94.370. Personal tax, how collected.

MISSOURI STATUTES AND CODES

94.370. Personal tax, how collected.

Personal tax, how collected.

94.370. 1. Taxes now or hereafter levied on personalproperty by the proper authorities of any city in this state,organized or existing under a special charter, shall constitute adebt in favor of such city, for which a personal judgment may berecovered before an associate circuit judge or recovered in thecircuit courts of this state against the person on whose personalproperty such taxes shall be levied.

2. Actions for the recovery of such taxes shall beprosecuted in the name of the city entitled to recover the sameat the relation and to the use of the collector of revenue ofsuch city and against the person on whose property said taxes arelevied, and all personal taxes in the payment of which any personmay be delinquent, whether for one or more years, may berecovered in one action, and may be set forth and stated in asingle count in a petition or in separate counts.

3. The taxes sued for shall be set forth in a back tax billfiled with the petition, which back tax bill shall state thetotal valuation for each year of the personal property on whichthe taxes sued for have been levied, and shall also state,separately, the amount due for each year to each fund for whichtaxes are levied. Such back tax bill, authenticated by thecertificate of such collector, shall be prima facie evidence inthe case wherein it is filed that the amount stated in said backtax bill to be due is correct and is due and unpaid.

4. And the circuit courts and associate circuit judges shallhave jurisdiction of all such suits without regard to the amountsued for. Suits hereunder commenced in the circuit courts orbefore an associate circuit judge shall be governed by thegeneral laws of this state as to practice, and on all judgmentsrendered a general execution shall be issued, and no propertyshall be exempt from seizure and sale under such execution.

5. It shall be the duty of the city attorney of any suchcity to prosecute all actions brought hereunder; provided,however, that the mayor of any such city, by and with the consentof the council thereof, may, in lieu of said city attorney,employ, for a period of not to exceed one year at a time, acompetent attorney, whose duty it shall be to institute andprosecute all such actions. Such attorney, whether city attorneyor special attorney, shall receive as fees in such case the sumof one dollar and fifty cents and, in addition thereto, the sumof ten percent of the taxes actually collected, all of which feesshall be taxed as cost in the case, and shall be collected asother costs; but in no case shall the city or the collector beliable for any cost, nor shall any costs be taxed against them oreither of them.

6. Suits hereunder shall not be instituted until the taxessued for have been delinquent thirty days, and all suits shall beinstituted within five years after delinquency.