Honorable Carl A. Megehee
No. 1975-0018
Mississippi Attorney General Opinions
July 16, 1975
Honorable Carl A. Megehee
Attorney
Board of Supervisors
Jackson County, Mississippi
P.O. Box 787
Pascagoula, Mississippi 39567
Re: Refund of Taxes on Lowry Island, Jackson County, Mississippi
Dear Sir:
The relevant part of your letter of May 8, 1975, relative to the captioned subject, which has been referred to the undersigned for research and reply, is as follows:
In view of the decision in the IPCO case, holding that the State has title to these marsh lands in Lowry Island, Is the County authorized to refund taxes paid bye private individuals over the years on these lands, and if it is so authorized, is there any limitation on the number of years the individuals can go back on their claims for a refund, such as the limitation of seven (7) years on the County back assessing?
Your opinion and views on this matter would be greatly appreciated, since there are many individuals involved in Jackson County, and the taxes have been paid for many years, which would amount to a large sum to be refunded, if so authorized.
Several individuals have raised this question, since they have some of the lands that have sold for taxes, which Tax Sales will mature in September, 1975; therefore, they need an answer before these sales would mature and cause additional problems.
The answer to that part of your question pertaining to the authority to refund taxes appears to be found in Section 2773? Mississippi Code of 1972, or/and Section 27737, Mississippi Code of 1972 . The former section is, in part, as follows:
(1) If any person, firm or corporation has paid, or shall hereafter pay to the auditor of public accounts, state tax commission, the commissioner of insurance, or to any tax collector, through error or otherwise, whether paid under protest or not, any ad valorem, privilege or excise tax for which such 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
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