The Role Of A Tax Collector

The County Tax Collector is an independent government agency and is elected for a four-year term in the Presidential election year. It is very important that a County Tax Collector is independent to make sure that it will be able to serve the taxpayers, local businesses and local and state agencies appropriately.

What is the purpose of a Tax Collector?  The duties of a County Tax Collector are: 

·         To collect property taxes for every local government agency with the power to levy taxes. 

·         To serve the state as an agent for the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, the Department of Environmental Protection, the Department of Revenue and others. 

·         To manage local revenue programs, like issuing occupational licenses and collecting tourist development taxes. 

The County Tax Collector is a crucial connection between the citizens and the different programs that involve them and they have the authority and resources to manage both state and local revenue programs. 

A County Tax Collector can have collections and distributions of billions of dollars yearly.  To be able to handle this will require conveniently located offices, skillful employees, and innovative data systems to make sure that the County Tax Collector operates proficiently and, most importantly, works with accuracy. 

Although the revenues collected by the County Tax Collector are mostly taxes, the County Tax Collector isn't funded from tax dollars but instead is a fee office.  The fees collected for the services offered by the County Tax Collector are used for funding the operating budget, which is approved by the State's Department of Revenue.  Unfortunately, the work volume of a County Tax Collector, together with cost-effective operations, would usually cause fee revenues that are much higher than the budget.  The excess fees are returned to the local government agencies in proportion to the amount they pay by the County Tax Collector with the intention that they get tax collection services at the lowest possible cost. 

Amongst other issues, the County Tax Collector bills and collects real and personal property taxes for the Department of Revenue.  The actual amount of the tax is based on the assessed value of the property and the mileage rate, which is set by several taxing authorities.  They also issue state motor vehicle licenses and process applications for car titles, trucks, mobile homes, and boats on behalf of the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. 

The majority of tax personnel have some type of Municipal Tax Collector Qualification which is sponsored by local government services.  The reason for this is because a tax collector has a lot of legal obligations and financial responsibilities that should be met in a timely manner.  Achieving the status of Qualified Tax Collector signifies that an individual has proven his or her competence, knowledge and professionalism in the field.