§ 44-1-2. Powers and duties of tax administrator. The tax administrator is required:

(1) To assess and collect all taxes previously assessed by the division of state taxation in the department of revenue and regulation, including the franchise tax on domestic corporations, corporate excess tax, tax upon gross earnings of public service corporations, tax upon interest bearing deposits in national banks, the inheritance tax, tax on gasoline and motor fuels, and tax on the manufacture of alcoholic beverages;

(2) To assess and collect the taxes upon banks and insurance companies previously administered by the division of banking and insurance in the department of revenue and regulation, including the tax on foreign and domestic insurance companies, tax on foreign building and loan associations, deposit tax on savings banks, and deposit tax on trust companies;

(3) To assess and collect the tax on pari-mutuel or auction mutuel betting, previously administered by the division of horse racing in the department of revenue and regulation;

(4) [Deleted by P.L. 2006, ch. 246, art. 38, § 10];

(5) To assess and collect the monthly surcharges that are collected by telecommunication services providers pursuant to § 39-21.1-14 and are remitted to the division of taxation;

(6) To audit, assess, and collect all unclaimed intangible and tangible property pursuant to chapter 21.1 of title 33;

(7) To provide to the department of labor and training any state tax information, state records, or state documents they or the requesting agency certify as necessary to assist the agency in efforts to investigate suspected misclassification of employee status, wage and hour violations, or prevailing wage violations subject to the agency's jurisdiction, even if deemed confidential under applicable law, provided that the confidentiality of such materials shall be maintained, to the extent required of the releasing department by any federal or state law or regulation, by all state departments to which the materials are released and no such information shall be publicly disclosed, except to the extent necessary for the requesting department or agency to adjudicate a violation of applicable law. The certification must include a representation that there is probable cause to believe that a violation has occurred. State departments sharing this information or materials may enter into written agreements via memorandums of understanding to ensure the safeguarding of such released information or materials; and

(8) To preserve the Rhode Island tax base under Rhode Island law prior to the December 22, 2017, Congressional enactment of Public Law 115-97, The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, the tax administrator, upon prior written notice to the speaker of the house, senate president, and chairpersons of the house and senate finance committees, is specifically authorized to amend tax forms and related instructions in response to any changes the Internal Revenue Service makes to its forms, regulations, and/or processing which will materially impact state revenues, to the extent that impact is measurable. Any Internal Revenue Service changes to forms, regulations, and/or processing which go into effect during the current tax year or within six (6) months of the beginning of the next tax year and which will materially impact state revenue will be deemed grounds for the promulgation of emergency rules and regulations under § 42-35-2.10. The provisions of this subsection (8) shall sunset on December 31, 2021.

History of Section. (P.L. 1939, ch. 660, § 70; G.L. 1956, § 44-1-2; P.L. 1960, ch. 52, § 19 (unconstit.); revived and reenacted, P.L. 1961, ch. 3, § 1; P.L. 1965, ch. 68, § 1; P.L. 1986, ch. 287, art. 23, § 4; P.L. 2003, ch. 429, § 2; P.L. 2005, ch. 117, art. 15, § 1; P.L. 2006, ch. 246, art. 38, § 10; P.L. 2007, ch. 73, art. 4, § 3; P.L. 2012, ch. 424, § 2; P.L. 2012, ch. 483, § 2; P.L. 2018, ch. 47, art. 4, § 14.)