Attorney General Opinions

Commissioner of the Revenue for Arlington County

Article 1, Chapter 31 of Title 58.1, §§ 58.1-3100 through 58.1-3122.2, specifically sets out the duties of city and county commissioners of the revenue. Article 1, Chapter 39 of Title 58.1, §§ 58.1-3900 through 58.1-3909, provides for the enforcement of the local personal property tax laws by commissioners of the revenue.

Section 58.1-3901 provides that the failure of an apartment house owner or operator to file a list of tenant names and addresses, "upon request of the commissioner of the revenue of the county or city in which any such apartment house … is located," is punishable as a Class 4 misdemeanor.⁶ § 58.1-3901 clearly provides that a landlord must provide a tenant list to the commissioner of the revenue.⁷

Section 58.1-3109 provides:

• • • • Each commissioner of the revenue shall:

        ….

        6. Require taxpayers or their agents or any person, firm or officer of a company or corporation to furnish information relating to tangible or intangible personal property, income or license taxes of any and all taxpayers; and require such persons to furnish access to books of account or other papers and records for the purpose of verifying the tax returns of such taxpayers and procuring the information necessary to make a complete assessment of any taxpayer’s tangible and intangible personal property, and license taxes for the current tax year and the three preceding tax years[.] [Emphasis added.]

Section 58.1-3110 authorizes the commissioner of the revenue to "summon the taxpayer or any other person to appear …, to answer, under oath, questions touching the tax liability of any and all specifically identified taxpayers." (Emphasis added.) § 58.1-3110 thus authorizes a commissioner of the revenue to summon the landlord or managing agent, if necessary, to answer questions to clarify the tax liability of a specific tenant, including vehicle information. Tenants who are on a list provided to the commissioner by an apartment building owner or operator are "specifically identified taxpayers" for the purposes of § 58.1-3110.

It is an accepted principle of statutory construction that statutes relating to the same subject should not be read in isolation.¹¹ To determine legislative intent, statutes dealing with the same subject matter must be construed together to achieve a harmonious result, resolving conflicts to give effect to each statute, to the maximum extent possible.¹² In addition, when it is not clear which of two statutes applies, the more specific statute prevails over the more general.¹³ Moreover, "when one statute speaks to a subject in a general way and another deals with a part of the same subject in a more specific manner, the two should be harmonized, if possible, and where they conflict, the latter prevails."¹⁴

The purpose of the filing required by § 58.1-3901 is to assist the commissioner in enforcing personal property tax laws.¹⁵ The importance of complying with § 58.1-3901 is underscored by the criminal sanction imposed for the failure to comply with its provisions. The purpose of § 58.1-3109(6) is to empower a commissioner with the ability to obtain the information necessary to properly assess tangible personal property. The importance of a commissioner’s responsibility to properly assess taxes is further evidenced by § 58.1-3110, which grants a commissioner the ability to summon persons to answer questions regarding "specifically identified taxpayers."

Section 55-248.9:1 does not except a commissioner of the revenue from the confidentiality provision of the statute. As such, it is unclear whether §§ 58.1-3901 and 58.1-3109(6) nonetheless authorize a commissioner to obtain a list of tenants and vehicle information from an apartment building owner or operator.

Section 55-248.9:1 applies generally to all tenant information in the possession of a landlord or managing agent. § 58.1-3901 specifically requires an apartment building owner or operator to release tenant names and addresses to the local commissioner of the revenue upon request of the commissioner. To the extent there is a conflict between §§ 58.1-3901 and 55-248.9:1 regarding the release of tenant names and addresses, or it is unclear which statute applies, the specific authorization in § 58.1-3901 governs. Consequently, a commissioner of the revenue may require an apartment building owner or operator to release such a list. Moreover, the apartment building owner or operator is not required to obtain the written consent of the tenant prior to releasing such information to the commissioner.

Section 58.1-3109(6) is specific to information relating to a taxpayer’s tangible personal property. § 58.1-3109(6) clearly authorizes a commissioner of the revenue to require information regarding a tenant’s tangible personal property for purposes of tax assessment. This section also authorizes a commissioner to require "any person, firm or officer of a company or corporation to furnish information relating to tangible … personal property … of any and all taxpayers." (Emphasis added.)

