Duty of Tax Collecting Official When Collection of Taxes Endangered

It shall be the duty of the tax collecting official, whenever upon information or otherwise he or she has good reason to believe that any person owing taxes, whether due or not, is about to leave or remove his or her property from the county, or that the person is closing out or going out of business or disposing of substantially all of his or her personal property and the collection of the taxes is endangered, to make out and certify to the judge of probate a bill against the person for the amount of the taxes and any fees due to the assessor or collecting official. Upon the approval of the bill by the judge of probate in writing endorsed thereon, the bill shall operate as a writ of fieri facias that the collecting official may execute by levy and sale in the same manner as sheriffs are authorized to execute writs when issued out of the circuit court. The writ may be executed in any county of the state where property of the taxpayer is found. The tax collecting official of the county shall execute the writ forwarded to him or her by the tax collecting official of the county where the assessment was made, the same as if issued in his or her own county. The tax collecting official shall remit collections on the writ to the other tax collecting official who sent the writ and is liable on his or her bond for any neglect of duty under this section. Advertisements in newspapers or otherwise of sales of any personal property as a closing out sale, fire sale, bankrupt sale, or any sale of like character shall be prima facie evidence that the collection of taxes due on property so advertised is endangered within the meaning of this section.