When clerk of

court to draw from deposit the amount of tax

Levy or distress for tax on

personalty, &c

How property of commissioner assessed

listed the same in his own name. If the property belong to a company or firm, it shall be listed by and taxed to the company or firm. If the property belong to a corporation, which property is not otherwise taxed, it shall be listed and taxed to the corporation by the principal accounting officer, and at the principal place of business of such corporation; but if not so listed, it shall be listed and taxed in the place where the property is. If the property consist of money, bonds, or other evidences of debt, under the control or in the possession of a receiver or commissioner, it shall be listed by and taxed to such receiver or commissioner, and the clerks of each court shall furnish the commissioner of the revenue with all bonds and funds held by the commissioners under the authority of the court. If the property consist of money or other thing deposited to the credit of any suit, and not in the hands of a receiver, it shall be listed by and taxed to the clerk of the court in which the suit is, and such clerk may, upon the order of his court, made in term time or vacation, withdraw from such deposit the amount of such tax. If the property consists of money, bonds, stocks, or other evidences of public or private debts, in any county other than that of his residence, or state other than Virginia, it shall be listed by and taxed to the owner thereof. If property be listed by and taxed to any person other than the owner, it shall not be delivered to the owner until the taxes thereon are paid, or indemnity given to the person in possession for the payment thereof.

.51. In all cases property subject to levy or distress for taxes shall be liable to levy or distress in the hands of any person for the taxes thereon. If any person subject to taxation on personal property, and who is required to list the same, shall fail or refuse, upon application, to make such list, and to take an oath to the truth and fairness of such list, he shall forfeit not less than thirty dollars nor more than one thousand dollars for each failure; and if, by reason of such refusal or failure to swear to the list of such property, as he is by law required to list, and the commissioner resort to other evidence to make the assessment, and such person so assessed be aggrieved by an erroneous entry, he shall not, after such failure or refusal, and the assessment made by reason thereof, be exonerated from such erroneous assessment by order of court.*

52. The commissioner shall make a particular report on oath to the court of his county or corporation, of all his property subject to taxes, showing the whole amount chargeable to him therefor. He shall enter the same on his books, with taxes charged thereon,

*It has been reported to this department that in some counties this law is complied with, while in others it is wholly ignored or but partially observed by the clerks of courts. in reporting and paying the tax imposed on "money or other thing deposited to the credit of any suit, and not in the hands of a receiver." The law is general, and should be strictly complied with.

in like manner as to any other person. For failing to perform any duty required by this section, he shall forfeit one hundred dollars.

When forms shall be furnished to tax-payers.

be furnished to

53. The commissioner shall furnish, or cause to be furnished, to When forms to each person, forms or lists for valuations, and such person shall, tax-payers within ten days thereafter, make out and deliver to the commissioner, or deposit with the clerk of the county or corporation court, statements of all personal estate, moneys, contracts, and credits, which such person is required by this act to list, and of all subjects and persons on account of which he is chargeable with taxes. The number of forms deemed necessary for each commissioner shall be furnished by the auditor of public accounts to such commissioner. The person who receives such form, shall annex, in pursuance thereof, valuations of the property required to be listed, and shall take and subscribe an oath, to be appended to such statement, to the following effect, viz.: "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that, Oath to the best of my knowledge and belief, the annexed statements contain accurate, full, and complete lists of all personal estate, money, credits, and capital, whether the same are in or out of the state, which I am required to list, and of all subjects and persons on account of which I am chargeable with taxes, and that, in my opinion, the valuations of property listed are not below the fair cash value thereof. So help me God." The auditor shall furnish to the commissioner the blank list of taxables, with the required oath printed on the back, which said oath shall be taken before the commissioner, or some other person authorized to administer oaths, and it shall be signed by the tax-p x-payer; and where the person gives in the list for another, he shall make and sign the oath as if he were acting for himself. The lists so taken shall be delivered to the commissioner, filed with the clerk of the county or corporation court, who shall examine the books to ascertain that they are so filed.*

54. Such oath may be administered by the commissioner, or any other officer authorized by law to administer an oath; and if any person be absent from his residence at the time the commissioner calls (and there be no person on the premises authorized to act for such person), the commissioner may leave, or cause to be left for such person, at his residence, with some person of his family over the age of sixteen years, or if there be no such person on the premises, may otherwise cause to be delivered to such person, proper forms, to enable him to make out the statements aforesaid, with the valuations of property annexed, verified by affidavit as hereinbefore required, and deliver the same to the commissioner, or deposit them with the clerk of the county or corporation court, as required by the preceding section.*

*See note to section 49.

Who to administer oath, &c

Disagreement to be settled by arbitration

Penalties

Property book

Penalties for furnishing a false list

55. If the commissioner is not satisfied with the valuation of the property made by any such person, he may, upon his own view, or upon such information as he may obtain or possess, adopt what he deems a fair and proper valuation thereof; and, where it is practicable, the commissioner shall read over the list, with the valuations annexed, to the person from whom it is obtained, or on whose information it is made out, and it shall be corrected, if necessary. If any person shall consider himself aggrieved by the valuation of the commissioner, such person and the commissioner shall respectively choose two discreet voters to whom shall be referred the matters in controversy; and their decision, or that of an umpire chosen between them, shall be final.*

Penalties for failing to comply with this act.