Your inquiry concerns whether § 58.1-3109(6) authorizes the release of such information, given the prohibitions against disclosure of tenant information in § 55-248.9:1. § 55-248.9:1 deals generally with tenant information in possession of a landlord or managing agent. § 58.1-3109(6) deals specifically with information related to a taxpayer’s tangible personal property. To the extent there is a conflict between the authorization in § 58.1-3109(6) and the prohibition in § 55-248.9:1, or it is unclear which statute applies, the specific authorization in § 58.1-3109(6), concerning the release of information pertaining to tangible personal property, governs. Consequently, a commissioner of the revenue may require an apartment building owner or operator to release information concerning a tenant’s tangible personal property for the purpose of assessing taxes.

It is important to note that the purpose of § 55-248.9:1 is not frustrated by this interpretation. The intent of § 55-248.9:1 is to protect tenant information from being released to third parties for such things as commercial solicitations and to prevent identity theft without the tenant’s knowledge, with certain exceptions. The release of tenant names, addresses and vehicle information to a local commissioner of the revenue does not undermine the protections provided by § 55-248.9:1. Commissioners of the revenue are required to keep certain taxpayer information confidential. § 58.1-3(A) protects from public disclosure any information revealed to a commissioner under §§ 58.1-3109(6) and 58.1-3901. Therefore, the protections of § 55-248.9:1 are not lost.

¹For purposes of this opinion, I assume that the commissioner of the revenue is acting in his or her official capacity within the jurisdiction that the commissioner serves.

²Section 55-248.9:1 authorizes the release of confidential tenant records in the following circumstances:

"1. The tenant or prospective tenant has given prior written consent;

"2. The information is a matter of public record as defined in § 2.2-3701;

"3 The information is a summary of the tenant’s rent payment record, including the amount of the tenant’s periodic rent payment;

"4. The information is a copy of a material noncompliance notice that has not been remedied or, termination notice given to the tenant under § 55-248.31 and the tenant did not remain in the premises thereafter;

"5. The information is requested by a local, state, or federal law-enforcement or public safety official in the performance of his duties; or

"6. The information is otherwise provided in the case of an emergency."

³See 2003 Va. Acts ch. 426, available at http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?031+ful+CHAP0426.

⁴See supra note 2.

⁵See supra note 2.

⁶The punishment for conviction of a Class 4 misdemeanor is "a fine of not more than $250." Va. Code Ann. § 18.2-11(d) (LexisNexis Supp. 2003).

⁷1985-1986 Op. Va. Att’y Gen. 265 (concluding that power of commissioner of revenue to summon is limited to persons within bounds of city or county served by commissioner).

⁸See generally Va. Code Ann. §§ 58.1-3503, 58.1-3504 (Michie Repl. Vol. 2000); § 58.1-3506 (LexisNexis Supp. 2003).

⁹Section 58.1-3109(6) (Michie Repl. Vol. 2000).

¹⁰Va. Code Ann. § 1-13.19 (LexisNexis Repl. Vol. 2001).

¹¹2B Norman J. Singer, Sutherland on Statutory Construction § 51.02 (West 6th ed. 2000); see also Op. Va. Att’y Gen.: 1999 at 22, 22; 1998 at 19, 21; id. at 123, 124; 1996 at 197, 198; 1995 at 146, 147; 1993 at 135, 137; id. at 160, 162; 1992 at 108, 112.

¹²Prillaman v. Commonwealth, 199 Va. 401, 405-06, 100 S.E.2d 4, 7-8 (1957); 1991 Op. Va. Att’y Gen. 159, 160.

¹³See Va. Nat’l Bank v. Harris, 220 Va. 336, 257 S.E.2d 867 (1979); City of Roanoke v. Land, 137 Va. 89, 92-93, 119 S.E. 59, 60 (1923); Op. Va. Att’y Gen.: 1990 at 227, 228; 1987-1988 at 276, 277; 1980-1981 at 330, 331.

¹⁴Harris, 220 Va. at 340, 257 S.E.2d at 870, quoted in Dodson v. Potomac Mack Sales & Serv., Inc., 241 Va. 89, 94-95, 400 S.E.2d 178, 181 (1991); Barr v. Town & Country Props., Inc., 240 Va. 292, 294-95, 396 S.E.2d 672, 674 (1990); Hudler v. Cole, 236 Va. 389, 393, 374 S.E.2d 39, 42 (1988); see also 1997 Op. Va. Att’y Gen. 202, 202.

¹⁵See 1987-1988 Op. Va. Att’y Gen. 14, 15.