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1997 SESSION

970971160
HOUSE BILL NO. 2364
Offered January 20, 1997
A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 46.2-755, 58.1-22, 58.1-526, 58.1-3128, 58.1-3921, 58.1-3933, 58.1-3941 and 58.1-3952 of the Code of Virginia, relating to collection of local revenues.
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Patrons-- Cooper, Johnson and Keating
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Referred to Committee on Finance
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Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. That §§ 46.2-755, 58.1-22, 58.1-526, 58.1-3128, 58.1-3921, 58.1-3933, 58.1-3941 and 58.1-3952 of the Code of Virginia are amended and reenacted as follows:

§ 46.2-755. Limitations on imposition of motor vehicle license taxes and fees.

A. No county, city, or town shall impose any motor vehicle license tax or fee on any motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer when:

1. A similar tax or fee is imposed by the county, city, or town wherein the vehicle is normally garaged, stored or parked;

2. The vehicle is owned by a nonresident of such locality and is used exclusively for pleasure or personal transportation and not for hire or for the conduct of any business or occupation other than that set forth in subdivision 3 of this subsection;

3. The vehicle is (i) owned by a nonresident and (ii) used for transporting into and within the locality, for sale in person or by his employees, wood, meats, poultry, fruits, flowers, vegetables, milk, butter, cream, or eggs produced or grown by him, and not purchased by him for sale;

4. The motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer is owned by an officer or employee of the Commonwealth who is a nonresident of such county, city, or town and who uses the vehicle in the performance of his duties for the Commonwealth under an agreement for such use;

5. The motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer is kept by a dealer or manufacturer for sale or for sales demonstration;

6. The motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer is operated by a common carrier of persons or property operating between cities and towns in the Commonwealth and not in intracity transportation or between cities and towns on the one hand and points and places outside cities and towns on the other and not in intracity transportation.

B. No county, city, or town shall impose a license fee for any one motor vehicle owned and used personally by any veteran who holds a current state motor vehicle registration card establishing that he has received a disabled veteran's exemption from the Department and has been issued a disabled veteran's motor vehicle license plate as prescribed in § 46.2-739.

C. No county, city, or town shall impose any license tax or license fee upon any daily rental passenger car, the rental of which is subject to the tax imposed by § 58.1-2402 A 4.

D. As used in this section, common carrier of persons or property includes any person who undertakes, whether directly or by lease or any other arrangement, to transport passengers or household goods for the general public by motor vehicle for compensation over the highways of the Commonwealth, whether over regular or irregular routes, that has obtained the required certificate of public convenience and necessity from the Department of Motor Vehicles pursuant to § 46.2-2004.

§ 58.1-22. Accounts not to be settled until taxes paid or provided for.

No commissioner of accounts or assistant commissioner shall, under § 26-32, file any report of an account of the transactions of any executor, administrator, trustee, receiver or other fiduciary, including trustees in foreclosure actions until it shall be made to appear to the commissioner that all taxes, whether state, or county or city, 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 a 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.

§ 58.1-526. Hearing procedure.

A. If a claimant agency other than the Internal Revenue Service receives written application of the debtor's intention to contest at hearing the claim upon which the intended setoff is based, it shall grant a hearing according to procedures established by that agency under its operating statutes to determine whether the claim is valid. Additionally, it shall be determined at the hearing whether the claimed sum asserted as due and owing is correct, and if not, an adjustment to the claim shall be made. A debtor of the Internal Revenue Service shall contest the claim only in accordance with federal law and procedures.

B. Pending final determination at hearing of the validity of the debt asserted by the claimant agency, no action shall be taken in furtherance of collection through the setoff procedure allowed under this article.

C. No person hearing the debtor's application contesting the claimant agency's claim shall have been involved in the prior circumstances which have culminated in such dispute.

D. No issue may be considered at the hearing which has been previously litigated.

E. In the case of setoff arising out of delinquent local taxes, the scope of the hearing shall be limited to determining whether the setoff is a tax obligation that remains due and owing to the locality, and shall not address the underlying basis of the tax obligation.

§ 58.1-3128. Power to summon taxpayers and other persons; penalty.

A. The treasurer may, for the purpose of collecting all taxes due, summon the taxpayer or any other person to appear before him at his office, to answer, under oath, questions touching the tax liability of any and all taxpayers and to produce documents relating to such tax liability, either or both. For the purposes of administering this section, treasurers and their deputies may administer oaths.

B. Any person who refuses to answer, under oath, questions touching any persons person's tax liability shall be deemed guilty of a Class 4 misdemeanor. Each days' refusal to answer such questions shall constitute a separate offense. Any court of competent jurisdiction may, upon the application of the treasurer or his deputy, compel the compliance of a taxpayer summoned or required to produce documents as required by this section.

§ 58.1-3921. Treasurer to make out lists of uncollectable taxes and delinquents.

The treasurer, after ascertaining which of the taxes and levies assessed at any time in his county or city cannot be have not been collected, shall, not later than August 1 in each year, make out lists as follows:

1. A list of real estate on the commissioner's land book improperly placed thereon or not ascertainable, with the amount of taxes charged thereon.

2. A list of other real estate which is delinquent for the nonpayment of the taxes thereon.

3. A list of such of the taxes assessed on tangible personal property, machinery and tools and merchants' capital, and other subjects of local taxation, other than real estate, as he is was unable to collect.

