(a)
Granted; exception.
Persons who have attained the age
of 65 years or older on or before January 1 of any year shall be granted
a homestead tax exemption to be an amount equal to the homestead tax
exemption granted by Harris County; provided, however, that where
the ad valorem tax has heretofore been pledged for the payment of
any debt, the taxing officers of the city shall have authority to
continue to levy and collect the tax against the homestead property
at the same rate as the tax so pledged until the debt is discharged,
if the cessation of the levy would impair the obligation of the contract
by which the debt was created.
(b)
Proof of entitlement.
In order to obtain the benefit of the exemption in subsection (a) of this section, the owner shall, between January 1 and April 30 of each year, file with the tax assessor-collector a sworn inventory of such property owned on January 1 of each year for which the exemption is claimed, and shall initially furnish proof of age by certified copy of his birth certificate or, if such person does not have a certificate of birth, then by the affidavit of two persons at least five years older than the exemption claimant with actual knowledge of the date and place of birth and by the original or certified copy of any two of the following documents, which must be at least five years old:
(1)
Social security record;
(2)
Federal census record;
(3)
State census record;
(4)
Own child’s birth certificate;
(5)
Original birth notice in newspaper;
(6)
School record;
(7)
Insurance policy;
(8)
Lodge record;
(9)
Military record;
(10)
Passport;
(11)
Marriage record;
(12)
Hospital record;
(13)
Voter’s registration record;
(14)
Church baptismal record;
(15)
Employment record;
(16)
Physician’s record.
(1973 Code, secs. 28-6, 28-7; 1991
Code, secs. 29-6, 29-7; Ordinance 09-661, sec. 1, adopted 10/9/08; 2007
Code, secs. 40-6, 40-7)
Persons holding a disability status under the United States
social security laws shall be granted a homestead tax exemption as
follows:
(1)
For
persons having been declared disabled according to social security
laws and regulations, who hold documentary proof thereof from the
federal Social Security Administration, an exemption in an amount
equal to the homestead tax exemption granted by Harris County is hereby
granted.
(2)
Applicants
for the exemption must apply for the exemption each year between January
1 and April 30, and must produce documentary proof of such disability
dated not over six months prior to date of application.
(3)
Applicants
must produce documentary proof that the property for which exemption
is sought is the residence homestead of the applicant, consisting
of a copy of the applicant’s recorded deed and an affidavit
testifying to residence such as will satisfy the requirements of the
homestead law of the state.
(1973 Code, sec. 28-7.1; 1991 Code,
sec. 29-8; Ordinance 09-661, sec.
1, adopted 10/9/08; 2007 Code,
sec. 40-8)
(a)
It
shall be the declared policy of the city that the expenses of maintaining
records on delinquent taxes owed to the city and of collecting such
taxes, now an unfair burden on the general revenue and the taxpayers
who pay on time, should be borne instead by the delinquent properties
and their owners who are responsible for causing such expenses; and
to effectuate this policy the city hereby orders that such costs be
charged against the delinquent properties and their owners as collection
expenses as herein provided, and the same are hereby made a part of
the tax liens against the delinquent property to which each such cost
is attributable.
(b)
Whenever any delinquent taxes owed to the city are collected, by suit or otherwise, the city’s tax assessor-collector shall charge a fee as set forth in the fee schedule in appendix A of this code for each year listed on each receipt issued for such tax payments, this charge to be a collection expense and collected at the time of payment of the delinquent taxes.
(c)
Whenever any accounts for delinquent taxes owed to the city are placed in the hands of its attorney for collection, the city’s tax assessor-collector shall furnish all affidavits, certified copies of records of the city’s tax office and such other evidence as may be in his possession by virtue of such office and which are requested by the city’s attorney. The tax assessor-collector shall collect a cost or charge as set forth in the fee schedule in appendix A of this code for each affidavit, each certified copy of records and any other item of evidence furnished upon request, this cost to be a collection expense which shall be collected at the time of payment of the delinquent taxes, before or after suit.
(d)
Whenever
certified copies of records of other governmental agencies are needed
for preparing, filing and/or prosecuting suits and claims for delinquent
taxes and these are obtained by or for the city’s attorney,
the actual costs charged for such certified copies by the governmental
agencies furnishing them shall be collection expenses and shall be
collected at the time of payment of the delinquent taxes, before or
after suit.
(e)
All taxes, penalties, interest and costs owed to the city are required by law to be paid in cash. At its sole discretion and as a convenience to property owners, the city may accept checks, money orders or drafts in payment of these obligations, but all such checks and other items are received subject to final payment in cash as required by law. If any check or other item is returned because of insufficient funds or for any other reason, the city shall be entitled to and shall collect a collection expense charged in an amount to be fixed from time to time in motions duly approved by the city council. The collection expense provided for in this section shall be as set forth in the fee schedule in appendix A of this code for each time a check or other item is returned unpaid.
(f)
The city’s designated attorney, whether a salaried lawyer employed by the city or an attorney retained under a delinquent tax collection contract, shall assist, by suit or otherwise, in the collection of delinquent taxes owed to the city, and to recover such costs, the city shall be entitled to and shall collect a collection expense of 20 percent of the delinquent taxes and penalty, including any interest owed, due on a suit and/or foreclosure sale. As to payment of taxes delinquent and owing from the most current year, the collection expense as to that year shall be added as specified in this subsection (f) at the maximum of 20 percent only in the following percentages and in the following months of the calendar year next succeeding the year for which taxes are due during which payment is made:
(g)
If
any provision of this section or the application thereof to any person
or circumstances is held to be invalid, such invalidity shall not
affect other provisions or applications of this section which can
be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and
to this end the provisions of this section are declared to be severable.
It is further specifically provided that if any of the collection
expenses herein provided ever should be determined upon final adjudication
to be in excess of the amount allowed by law, the same as if such
maximum amount had been specifically ordained herein in words and
figures [sic].
(h)
If
it ever should be determined by a final adjudication that this action
should have been in some form other than an ordinance, then and in
that event, the above and foregoing shall be considered to have been
passed, approved and adopted by the city council as a resolution or
an order or in whatever form is legally necessary under V.T.C.A.,
Tax Code title 3, or any other applicable statute, to impose the charges
above specified.
(i)
The
city shall have all rights and remedies in the collection of delinquent
taxes provided by the state Tax Code, it being the intent of the city
to augment and not abrogate the rights provided to the city under
the constitution and all other applicable statutes.
(1973 Code, sec. 28-8; 1991 Code,
sec. 29-9; Ordinance 04-588 adopted 4/22/04; 2007 Code, sec. 40-9; Ordinance adopting 2022 Code)
All of the property described in the Texas Constitution, article VIII, section 1-j, shall be fully taxable in the city.
(1991 Code, sec. 29-11; Ordinance 90-434, sec. 1, adopted 12/14/89; 2007 Code, sec. 40-11)
The goods-in-transit, as defined in V.T.C.A., Tax Code section
11.253(a)(2), as amended by House Bill 621, enacted by the 80th Texas
Legislature in Regular Session, shall continue to be taxed by the
city.
(Ordinance 07-649, sec. 2, adopted 9/27/07; 2007 Code, sec. 40-13)
