Prior to 1897, the main source of revenue for the state and its subdivisions was the property tax. Tax administration at the state level was a small scale operation dispersed among the offices of the Railroad Commission, Insurance Commission, Attorney General, Secretary of State and State Treasurer. A State Board of Equalization (also known at times as the State Board of Assessment) determined the valuation of property subject to state levy, and Tax Commissions were occasionally formed as temporary investigative bodies.
In 1898, a temporary Tax Commission recommended the creation of a single, permanent office responsible for tax administration and investigation. The 1899 Legislature responded by creating a three member Tax Commission to serve for a term of ten years. The commission was made permanent in 1905, and by 1911 had acquired responsibility for administering the property tax, utility tax, inheritance tax and a new income tax. The Tax Commission also served as a quasijudicial body that heard appeals of decisions made by administrative officers on tax levies.
In 1939, the Tax Commission was abolished and its functions absorbed by a new Department of Taxation. The Department of Taxation was directed by a single Tax Commissioner appointed by the Governor for a six year term. The department supervised the assessment of all general property for tax purposes; taxation of public utilities; administration of the inheritance and gift taxes; administration of the income and privilege dividend taxes; and the supervision by audit and inspection of the fiscal accounting of the state's subdivisions. The quasi-judicial functions of the Tax Commission were transferred to a separate Board of Tax Appeals. Consolidation of state tax administration continued over the next decade as the department acquired responsibility for motor fuel taxes (1943), beverage and cigarette taxes (1949), petroleum products taxes (1949), collection of telephone fees (1949), and enforcement of anti-gambling laws (1949).
Chapter 75, the Reorganization Act of 1967, changed the name of the Department of Taxation to the Department of Revenue. The Department of Revenue administers all state tax laws except the insurance premiums tax, prepares periodic estimates of state revenues and forecasts of state economic activity, determines equalized value of taxable property, assesses manufacturing property, assists local governments in their assessment of property, administers local financial assistance programs and drafts legislation related to taxation. Formerly, the Dept. also provided local governments with auditing and related accounting services upon request.
See each Agency's History in the catalog:
