CHAP. 242.—An ACT to amend and re-enact section 450 of the Code o
Virginia as heretofore amended. (H. B. 587.

Approved March 16, 1916.

1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia, Ths
section four hundred and fifty of the Code of Virginia as here
tofore amended be amended and re-enacted so as to read a
follows:
Section 450. It shall be the duty of the auditor of public
accounts to prepare and forward to the commissioners of the
revenue the requisite number of printed forms of land and per-
sonal property books or other tax books required by law; also,
to forward to the local boards of review the blank forms of
interrogatories upon which the tax-payers are required to make
returns for the assessment of capitations, tangible personal
property, intangible personal property, money and incomes, et
cetera. Upon the blank forms of interrogatories there shall be
the oath prescribed by law or by the auditor of public accounts
and every tax-payer must sign and make oath or affirmation
to the interrogatories, the oath or affirmation to be adminis-
tered by the commissioner of the revenue or his duly qualified
deputy. It shall be the duty of the commissioner and deputy
to carry a copy of the Holy Bible or New Testament upon which
the tax-payer shall be sworn and any tax-payer who objects to
making oath shall be allowed to make affirmation and the com-
sioner of the revenue or his deputy shall sign a certificate upon
the interrogatories stating the oath of affirmation required
by this section was made by the tax-payer.

The interrogatories shall be delivered to the commissioner
or commissioners of the revenue by the local board of review
with directions to call in person upon each tax-payer in his dis-
trict, to view and list at its fair market value the property to
be assessed, and to procure full and complete answers to the
interrogatories sworn to as required by this section. In mak-
ing the return required by the interrogatories the tax-payer
shall list, at fair market value, all property, money and income,
opposite appropriate items, writing the word “none” opposite
those items of property, money or income which he does not

It shall be the duty of each commissioner of the revenue on
or before the first day of June of each year to return to
local board of review the interrogatories.

All interrogatories found by the local board of review to
be defective, incomplete and not to contain what they have rea-
son to believe to be the true returns of the tax-payer or the
true value of the property, and all interrogatories not signed
and sworn or affirmed to, shall be returned with its instruc-
tions. The commissioner of the revenue shall] call upon the
tax-payer to supply the defective omissions in accordance with
the instructions of the said local board of review and also to
sign and swear or affirm said returns; and if it appear to the
local board of review that a commissioner of the revenue has
been guilty of serious misconduct, neglect or dereliction of duty
or there is evidence of his incapacity it shall be the duty of the
local board of review to immediately report such commissioner
of revenue to the court and it shall thereupon be the duty of
the court to summon such officer to show cause why he should
not be removed in accordance with section eight hundred and
twenty-one of the Code of Virginia. The local board of review
shall at once notify the State tax board of this action.

It shall be the duty of the local board of review, having
present the commissioner or commissioners of the revenue and
the examiner of records for the county or city for which the
board is appointed, during the month of June to review the in-
terrogatories and to ascertain and report to the commissioner
or commissioners of the revenue for assessment and taxation
the capitations and the values of tangible and intangible per-
sonal property, money and incomes liable to taxation under the
laws of this State of those tax-payers whose interrogatories
neither the board nor the examiner deems necessary to further
specifically examine and investigate and at the same time to
deliver to the commissioner or commissioners of the revenue the
interrogatories of such tax-payers; and the commissioner or
commissioners of the revenue shal] enter and extend upon the
tax-books provided by the auditor of public accounts the names
of the persons, firms, companies, and corporations chargeable
with capitations and with taxes levies on tangible and intangible
personal property, money and incomes on the valuations as as-
certained and shall assess the taxes and levies thereon pre-
scribed by law as if such capitations and such tangibles and in-
tangible personal property, money and incomes had been listed
by the tax-payers. |

The local board of review shall make such investigation and
examination of the interrogatories of tax-payers retained by it
respecting tangible personal property as it deems necessary to
ascertain the full, complete and uniform fair market valuation
of such property.

