Exoneration from Payment of School Taxes

Arnold, Deputy Attorney General,

You have asked us to advise you whether a board of school directors may exonerate a person owning real estate from paying school taxes assessed against him.

The term “exoneration”, as most commonly used in tax matters, means an action of taxing authorities by which a tax collector is relieved of the responsibility of collecting taxes assessed against particular persons or property. In many cases the practical result of such an exoneration is to relieve the taxpayer himself, because no efforts are made thereafter to collect the tax. In other instances, however,…