Tennessee Department Of Revenue
About the Commissioner
Loren Chumley was appointed commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Revenue by Governor Phil Bredesen on January 18, 2003. Commissioner Chumley originally joined the Department of Revenue's legal staff in 1994, supervising the section of bankruptcy attorneys and then the sales and business tax attorneys. In 1997, she was appointed as the department's hearing officer to handle informal conferences and administrative hearings. Commissioner Chumley served as the department's audit director from November 1999 through December 2002. Commissioner Chumley is president of the Southeastern Association of Tax Administrators and is a member of the Board of Trustees for the Federation of Tax Administrators and the CCH State Tax Advisory Board. Prior to joining state government, Commissioner Chumley practiced law in Washington, D.C., and in Nashville, Tennessee, focusing in the areas of bankruptcy reorganization, creditors' rights and commercial litigation. Commissioner Chumley received a bac ... [Read More]
Beer Taxes
The wholesale beer tax is imposed at 17% of retailer's purchases of beer from licensed wholesalers. It is sometimes thought of as a local tax and one of the few taxes not administered by the department. It is administered by beer wholesalers while the Department of Revenue has the responsibility of auditing. The wholesalers distribute the bulk of the revenue back to the city and county governments on the basis of sales in those jurisdictions. They also remit a small portion to the Department of Revenue for its auditing expense. ... [Read More]
Subscribe to Revenue-News
Thank you for your interest in receiving updates from the Tennessee Department of Revenue. We will distribute timely information to you about new important notices, announcements and other news of interest via this list. ... [Read More]
Closing Your Business? Then Close Your Account With Revenue
Most account closures can be handled over the telephone with a representative of the Department of Revenue. All closures will require that the business have filed a final return and remittance of all taxes for which you are registered. Furthermore, if the taxpayer has been issued a license or permit, these must be surrendered and will be revoked by the department. If you have posted a bond of any type against your tax account, the bond must remain posted until all outstanding liabilities are settled. ... [Read More]
Special Investigations
The Tennessee Department of Revenue Special Investigations Section (SI) was created in 1976 and was modeled after the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigative Division. ... SI was established to serve as the primary criminal tax enforcement arm of the commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Revenue. The section’s objective is to review alleged violations of the tax laws, investigate violations which appear flagrant, and recommend criminal and civil statutory sanctions as appropriate based upon the evidence gathered during the investigation. The criminal and civil sanctions imposed are designed to have a significant deterrent effect among tax violators and a positive influence on the compliance attitudes of taxpayers in general. Special Investigations has the responsibility to investigate allegations of ... [Read More]
About the Department of Revenue
As Tennessee's chief tax collector, the Department of Revenue is charged with administering taxes ranging from sales and use taxes to mineral severance tax. The Department of Revenue collects approximately 92 percent of total state tax revenue. During the 2003-2004 fiscal year, the department collected $9.1 billion in state taxes and fees. In addition to collecting state taxes, $1.6 billion of local sales tax was collected by the department for local governments during the 2003-2004 fiscal year. Besides collecting taxes, the department enforces the revenue laws fairly and impartially in an effort to encourage voluntary taxpayer compliance. The department also apportions revenue collections for distribution to the various state funds and local units of government. The magnitude of collections by the department makes possible a lower cost of collection per tax dollar than local communities could achieve. ... [Read More]
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