Chap. 116.—An ACT to create a State advisory board on taxation and county
and city boards of review of assessments, to define the powers and duties
of such boards, to fix the compensation of their members, and to appro-
priate money to carry out the provisions of this act, to provide for the
review of reports of purchases by merchants and the review of the annual
returns and assessments of intangible personal property, income and
money by certain officials and fixing their compensation therefor, and to
provide penalties for the violation of this act, and to repeal an act en-
titled an act to create a State advisory board on taxation and county and
city boards of review of assessments, to define the powers and duties of
such boards, to fix the compensation of their members and to appropriate
money to carry out the provisions of this act, to provide for the review
of assessments on intangible personal property, income and money by cer-
tain officials, and fixing their compensation therefor, and to provide
penalties for the violation of this act, approved February 16, 1915. .

(S. B. 95)
Approved March 17, 1915.

Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia as follows:

1. That there is hereby created a board, which shall be known as the
State advisory board on taxation, which shall consist of the governor, the
auditor of public accounts and the chairman of the State corporation
commission, who shall be ex-officio members thereof, and shall receive no
compensation for serving thereon.

2. Officers—The governor shall be the chairman, and the auditor of
public accounts shall be the secretary of the said board, which may select
such assistants as it may deem necessary, whose compensation shall be
fixed by the board and paid out of the funds appropriated for the con-
tingent expenses thereof. |

3. General duties.—It shall be the duty of the State advisory board
on taxation:

(a) To collect, digest and preserve information relating to the assess-
ment and collection of taxes in this State and to ascertain the best
methods of effecting equitable assessments, and of avoiding duplication of
taxation of the same property ; and to recommend to the general assembly
such measures as will promote uniformity of assessments, just rates and
harmony and co-operation among all officials connected with the revenue
system of the State.
(b) To exercise general advisory powers over the local boards of
review, and over the assessors and commissioners of the revenue. It shall
be the duty of the said board to furnish the said local boards of review,
the assessors and commissioners of the revenue such information and
data relating to the assessment and value of property for the purpose
of uniform valuation as will promote fairness and equality of assessment,
and to advise all such county officials in the performance of their duties,
to investigate at any time the assessment and collection of taxes in any
county ,or city, and when any assessment is found to be unjust or un-
reasonable to recommend the correction of the same in the manner pro-
vided by law. Nothing in this act shall in any way abridge or change
the duties and powers now conferred by law upon the auditor of public
accounts relating to the assessment and collection of the revenue of the
State, and he shall continue to exercise all the powers now conferred upon
him by law relative to the assessment and collection of the State revenue ;
and his instructions to officers, so far as the same are authorized by law,
shall be carried out subject to the penalty prescribed by law for failure
to carry out his instructions.

4. Inall matters within its jurisdiction, the said State advisory board
shall have authority to administer oaths, to award, issue and have served,
executed and returned any writ, notice, process, order or order of publi-
cation which may by law be awarded, issued, served or returned by or to
any court of law or equity in this Commonwealth for the purpose of
compelling the attendance of witnesses and the enforcement and execu-
tion of its findings, orders and judgments. All writs, processes and
orders of the board shall run in the name of the Commonwealth, shall
be signed by the chairman of the board, and may be executed and re-
turned in like manner as the processes, writs, notices or orders of the
courts of record of this Commonwealth, and so served shall have the
same legal office.

5. The sum of five thousand dollars annually or so much thereof as
may be necessary, be, and the same is hereby, appropriated out of any
funds in the treasury not otherwise appropriated to carry out the pur-
pose of this act, to be paid to the auditor of public accounts upon the
warrant of the chairman, countersigned by the secretary of the board.

6. Local boards of .review.—On or before the first day of June, nine-
teen hundred and fifteen, and annually thereafter on or before the first
day of February, the judge of the circuit court of each county and the
judge of the corporation or hustings court of each city, and the judge of
the circuit court of each city which has no other court of record, shall,
either in term time or vacation, appoint three qualified voters residing in
such county or city, to compose a local board of review of assessments for
said county or city; and before entering on the duties of their office such
appointees shal] take the oath of office prescribed by law for county and
city officers; provided that not more than two members of said local
board of review shall be members of the same political party, excepting
in those counties and cities where at the presidential election last pre-
ceding the appointment of such board, the majority party in the State
cast more than sixty (60) per cent of the total vote in such county or
city. And if it shall appear that any person thus appointed cannot or
for any reason will not, perform the duties required of him by law, the
said judge shall appoint another in his place. The said local board of
review shall organize by electing one of their number as chairman. The
clerk of the circuit, corporation or hustings court shall be ex-officio clerk
of said board of review, and shall attend all meetings and keep a record
of the proceedings thereof in a separate book to be provided for that
purpose, which shall be preserved and kept on file in his office as clerk
of such court. The said local board of review shall hold sessions at such
dates and for such period as they may deem necessary; provided, that.
its sessions shall not be for less than two nor more than thirty days in
any one year, and reasonable notice of the date of its sessions shall be
published in advance.

