Texas Attorney General Opinion: LO97-013 Page: 2 of 3
This text is part of the collection entitled: Texas Attorney General Opinions and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
The Honorable Ken Armbrister - Page 2
Whether in a particular case a company has complied with the law, however, is clearly outside the
scope of an attorney general opinion.
Under Texas law, all personal property, including a rental motor vehicle, over which the state
hasjurisdiction, is subject to property tax, unless specifically exempted. See Tax Code 11.01, .14;
Letter Opinion No. 96-030 (1996). Such taxes are assessed and paid by the owner of the property.
See, e.g., Tax Code 22.01, 31.01. Additionally, an owner of a motor vehicle used on the state
public highways must register the vehicle with the Department of Transportation and pay a
registration fee. See Transp. Code 502.002, .161. The owner of a motor vehicle registered in
the state is also required to obtain a certificate of title and pay a certificate of title fee. See id.
501.022, .138. Thus, a rental car company in Texas is required to pay ad valorem property taxes
and certificate of title and registration fees on its fleet of rental cars.
Whether a rental car company may pass on the cost of the property taxes and certificate of
title and registration fees that the company has paid to the car renters by collecting a reimbursement
charge appears to be a matter of contract between the parties involved. We have been unable to find
a legal prohibition against this practice. Federal and state law may, however, require a car rental
company to adequately disclose to the renter the reimbursement charges for taxes and fees collected
from the renter. See 15 U.S.C. 1667(3) (Consumer Leasing Act, defining "lessor"), 1667a(3)
(lessor must disclose amounts paid or payable for official fees, registration, certificate of title, or
license fees, or taxes); 12 CJFR. 213.4 (implementing Consumer Leasing Act); Bus. & Cornm. Code
17.46 (acts and representations constituting deceptive trade practices). Assuming adequate
disclosures were made, such practice would appear to have been lawful prior to September 1, 1995.
With the passage of the act, the Texas Legislature has expressly, although unnecessarily, sanctioned
this practice of collecting the reimbursement charge. Thus, if the reimbursement charge, subsequent
to September 1, 1995, was and is included in a rental car agreement it must be shown as a separate
charge, done so on a nondiscriminatory basis and collected in all agreements not exempt from gross
rental receipts tax. Assuming adequate disclosures were and are made, such practice would appear
to be lawful. We reiterate, however, that whether in a particular case a car rental company has
complied with the law is outside the scope of an attorney general opinion.(L097-013)
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This text can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Matching Search Results
View one place within this text that match your search.Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Text.
Texas. Attorney-General's Office. Texas Attorney General Opinion: LO97-013, text, February 25, 1997; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth277197/m1/2/?q=%221997~%22&rotate=90: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.