The local board of review and the examiner of records at its
direction or at the direction of the State tax board,, or upon his
own account shall make such investigation and examination of
the interrogatories of tax-payers retained by the board respect-
ing intangible personal property, money and incomes as is
deemed necessary to ascertain the full, complete and uniform
fair market valuation of such property, money and incomes.

’ The examiner of records shall promptly report to the local
board of review and that board shall review his report and shall,
not later than the first day of August of each year, report to
the commissioner or commissioners of the revenue for assess-
ment and taxation the values of intangible personal property,
money and incomes liable to taxation under the laws of this
State of those tax-payers whose interrogatories were retained
for specific investigation and examination and at the same time
deliver to the commissioner or commissioners of the revenue
the interrogatories of such tax-payers. The report of the local
board of review shall show separately the increases in values
ascertained by the examiner of records and approved by the
board, also the increases made by the board on its own instance,
and the commissioner or commissioners of the revenue shall
enter and extend upon the tax books provided by the auditor
of public accounts the names of the persons, firms, companies
and corporations chargeable with taxes and levies on intangible
personal property, money and incomes on the values as ascer-
tained and shall assess the taxes and levies thereon prescribed
by law as if such intangible personal property, money and in-
comes had been listed by the tax-payers. Copy of the report
of the local board of review shall be forwarded to the auditor
of public accounts.

After receiving the interrogatories and the report of the
Jocal board of review it shall then be the duty of the commis-
sioner or commissioners of the revenue to immediately make
out the personal property books and other tax-books required
by law which books shall be submitted to the local board of re-
view for the review and certification required by law, the re
view being confined to such examination as will determine if
the commissioner has carried out the instructions of the local
board of review, and the local board of review shall act without
delay upon this review and certification, and return the books
to the commissioner or commissioners of the revenue whose
duty it shall be on or before the fifteenth of September of each
year to retain one of the copies of the books and dispose of the
three other copies as required by law.

The commissioner or commissioners of the revenue in a
county shall file the interrogatories with the clerk of the circuit
court of the county; in a city with the clerk of the corporation
or hustings court of the city, but if the city have no such court
then the interrogatories shall be filed with the clerk of the cir-
cuit court, which interrogatories shall be carefully preserved on
a permanent file by the clerk, and it shall be a misdemeanor to
abstract, mutilate or destroy such interrogatories.

It shall be the duty of the examiner of records to attend any
and all meetings of the local board of review upon notice of the
chairman of the board and to aid the board in every way pos-
sible by making the examinations and investigations either upon
his own instance or upon the request of the local board of re-
view to bring about full, complete and uniform assessments at
fair market value.

After the tax books have been completed and delivered as
required by law any tax-payer may apply to the local board of
review for the correction of his, her or its assessment and the
State tax board or the auditor of public accounts represented
by the attorney for the Commonwealth or other attorney se-
lected for the purpose may apply on behalf of the Common-
wealth to the local board of review to increase the assessment
of any tax-payer, and any county, town or city through its ap-
pointed attorney may apply to the local board of review to
increase the assessment of any tax-payer. The local board of
review shall hear and determine any and all such petitions and
may increase or decrease or affirm the assessment of which
complaint is made and copies of such orders shall be furnishec
the tax-payer, the county or city treasurer, the auditor of pub
lic accounts, and the attorney for the county, city or town. Th¢
State tax board or the auditor of public accounts may, on be.
half of the Commonwealth; or the tax-payer, or the attorney
for the county, city or town may appeal from the decision 0!
the local board of review to the circuit court of the county, 01
the corporation or hustings court of the city, or to the circui!
court of a city having no corporation or hustings court, and
may from the decision of the court, appeal to the Supreme Court
of Appeals of Virginia, if under the laws of this State, an ap-
peal lies to that court.

The auditor of public accounts shall, by letter, or printed
circular or otherwise, give such instructions to the commission-
ers of the revenue in respect to their duties as to him shall seem
judicious. If any commissioner refuse to obey the auditor’s in-
structions he shall forfeit not less than thirty nor more than
fifty dollars. The expense of such books and circulars shall be
paid out of the treasury.

2. The assessment of the revenue of the State being af-
fected, an emergency is declared to exist and this act shall be
in force from its passage.