The compensation of each member of the local board of review assess-
ments shall be four dollars per day and the clerk two dollars per day for
each day that he shall be necessarily employed, to be paid one half by
the Commonwealth and one half by the county or city where he serves.
The accounts for such compensation shall be made out and verified by
affidavit of the member before the clerk of the circuit, corporation or
hustings court, in which shall be stated that the time for which said per
diem is claimed was necessarily employed; and when said accounts shall
be so made out and verified they shall be paid out of the State and
county or city treasury, in equal proportions, out of any money in such
treasury not otherwise appropriated.

7. Duties of board of review of assessments.—Each local board of
review of assessments shall have power, and it shall be its duty:

(1) To direct the commissioner of the revenue to enter in the assess-
ment roll any property, whether real or personal, which is found to have
been omitted. }

(2) To direct the commissioner of the revenue to correct any entries
found to be erroneous, either as to over or under valuation, and to cancel
duplicate assessments.

(3) To hear and determine the complaints of all taxpayers, member
or members of a board of supervisors, board of supervisors, member or
members of a city or town council or city or town council, or any other
governing board, or the Commonwealth’s attorney, who appear and claim
to be aggrieved by unequal or unjust valuation or.assessment, and direct.
such corrections on the assessment books with reference thereto as may
be determined. In all such hearings the officers who made the assess-
ments shall if possible be present and testify ; provided, that no taxpayer
who has failed, refused or neglected, without cause shown, to file with
the commissioner of revenue a sworn statement of his property shall be
entitled to be heard, nor shall such valuation or assessment be reduced.

(3%) Said board shall, upon its own motion and may upon the
motion of the board of supervisors of any county or the council or any
other governing board of any city or town or of any five citizens thereof,
when it deems an assessment erroneous, change such assessment by rais-
ing or lowering the same, and thereupon give notice to any person whose
assessment is raised to show cause against such change, unless such per-
son has already been fully heard.

(4) To keep minutes of its meetings, and to enter therein all orders
made, and to transmit promptly a copy of such orders to the commis-
sioner of the revenue, who shall make the corrections on the assessment
rolls as directed thereby ; provided, however, that no order made by said
board shall prevent the taxpayer, or member or members of a board of
supervisors, board of supervisors, member or members of a city or town
council, city or town council or any other governing board or the Com-
monwealth’s attorney from applying to the proper court for correction of
any erroneous assessment in the manner provided by law.

(5) In the year of a quinquennial assessment of real estate and in
the year immediately following such assessment, such board of review
shall devote especial attention to grievances and complaints with regard
to the assessment of real estate and direct such corrections on the land
books with reference thereto as may be determined; in all other years
it shall make no changes in real estate assessments, save and except of
lands, lots or improvements not previously assessed. ,

(6) The said local board of review, board of supervisors, city or town
councils, or any member or members of said board of supervisors, or
council or any other governing board on behalf of the Commonwealth,
may apply to the circyit court of the county, or to the corporation or
hustings court of the city, or to the circuit court of any city which has
no other court of record, for the correction of any erroneous assessment
of lands or other property either as to over or under valuation in the
same manner as is provided by law for the correction of any such assess-
ment by any person who is aggrieved thereby. For all such cases the
attorney for the Commonwealth shall represent the said local board.

(7) To review reports of purchases by merchants and the annual
returns of intangible personal property, income and money of all tax-
payers in their respective counties and cities as made or required to be
made, to the commissioners of the revenue, before the merchants’ license
tax is assessed and before the taxes on intangible personal property,
income and money are entered or extended on the books of the said
commissioners of the revenue; and to this end they shall direct the
examiner of records of the judicial circuit in which any such county or
city is located, and it shall be the duty of said examiners, in addition to
the duties now imposed upon them by law, to assist the said local boards
of review in the examination of reports of purchases by merchants and
the returns of taxpayers of all such intangible personal property, in-
comes and money. It shall be the duty of the said examiners of record to
examine the returns aforesaid and the records, both State and Federal,
with a view to ascertaining and reporting for taxation the values to be
extended by said commissioners of the revenue on all intangible personal
property, incomes and money liable to taxation under the laws of this
State. As soon as such examinations and valuations are made by the
examiner of record, he shall make report thereof to the said local board
of review, which shall review the same as herein provided, and thereupon
make report thereof to the commissioners of the revenue of such county
or city on such forms as shall be prescribed by the auditor of public
accounts; and thereupon such commissioners of the revenue shall assess
the merchants’ license taxes and shall enter and extend upon their per-
sonal property books the names of the persons, firms and corporations
chargeable with said taxes on intangible personal property, income and
money at the rate provided by law on such intangible property, income
or money on the valuation as ascertained, and shall assess the taxes
thereon as if such intangible property, income or money had been listed
by the individual person, firm or corporation. The local board of review
shall have authority to summon taxpayers or their agents, or any other
person having information on the subject before them, and require them
to answer under oath all questions touching purchases by merchants and
touching the ownership of intangible property, income or money, held
by such person, firm or corporation and the valuation of said property,
and upon the request of the examiner of records, the said local board of
review, or its chairman, shall summon any such taxpayer before it to
answer on oath such question as may be propounded by the said board or
examiner of. records; and should the person, firm or corporation, agents
or witnesses, refuse to furnish the information requested, such person,
firm, corporation, agents or witnesses shall be liable to a fine of not less
than ten and not more than one hundred dollars, to be recovered as other
fines due the Commonwealth, and each day’s refusal or failure to furnish
such information shall constitute a separate offense.

