Chap. 211.—An ACT to amend the Tax Code of Virginia by adding thereto nine
new sections, to be numbered 310-a, 310-b, 310-c, 310-d, 310-e, 310-f, 310-g,
310-h and 310-i, and to repeal Sections 311, 312, 313 and 314 of the Tax Code
of Virginia, and to repeal Sections 330 to 343, both inclusive, of the Tax Code of
Virginia, so as to abolish the office of examiner of records and to vest certain
of the powers of such officer in, and to impose certain of the duties of such
officer upon, commissioners of the revenue; also in relation to the collection of
taxes and levies on property under control of fiduciaries and courts and taxes
owing by decedents’ estates. [H B 206]

Approved March 23, 1946

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. That the Tax Code of Virginia be amended by adding thereto
nine new sections, numbered three hundred and ten-a, three hundred
and ten-b, three hundred and ten-c, three hundred and ten-d, three hun-
dred and ten-e, three hundred and ten-f, three hundred and ten-g, three
hundred and ten-h and three hundred and ten-i, which new sections shall
read as follows:

Section 310-a. Duties of commissioners of the revenue as to fi-
duciaries and owners of certain ships, boats, et cetera——Each commis-
sioner of the revenue shall annually examine all causes pending in the
courts of his county or city and the records thereof and ascertain all
tangible and intangible personal property and income subject to taxation
under the control of the courts in his county or city or held by any per-
son, bank, or corporation subject to the order of such courts, or in the
hands of or under the control of receivers, commissioners, and fiduciaries
appointed by such courts or appointed by any deed or will.

Each commissioner of the revenue shall also annually examine the
records, State and Federal, within his county or city, and ascertain the
value of all ships, tugboats, barges, boats, and other water craft over five
tons burden, with their tackle, rigging and furniture, and all else that
pertains to them, and other like boating property over five tons burden,
owned by other than express, steamship and steamboat companies, or
shall ascertain the value of such property from any other source accessi-
ble to him.

After such examinations and valuations are made, each such com-
missioner of the revenue shall enter upon his assessment books the names
of the persons and the amount of property and income chargeable to each
of them, and extend the taxes as in other cases.

Nothing in this chapter shall be construed as exempting any f-
duciary or other person from the obligation of filing any tax return re-
quired by law.

Section 310-b. Power of commissioners of the revenue to sum-
mon and examine, under oath, fiduciaries and owners of ships, et cetera:
penalty for failure to give information.—The commissioner of the revenue
shall have power to summon before him fiduciaries and the owners of
such ships, tugboats, barges, boats, and water craft, or their agents, and
require them to answer, under oath, any question touching the owner-
ship, or valuation of such property, and, if they refuse to furnish the in-
formation requested, they shall be liable to a fine of not less than ten
dollars nor more than one hundred dollars.

Section 310-c. Banks, corporations, and persons to furnish list;
penalty for failure or refusal—Any bank, corporation, or person holding
money or evidences of debt or personal property of any kind under the
control of any court, or to the credit of any cause pending in said court,
or to the credit of any receiver, commissioner, trustee, or other fiduciary,
shall, upon application, furnish the commissioner of the revenue with a
statement or list thereof; and any bank, corporation, or person refusing
to furnish such statement, or failing to furnish the same, shall be liable to
a fine of not less than ten dollars nor more than twenty-five dollars for
each day’s failure to furnish the same after five days’ notice to do so.

Section 310-d. Fiduciaries distributing the corpus of estates or
trusts consisting of intangible personal property to file informative tax
returns.—I¢very fiduciary paying or distributing to or among one or more
beneficiaries any part or the whole of the corpus of an estate or trust
consisting of intangible personal property, shall file upon a form pre-
pared by the Department of Taxation an informative return of such dis-
tribution, showing the names and residences of the distributees, the
amounts and classes of such property distributed to each and the date or
dates of such distribution. Such returns shall be filed with the com-
missioner of the revenue having jurisdiction in the county or city in
which the fiduciary qualified, or, if there has been no qualification in this
State, in the county or city in which such fiduciary resides, does business,
or has an office, or wherein the distributees or any of them reside. Every
such return shall be filed on or before the first day of May of the calendar
year following the calendar year in which the distribution was made.