56. If any person shall refuse to exhibit to the commissioner any property listed, or required by this act to be listed by him, in order that a fair valuation thereof may be assessed, he shall pay a fine of not less than twenty nor more than one hundred dollars. No commissioner shall receive any list as a sufficient return of personal property, unless the same be sworn to according to law, under a penalty of five hundred dollars and removal from office. This section shall be given in special charge to the grand juries by the courts of the commonwealth.†

Commissioner's personal property book; how made out; what to contain.

57. From the list of persons and personal property, ascertained as aforesaid, the commissioner shall make a book. It shall be in the form prescribed by the auditor of public accounts, and it shall be so arranged that the commissioner may set forth, in as many separate columns as may be necessary to show the persons chargeable with taxes, alphabetically arranged, and opposite thereto, the residence of each' tax-payer, the several subjects of taxation, and the values of each; and in a separate column, opposite to the name of the person chargeable with taxes as aforesaid, shall show the aggregate amount of taxes on all the subjects with which he has been listed.

False lists; penalty and proceedings.

58. If any person shall knowingly render a false list of personal property, choses in action, moneys, credit, capital, income, salary,

* Attention is called to these words: "And where it is practicable, the commissioner shall read over the list, with the valuations annexed, to the person from whom it is obtained." This practice, it is to be hoped, will be observed as far as it possibly can.

+ The penalty imposed upon a commissioner for receiving a list of personal property, unless the same be sworn to according to law, is $500 and removal from office. This section is required to be given in special charge to the grand juries by the courts of the commonwealth.

court

or other subject of taxation, as described in the several laws of this state, and shall swear to such list, it shall be the duty of the attorney for the commonwealth, upon his own knowledge, or upon information furnished him by any revenue officer of the state, or any other person under oath, to file a petition in the circuit or county court of the county or corporation wherein the list was taken, setting forth the total or partial omissions in his list, or the values therein annexed, to the specified subjects of taxation, and asking the court to summon the person or persons giving the list, to answer the petition. Upon the summons being duly executed according Proceedings in to law, the court shall empanel a jury to try the allegations of the petition; and if a verdict be rendered establishing a false list, the court shall render judgment against the accused for double the amount of taxes imposed upon the property so omitted, together with the costs of the proceedings, including a fee of five dollars to the commonwealth's attorney; and the court shall, moreover, direct the treasurer of the county, upon ten days' notice, to sell for cash the said property, or so much thereof as may be necessary to satisfy the judgment aforesaid, with a commission to said treasurer of five per centum upon the amount thereof; and it shall be the Duties of treasurer and attor duty of said treasurer, within twenty days from the sale, to pay the ney for comtaxes so collected into the treasury of the state, and to pay the costs to the persons respectively entitled thereto; and any commonwealth's attorney failing to perform the duties required of him by this section, shall be fined in a penalty not exceeding one hundred dollars.

Rules both as to land book and book of personal property.

monwealth

59. The commissioner shall add up the columns of figures on How land and property books each page, so as to show at the bottom of each the total aggregate made out of each column, and number of persons and articles subject to taxation, with the amount of the public tax due on everything contained in such page; and at the end of each book he shall enter the sums from the bottoms of the respective pages, by reference thereto, so as to present at one view the various species and total number of the subjects of taxation within his district, city, or town, and the entire amount of revenue arising therefrom.

Deductions for failure to extend proper tax.

failure to ex

60. If the commissioner shall, either in his land book or book of Deductions for personal property, charge or extend in any case a less tax than the tend proper tax law requires, the auditor of public accounts shall deduct the amount omitted to be charged or extended from the compensation of the commissioner.

Books of previous years

Omitted taxes

Penalty for false entry

Oath to property book

Books for former years; how made.

61. In any case in which, in consequence of there being no commissioner of the revenue for the year next preceding, or from any other cause, no book was made out of the land tax, or the tax on personal property for that year, the commissioner of the revenue of such county, city, or town, as composed the district of said commissioner, shall proceed to make out books for the year, according to the rate of tax which then existed, as well as books for the current year. The like proceedings shall be had with and under the books of the year next preceding as with those of the current year, and the sums therein charged shall be collected and accounted for in like manner.

Omitted taxes; how assessed.

62. If the commissioner shall ascertain that any person, or any real or personal property, or income, or salary, has not been assessed for taxation for the year eighteen hundred and sixty-five, or any subsequent year, or that the same has been assessed at less than the law required for that year, or that the taxes thereon for any cause have not been realized, it shall be the duty of the commissioner to list the same, and assess the taxes thereon at the rate prescribed for that year, adding thereto interest at the rate of six per centum per annum. Where the same was omitted by no fault of the person charged with the taxes, no interest shall be charged.

Penalties on commissioners.

63. If any commissioner shall, knowingly, make a false or erroneous entry on any of his books, he shall, for every such offence, forfeit two hundred dollars.

Commissioner's oath to property book.

or commissioner of

64. The commissioner, after completing his personal property book, shall make three copies thereof. At the foot of each copy he shall make and subscribe an oath to the following effect: "I, A. B., commissioner of the revenue for the district of in the county (or corporation) of the revenue for the city or town of do swear, that in making out the original book, of which the foregoing is a correct copy, I have, to the best of my knowledge and ability, pursued the laws prescribing the duties of a commissioner of the revenue; that in every case the list of each person was rendered on oath, except those noted by me as having failed or refused to take an oath or affirmation. Given under my hand this day of Sworn

to before me, a justice of the peace (or other person authorized to administer oaths), for the county (or corporation) of