(a) The commissioner has the powers and shall perform the duties conferred and imposed in this chapter in addition to such other powers and duties as may be conferred and imposed upon the commissioner by law. The commissioner is vested with power to prescribe rules and regulations not inconsistent with law and to prepare such forms as the commissioner may deem proper for the administration of the duties of the commissioner’s office.
Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
Equitable: Pertaining to civil suits in "equity" rather than in "law." In English legal history, the courts of "law" could order the payment of damages and could afford no other remedy. See damages. A separate court of "equity" could order someone to do something or to cease to do something. See, e.g., injunction. In American jurisprudence, the federal courts have both legal and equitable power, but the distinction is still an important one. For example, a trial by jury is normally available in "law" cases but not in "equity" cases. Source: U.S. Courts
Liabilities: The aggregate of all debts and other legal obligations of a particular person or legal entity.
Person: includes a corporation, firm, company or association. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
Record: means information that is inscribed on a tangible medium or that is stored in an electronic or other medium and is retrievable in a perceivable form. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
Reporter: Makes a record of court proceedings and prepares a transcript, and also publishes the court's opinions or decisions (in the courts of appeals).
State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
written: includes printing, typewriting, engraving, lithography, and any other mode of representing words and letters. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
(b) The department has the power to:
(1) Administer the assessment and collection of all state taxes, except those for which responsibility is expressly conferred by statute upon some other officer or agency;(2) Administer the assessment and collection of privilege taxes;(3) Receive state revenues collected by county officials and make and retain records of such receipts;(4) Investigate the tax systems of other states, and formulate and recommend to the governor such legislation as may be deemed expedient to prevent evasion of taxes, secure just and equitable taxation and improve the system of taxation in the state;(5) Examine, at any and all times, the accounts of any private corporation, institution, association or board receiving appropriations from the general assembly;(6) Require a complete record of the officers, assistants and employees appointed by the commissioners of the various departments, and require their salaries to be in conformity with the scale authorized;(7) Procure from any department or agency of the state, or any of its political subdivisions, a copy of the complete record maintained by it of any convictions for violation of any criminal laws by any person who has made application to the department for employment, for the exclusive use of the department in screening the applicant to determine suitability for an appointment in the department;(8) Compromise tax liabilities upon such terms as, in the commissioner’s opinion, may seem to be in the best interests of the state; provided, that either the comptroller of the treasury or the attorney general and reporter may require that such compromises or any class of such compromises be subject to the comptroller’s or attorney general’s prior review and written approval. The commissioner may enter into agreements in connection with the compromises as may be necessary to effectuate the purposes of this subsection (b);(9) Issue letter and revenue rulings at its discretion. A reasonable fee, not to exceed ten thousand dollars ($10,000) for expedited rulings requested pursuant to § 67-1-109(d) and not to exceed five hundred dollars ($500) for all other rulings, may be set and prescribed by the commissioner for issuing revenue and letter rulings; and(10) Enter into a contract to participate in the multistate tax commission joint audit program.(c) If a taxpayer challenges an assessment of taxes levied by local government that has been paid to the department, the commissioner shall notify the appropriate agencies of local government of such challenge, if the local amount in dispute exceeds twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) per county or city.