Section 310-e. Collection of taxes and levies on funds, securities,
moneys and other property under the control of fiduciaries and courts;
duty of personal representatives—No decree or order shall be entered
by any court of the Commonwealth directing the payment, or other distri-
bution, of any funds, securities, moneys or other property under its con-
trol or under the control or in the hands of any receiver, commissioner or
other officer of the court, or any executor, administrator, trustee or other
fiduciary unless it be made to appear to such court that all taxes and levies
upon such funds, securities, moneys or other property have been paid, or
unless the payment thereof be provided for in such decree or order ; and
no commissioner, executor, administrator, trustee or other fiduciary, re-
ceiver, trustee or bank, or other person or corporation shall pay out any
funds in hand under the order of any court unless a receipt for taxes is
produced showing said taxes have been paid, or unless such order shall
so state. And no commissioner of accounts or assistant commissioner
shall, under section fifty-four hundred twenty-seven of the Code of Vir-
ginia, file any report of an account of the transaction of any executor, ad-
ministrator, trustee, receiver or other fiduciary until it shall be made to
appear to said commissioner that all taxes, whether State, municipal or
county, assessed and chargeable upon property in the hands of the person
for whom such account is settled belonging to the estate concerned in
such settlement, have been paid, or unless such account shall show that
there remains in the hands of such person sufficient sum, over and above
the charges of administration, to pay all taxes charged against such
person in his capacity as executor, administrator, trustee, receiver or
other fiduciary. Every personal representative, before settling the
estate in his hands, shall make inquiry of the treasurer of the county or
city wherein the decedent last resided and of the Department of Taxa-
tion with respect to any unpaid taxes and levies assessed against his
decedent.

Section 310-f. Fiduciary to be reimbursed out of estate-—Where
taxes or levies are paid by any fiduciary on any estate in his hands or
for which he may be liable, such taxes and levies shall be refunded out
of said estate.

Section 310-g. Duties of commissioners of the revenue as to in-
tangible personal property, incomes and licenses.—Each commissioner of
the revenue shall:

(a) Review the reports of purchases and sales made by the mer-
chants and assess for the current license year additional license taxes
when his investigations disclose that such merchants have reported less
than the law requires.

(b) Review the lists of all persons licensed by the commissioner of
the revenue and assess for the current license year any person who has
without a license conducted any business for which a license is required.

(c) Review in regard to intangible personal property, money and
income, such returns of taxpayers as may be referred to him by the
Department of Taxation and to report to the said department, for assess-
ment, such additional intangible personal property, money and income
when his review or investigation discloses that such property, money or
income has not been reported for taxation or has been reported for taxa-
tion at less than the law requires.

(d) Call upon every taxpayer who may not have properly returned
to the commissioner of the revenue all his intangible personal property,
money and income for the current tax year, and to require such tax-
payer to make a return of the same, and to this end the commissioner
of the revenue may summon before him, by registered letter or otherwise,
the taxpayer or any other person to appear before him at his office, to
answer, under oath, questions touching the ownership and value of any
intangible personal property, money and income of any and all taxpayers.

(e) Call upon and require taxpayers or their agents, or any person,
firm or officer of a company or corporation to furnish information re-
lating to intangible personal property, money or income, and license
taxes of any and all taxpavers; and to require taxpayers to furnish to
them access to their books of account or other papers and records for
the purpose of verifying the tax returns of such taxpayers and procuring
the information necessary to make a complete assessment of any tax-
payer’s intangible personal property, money and income and merchants’
license tax for the current tax year.

(f{) Make such reports to the Department of Taxation as may be
required by law, or as the rules and regulations adopted by the State Tax
Commissioner may require.

Section 310-h. Penalty for refusal of taxpayers to furnish infor-
mation and access to records to commissioners of the revenue touching
ownership and value of intangible personal property, money and income
and reports of purchases and sales of merchants——Should any taxpayer
required to furnish to the commissioner of the revenue access to books
of account or other papers and records, or should any taxpayer or his
agent, or the officer of any company or corporation, or any other person
required to furnish information to the commissioner of the revenue, or to
answer under oath such questions touching the ownership and value of
such intangible personal property, money and income, and reports of
purchases and sales of merchants, refuse to furnish such information,
such taxpayer, agent, officers, or other persons shall be deemed guilty of a
misdemeanor and shall be liable to a fine of not less than ten dollars nor
more than one hundred dollars, and each day’s refusal to furnish such ac-
cess or information shall constitute a separate offense.

Section 310-i. Powers conferred and duties imposed upon ex-
aminers of records transferred to commissioners of the revenue.—All the
powers conferred and all the duties imposed upon examiners of records
of judicial circuits or geographical districts by any section of the Tax
Code of Virginia which is not repealed are hereby conferred and im-
posed upon the commissioner of the revenue of each county and city
comprising such judicial circuit or geographical district; and wherever
the words “examiner of records” or other words denoting that officer
appear in any section of the Tax Code of Virginia which is not repealed,
the same shall be construed to mean the commissioner of the revenue of
the county or city; and wherever the commissioner of the revenue is re-
quired by any section of the Tax Code of Virginia to make an assess-
ment or take any other action on a report by an examiner of records,
the same shall mean that he shall make such assessment or take such ac-
tion directly. All tax returns and reports which before the abolition of
the office of examiner of records were required to be filed with the ex-
aminer of records shall be hereafter filed directly with the commissioner
of the revenue having jurisdiction in the county or city.

2. Sections three hundred and eleven, three hundred and twelve,
three hundred and thirteen, and three hundred and fourteen of the Tax
Code of Virginia are hereby repealed; and sections three hundred and
thirty to three hundred and forty-three of the Tax Code of Virginia, both
inclusive, are hereby repealed.

3. This act shall be in force and effect on and after December
thirty-first, nineteen hundred forty-seven.