The answers required under oath of the person, firm corporation,
agents or witnesses, shall not be disclosed unless called for by a court of
record, or by said State advisory board, or any local board of review.

If any person, firm, corporation or agent may be aggrieved hy such
assessment or valuation, the same shall be corrected under the provisions
of sections five hundred and sixty-seven and five hundred and sixty-eight
of the Code of Virginia, as amended, provided full disclosures have been
made and it is apparent that the erroneous assessment was not caused by
the failure or refusal of the applicant or their agents to furnish infor-
mation when requested, to the local boards of review, as required by
this act.

The examiner of records shall upon the valuations added as a result
of his investigations, and examinations, of the returns of intangible per-
sonal property and incomes of taxpayers, not returned by them in coun-
ties and towns receive commissions at the rate of one tenth of one per
cent on the first million dollars of such additions and upon additional
valuations of intangible personal property and incomes in excess of one
million dollars he shall receive commissions at the rate of one thirtieth
of one per cent; and upon the valuations added to the returns of in-
tangible personal property and incomes of taxpayers, not returned by
them, in cities he shall receive commissions at the rate of one tenth of
one per cent on the first five hundred thousand dollars of such additions,
and upon additional valuations in excess of five hundred thousand dollars
he shall receive commissions at the rate of one thirtieth of one per cent.
Upon valuations of money added as the result of his investigations and
examinations, the examiner of records shall receive commissions at the
rate of one thirtieth of one per cent on such valuation; and upon addi-
tions to purchases of merchants, not returned by them, he shall receive
commissions at the rate of five per cent on the increase in the license
taxes paid by the merchants resulting from the increase in purchases;
provided, however, the examiner of records shall refund and pay into the
treasury the compensation paid him on all property and taxable values
hereafter reported by him that shall be relieved of taxes erroneously
assessed thereon, and the compensation paid them on all property and
taxable values upon which the taxes hereafter assessed under this sec-
tion are not collected and are returned delinquent and the costs, if any,
incurred by any taxpayer in correcting any erroneous assessment caused
by the action of such examiner of records, and shall be liable therefor
under the bond required by laws to be executed.

The State advisory board is hereby charged with the duty of seeing
that the local boards of review, the commissioner of the revenue, assessors
and examiners of records, shall faithfully perform their duties under
this act.

The several commissioners of the revenue, on or before the first day
of June, nineteen hundred and fifteen and annually thereafter, on or
before the first day of April, shall cause the personal interrogatories of
each taxpayer covering intangible personal property, income or money in
their respective districts, to be placed in the hands of the examiners of
records of such districts, the examiners of records shall return the same
together with their report to the local board of review and the commis-
sioners of the revenue within sixty days thereafter, unless allowed further
time by the auditor of public accounts, the State advisory board on taxa-
tion shall, on the first day of the meeting of each session of the general
assembly, file with the senate and house of delegates a special report,
showing such defects in the tax system of the State as need correction
and recommend specific remedies therefor.

8. All acts or parts of acts inconsistent with this act are hereby
repealed.

9. Be it further enacted by the general assembly of Virginia, That
an act entitled an act to create a State advisory board on taxation and
county and city boards of review of assessments, to define the powers and
duties of such boards, to fix the compensation of their members and to
appropriate money to carry out the provisions of this act, to provide for
the review of assessments on intangible personal property, income and
money by certain officials and fixing their compensation therefor and to
provide penalties for the violation of this act, approved February six-
teenth, nineteen hundred and fifteen, be and the same is hereby repealed.

10. The collection of the public revenue being affected, an emergency
is hereby declared to exist, and this act shall be in force from its passage.