West Virginia AG Affirms Tucker County Sheriff’s Authority to Access Sales Records for Tax Collection

The West Virginia Attorney General issued an opinion regarding the authority of the Tucker County Sheriff to obtain local businesses’ sales records to collect the county’s hotel occupancy tax and special emergency ambulance service fee. The dispute arose because the County Commission suspected some businesses had not paid their full hotel taxes and EMS fees, which are calculated as percentages of total sales. The Attorney General found that the Sheriff, as the county treasurer, has the implied authority to request sales information directly from businesses to fulfill his mandatory duty to collect money owed to the county. The Attorney General ...