. ;trtialb a, 8~. 8, c028tit2810n or
~exaal. 'In ordsr for tha government te exist, it must hum the
pawa ta tax, aad the property at those soeeptln@ the benefits,
proteotloh and prlrllages ot the goror#imnt mat bear their
Bhhore Or this bUdMa. Tuatlon is, t&sreZoreI th8 rule snd
e~emptloo rmn taxation the exception. Caoley on Taxation,
2nd id. p. aoi: hthens ~‘8. eaybr, et d, 94 Ga. 413.
hxuqtlon baing tlla exoeptlan to the geumal rule, it is
not fatord, an4, when round to 0x180, the anaetasct by wbloh
.-
Eon. ho. ii, Sheppard, page S
it 16 given will not be enlarged by oonstruotion, but, on the
oontrary, ~511 bo strlotly sonstxuebr Morri4 YeI. RalOJl, 8
6. W. 6191 Santa Roes Inflrma~ vs. San Antonio, RS9 S, W.
ml., ma Cooley on Taxation, ena Ba., page 804.~
In the oaae of BPOE LixIge Y. City of Houston, (Civ. App.)
,c1 S. W. (&I) 488, in oonstrulng the expression “pure2.y public
eharlty,” the oourt said:
*‘Fae nora *parelr* 14 fnt9naOa to moairr the
uwa *oharity’, and not the word ‘publle;i 40 aa
to roquirr the institution to hare a who y @ltruirtio
quglfty and exoluae from it every prlyate or relrish
interest for profit or corporation gain. In law tho
w~rfo;~~ely* is used in the sense or an@ bqulvaient
%holl~*, *erolUelrel~*, *oomp&etelyJ’,
*entErs 1:y , ana *Pnquaiiri0a4~,*
This helUng we4 aurtainsd fn the oaso of Oitr of Pales-
tine ~a. Eisnotiri-Pactfib Lines &spltal ABaoofation,‘99 8. 1.
(&a) Sll, and upon whfoh the 6upr4m4 huHi denied writ Of error.
Justloo Qreonwood, In the case of City of %aston ~4.
Soottirh Rite Benevolent Aaaoelatlon, et al., 850 S. N. 9’18,
(Sup. Ct.), sala that an institutiob was one ot “purel.y public
oharitp where;
*Plrst, it Mae no gain or profit; 406ond. ,lt
aooom lishea ende~whoily benevolent1 an&, third, it
benof r t0a persw, inderinlte in numbers tia'per40n-
alltler, by prW#nting them, through absolute gratuity,
from beoomlng burdens of society and the State.W
The ease OS Parohalvs. Aoklin, ET Ter. 199, holabr that
in the legal sense oharitx ir aorinea as a *Bii% to gswral
publion, and in the oaw of State vs. Texas MWiaL’Li.ie &14ur-
LOO* 00mpllny 51 S. ai. (ea) 41O.,~hdar that ehazlty in i*m
&gal 8en4e kplier giving w;thout oonriaenaion or oxpeotation
oi return.
But the Leglelature h1~4re8trioted the general m44.uiug
or the worilr ‘purely publto &arltfor”, A?tlolo Ql60, Brotion
I, which reads a4 folle~~r
I) AR lnet%tution of purely publso oharitt under
thia'a&~olo 18 one whioh $ILapn;reI Its aia to itr
nWibere and other8 in siok~e~s or(lietr~U,, or ali
abath, tit&out regard to po*ertr or.riobor ot tho
58
Hon. Qeo. B. Bheppara, page 4
reolpient, also when the runas, property and a88etm
of euah Institutions ar4 plaoed and bound by It4
law8 to relieve, ala ma samini4tor in any way to
the relief a? its member8 when in want, siokueclm
ana ai8tr888, and provide home4 ?or it4 helplesm
and dependbat member4 and to eduoate pna maintain
orphans o? It4 aeoeased msmbera or otbsr perecII1a.”
In the oa8e o? Texam Rural Communitles,here unaer air-
bwmion, the property IS usbd ?or the purpoee o? renting out
to ?arm laborerr. It 14 readily 4een that the objeotlves anb
purposes to whioh the property o? the oorporation are wed’
mre more oomprohen4Ire than the legielatlre deilnitfon.
But, regardlerm o? this the Constitution provides that
the btilldings must be u8ad l
roia4Irel~, mnb owned by the In-
mtitutfon.
.Justloe Greenwood, in the oa8e of'City o? &,uston 78.
goottl4h kite Benevolent Asrooiation, supra, maid:
*It doe8 not smtlofy the oonstitutlonal require-
ment that use by other4 wa8 permitted br the omer ,
to obtain revenue8 to be doroted entirely to the
//. owner'8 work a? purely pub110 aharitr. L[orrls~8. ;,.
EaBon, 8 6. W. 819. Nor I8 the requirement 8atim-
.' iioa by the faot that those eharing the ix48 pay no
rent. Red vs. Johnson, 66 'Per. m&M. The aotual
direct use antet be erolua fo on the part of auoh an
< ,.
y In titutlon ~6 I4 iarore the eonatitutlanal
/
pr&I4Ion.* (tipha "7 our4
.,. '.
,' ,'.,I
In the aa48 of State vs. Settegamt, 854 6. W, 985, it
;war held that property upon whloh were looatea rent howea
,~bplongIng to a oharitnble Imstitutlon, the ront from which wa8
ed solely ror the benerit or euoh In6tltutlon, was not within
e oonetitutional exemptton irom taxation In iaror o? aharit-
fable institutiona, slnoe the property wa4 not u8ed etolurlv8ly
by such institution.
In the ease at bar, even Wiough the purpose8 for whloh
oorporation ram inoorporatod may br benmrolent and oharlt-
use to which lta.propertle8 aro put doe8 not 00x4
eneaptIon8 a4 preeorlbod by law. Although the
derived ?rom the rental o? a portion o? ths ropsrty may
ror purely publio oharities, that iact ail 5.not brl.u
to whloh the land 18 put within the oonstitutional and
pr0rI8lonm. As the direot and abtual Use muat be
Eon. Gee. H. Sheppara, page b
exclusive on the part of '&exae Rural Communltls4 before It 14
8ntItlea to the exemption. The holding hao bean surtained in-
numkrable timee:that any property not used exoluslrely by
In4tltutlon4 Is not exempt.
It la, therefore, our opinion that the property of Texae
Rural Communltlea 14 not exempt rrom taxation.
Truetlng that the foregoing fully anarsr4 your inquiry,
we are
Yours very truly