§ 68-395. Duties and authority of director.

The director is hereby charged with the administration and enforcement of the provisions of this article and is hereby authorized and empowered to do the following:

(1)

Collect and deposit taxes. The director is authorized and empowered to collect and receive the tax, interest and penalties imposed by this article and pay over the proceeds thereof to the city treasurer.

(2)

Keep accounts. The director is authorized and empowered to keep an accurate account of all such payments received and refunds made by the director.

(3)

Adopt rules and regulations. The director is authorized and empowered to adopt, promulgate, amend and enforce rules and regulations relating to any matter or thing pertaining to the administration and enforcement of the provisions of this article, including the authority to provide for an extension of time for filing returns. All such rules and regulations must be approved by the city council before they shall become effective.

(4)

Adopt and prepare returns and forms. The director is authorized and empowered to adopt, prepare and make available all forms necessary to comply with this article.

(5)

Examine records. Agents or employees authorized in writing by the director may examine the books, papers and records of any employer or alleged employer, or of any taxpayer or alleged taxpayer, in order to verify the accuracy of any return made, or, if no return was made, to ascertain the tax imposed by this article. Every such employer or alleged employer, or taxpayer or alleged taxpayer, is hereby directed and required to give to the director, or to the director's duly authorized agent or employee, the means, facilities and opportunity for such examinations and investigations as are authorized by this article.

(6)

Examine under oath. The director may examine any person, under oath or affirmation, concerning any earnings or profits which were or should have been returned for taxation, and to this end may compel the production of books, papers and records and the attendance of all persons before the director, whether as parties or witnesses, whom the director believes to have knowledge of such earnings or profits.

(7)

Assessment against delinquent taxpayers. If the director determines that any taxpayer subject to the provisions of this article has a tax liability for which that taxpayer has filed no return or has filed an incorrect return and has failed to pay the full amount of tax due, the director shall issue an assessment showing the amount of tax due together with penalty and interest that may have accrued thereon. The director may issue assessments manually or through the use of an automated system or systems. Such assessment shall be served upon the taxpayer by mailing to the taxpayer's last known address. If the taxpayer does not respond to the assessment, by contacting the director, within 30 days of the date of the mailing thereof, such assessment shall be deemed true and correct and may be recovered under the provisions of section 68-391. If the taxpayer does respond to the assessment within 30 days of the date of the mailing thereof, the taxpayer is granted an additional 60 days to pay the assessment and file the necessary returns or to protest all or any part of any taxes assessed against him pursuant to RSMo 139.031. The director is authorized to grant extensions of this 60-day period upon good cause. After the expiration of this 60-day period or any applicable extension, such assessment shall be deemed true and correct and may be recovered pursuant to section 68-391. If the taxpayer has failed to file a return, the director's determination of the tax liability for the assessment shall be based on an estimate of earnings or net profits from any available information.

(8)

Waive penalties . The director may waive all or any portion of penalties imposed under this article as a result of nonpayment of tax where the taxpayer shows the nonpayment was due to reasonable cause. This authority may be exercised solely at the discretion of the director under special circumstances. The director may also waive penalties under this article by entering into voluntary disclosure agreements with taxpayers under criteria established by the director. This authority shall in no way be construed so as to authorize the waiver of interest by the director.

(9)

Enter into agreements. The director shall have the authority to enter into agreements with other taxing authorities on the federal, state, county or local levels for the exchange of tax information. However, all such agreements shall protect confidentiality and limit access only to other taxing authorities.

(10)

Additional powers. The director is authorized and empowered to develop and formulate tax regulations, authorized statistical gathering functions, and the training of employees.

(Code of Gen. Ords. 1967, § 32.157; Ord. No. 931336, 12-9-93; Ord. No. 991585, § 1, 12-16-99; Ord. No. 130044, § 15, 1-31-13; Ord. No. 170402 , § 1, 7-27-17; Ord. No. 190327 , § 1, 5-2-19)