Missouri § 243.370 - Drainage taxes constitute a lien — court action when delinquent — proceedings — evidence.

§ 243.370. Drainage taxes constitute a lien — court action when delinquent — proceedings — evidence.

1.  All drainage taxes provided for in this chapter, including maintenance taxes, together with all penalties for default in payment of the same, all costs in collecting the same, including a reasonable attorney's fee to be fixed by the court and taxed as costs in the action brought to enforce payment, shall from date of the levying of the same by the county commission as provided in this chapter, until paid, constitute a lien, to which only the lien of the state for state, county, school and road taxes shall be paramount, upon all of the lands assessed, and shall be collected, in the same manner as state, county and school taxes upon real estate are collected.

2.  The said tax shall become delinquent if not paid on or before the thirty-first day of December of the year for which said taxes were levied, and when so delinquent shall bear interest at the rate of one percent per month until paid, each fractional month being counted as a full month.

3.  The liens established and declared in this section may and shall be enforced by an action on delinquent tax bills, made and certified by the county collector which shall be instituted in the circuit court without regard to the amount of the claim within six months after December thirty-first of the year for which said taxes were levied.  The suit shall be brought by the attorney for the drainage district in the name of, and to the use of, the collector of the revenue, of the county wherein the land lies, against the land or other property, on which such drainage tax has not been paid.

4.  The pleadings, process, proceedings, practice and sales, in cases arising under this chapter, shall except as herein provided, be the same as in an action for the enforcement of the state's lien for delinquent general taxes upon real estate.  All sales of lands made under this section shall be by the sheriff, as is now provided under the general revenue law.  All sheriff's deeds executed and delivered, pursuant to this chapter, shall have the same probative force as deeds executed under judgments for delinquent general state taxes and in actions instituted under this chapter.  The same abbreviations shall be allowed and the aforesaid drainage tax book shall have the same probative effect as the back tax bill has in actions for the enforcement of the state's lien for general taxes upon real estate.

5.  The title acquired through any sale of lands or other property under the aforesaid proceedings shall be subject to the lien of all subsequent annual installments of drainage tax.  In all suits for the collection of delinquent taxes, the judgment for said delinquent taxes and penalty shall also include all costs of suit and a reasonable attorney's fee to be fixed by the court, recoverable the same as the delinquent tax and in the same suit.  The proceeds of sales made under and by virtue of this chapter shall be paid at once to the county treasurer and shall be accounted for by him the same as the drainage taxes.

6.  The drainage tax books of this district shall be prima facie evidence in all courts of all matters therein contained.

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(RSMo 1939 § 12417)

Prior revisions: 1929 § 10828; 1919 § 4496; 1909 §§ 5599, 5600