The Commissioner of the Revenue is one of five locally elected constitutional officers whose authority is specifically conveyed in the Virginia Constitution. The other four are the

treasurer A treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization. The significant core functions of a corporate treasurer include cash and liquidity management, risk management, and corporate finance. Government The treasury o ...

sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...

Commonwealth's attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a loc ...

, and

clerk A clerk is a white-collar worker who conducts general office tasks, or a worker who performs similar sales-related tasks in a retail environment. The responsibilities of clerical workers commonly include record keeping, filing, staffing service ...

. In general, the local governing body (i.e.

City Council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...

Board of Supervisors A board of supervisors is a governmental body that oversees the operation of county government in the U.S. states of Arizona, California, Iowa, Mississippi, Virginia, and Wisconsin, as well as 16 counties in New York. There are equivalent agenc ...

) establishes tax policy and sets tax rates. The Commissioner of the Revenue implements and administers these policies by establishing assessments and determining what is taxable. The Treasurer then collects the tax revenue. The Commissioner of the Revenue is the chief tax-assessing official of the locality. The responsibilities of Commissioners vary from office to office across the Commonwealth. Generally, the Office of the Commissioner of the Revenue is responsible for administering the following taxes: Business and Professional Occupational License Tax, Bank Franchise Stock Tax, Motor Vehicle Rental Tax, Meals Tax, Meals Tax, Personal Property Tax, Public Service Corporation Tax, Public Rights of Way Use Tax, Transient occupancy tax, Consumer Utility Tax, and Virginia Income Tax. Commissioners also assist taxpayers in completing state tax returns and filing forms. The

Virginia General Assembly The Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia, the oldest continuous law-making body in the Western Hemisphere, the first elected legislative assembly in the New World, and was established on July 30, 161 ...

grants the Commissioner of the Revenue the power to summons taxpayers, to issue

statutory A statute is a formal written enactment of a legislative authority that governs the legal entities of a city, state, or country by way of consent. Typically, statutes command or prohibit something, or declare policy. Statutes are rules made by le ...

assessments, to

audit An audit is an "independent examination of financial information of any entity, whether profit oriented or not, irrespective of its size or legal form when such an examination is conducted with a view to express an opinion thereon.” Auditing ...

taxpayer returns, and, if necessary, to file civil and criminal proceedings against taxpayers for failure to file returns and/or provide information.

References

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External links

Commissioner of the Revenue Association of Virginia (CRAV)

Virginia Association of Assessing Officers (VAAO)

Virginia Association of Local Tax Auditors (VALTA)

Virginia Department of Taxation (VDOT)
Government of Virginia