4. A list of the uncollected taxes amounting to less than five dollars each for which no bills were sent under § 58.1-3912.

5. A list of uncollected balances of previously billed taxes amounting to less than five dollars each as to which the treasurer has determined that the costs of collecting such balances would exceed the amount recoverable, provided that the treasurer shall not include on such list any balance with respect to which he has reason to believe that the taxpayer has purposely paid less than the amount due and owing.

Notwithstanding any other provision of this title, no tax or levy which has been discharged or otherwise rendered legally uncollectable as to a taxpayer liable upon it in a proceeding under the United States Bankruptcy Code (Title 11 of the United States Code) shall be considered delinquent with respect to that taxpayer on and after the date such obligation is discharged or otherwise rendered legally uncollectable, and the treasurer shall not include any such discharged or uncollectable obligation in any list required to be prepared pursuant to this section. Any such discharged or uncollectable obligation shall be stricken from the books of the treasurer as of the date the obligation is discharged or otherwise rendered uncollectable, and the treasurer thereafter shall have no further duty to collect such tax or levy.

The governing body of any town may, by ordinance, adopt the procedures set forth in this section and § 58.1-3924. If such ordinance is adopted, the town treasurer shall submit such lists to the governing body as provided in § 58.1-3924.

§ 58.1-3933. Subsequent collection by treasurer of delinquent taxes on subjects other than real estate.

After the second publication of the list of delinquent taxes as provided in § 58.1-3928, the governing body may require the treasurer to continue to collect the delinquent taxes on subjects other than real estate for an additional period of two years until the expiration of the applicable statute of limitations. At the end of such period If continued collection by the treasurer is not required, after the second publication, or after any subsequent publication, he shall return to the governing body a list of such of the taxes as remain unpaid together with any tax tickets representing the same, shall be given credit for the aggregate amount thereof, and shall not thereafter be required to make any further collections thereon.

§ 58.1-3941. What may be distrained for taxes.

Any goods or chattels, money and bank notes in the county, city or town belonging to the person or estate assessed with taxes or ,levies or other charges collected by the treasurer may be distrained therefor by the treasurer, sheriff, constable or collector. Property subject to levy or distress for taxes shall be liable to levy or distress in the hands of any person for taxes, penalties and interest thereon, except that any motor vehicle as defined in § 58.1-2101 § 46.2-100 purchased by a bona fide purchaser for value shall not be liable to levy or distress for such taxes unless the purchaser knew at the time of purchase that the taxes had been specifically assessed against such vehicle.

Property on which taxes were not specifically assessed, whether assessed per item or in bulk shall not be subject to distress after it passes into the hands of a bona fide purchaser for value.

§ 58.1-3952. Collection out of estate in hands of or debts due by third party.

A. The treasurer or other tax collector of any county, city or town may apply in writing to any person indebted to or having in his hands estate of a taxpayer or other debtor for payment of taxes, or other charges collected by the treasurer, more than thirty days delinquent out of such debt or estate. Payment by such person of such taxes, penalties and interest, or other charges either in whole or in part, shall entitle him to a credit against such debt or estate. The taxes, penalties and interest, or other charges shall constitute a lien on the debt or estate due the taxpayer from the time the application is received. For each application served the person applied to shall be entitled to a fee of twenty dollars which shall constitute a charge or credit against the debt to or estate of the taxpayer debtor. The treasurer or collector shall send a copy of the application to the taxpayer or debtor, with a notice informing him of the remedies provided in this chapter.

If the person applied to does not pay so much as ought to be recovered out of the debt or estate, the treasurer or collector shall procure a summons directing such person to appear before the appropriate court, where proper payment may be enforced. Any person so summoned shall have the same rights of removal and appeal as are provided by law for the enforcement of demands between individuals. For purposes of this section, the term "person" shall include but shall not be limited to individuals, corporations, partnerships, institutions, and other such entities, as well as the Commonwealth and its agencies and political subdivisions. However, in no event shall the Commonwealth, its agencies, or its political subdivisions incur any liability for the failure to pay the treasurer's or other tax collector's application under this section.

B. Unless otherwise exempted, the wages and salaries of all employees of this Commonwealth, other than state officers, shall be subject to this section. Whenever the salary or wages of such employees as above mentioned shall be so attached, the application shall be mailed to the debtor and to the officer or supervisor who is head of the department, agency, or institution where the employee is employed, or other officer through whom the debtor's salary or wages is paid, provided that process shall not be served upon the State Treasurer or the State Comptroller except as to employees of their respective departments, and upon such service the officer or supervisor shall, on or before the return day of the application, transmit to the treasurer or other tax collector issuing the application a certificate showing the amount due from the Commonwealth to such debtor, up to the return day of the application, which amount the officer or supervisor shall hold subject to further instruction from the treasurer or other tax collector. However, in no case shall the officer or supervisor hold more than the sum of taxes, penalties and interest stated in the application. Such certificate shall be evidence of all facts therein stated, unless a court of appropriate jurisdiction directs that the deposition of the officer or supervisor, or such other officer through whom the debtor's salary or wages be paid, be taken, in which event the deposition of the officer or supervisor shall be taken in his office and returned to the clerk of the court in which the summons is, just as other depositions are returned, and in no such case shall the officer or supervisor be required to leave his office to testify. In all proceedings under this section, the amount found to be due the debtor by the Commonwealth shall be paid as directed by the court.