Revenue

The county legislative body does not have inherent power to tax or set fees.  Instead, all revenue received by the county is derived from, or authorized by, statutory law, either general laws (public acts) or private acts. A county government's chief sources of revenue, property and local option sales taxes, are levied by the county legislative body, but are authorized by the state's general law, codified in the Tennessee Code Annotated. Counties receive substantial funds from state taxes on the sale of gasoline and diesel fuel, taxes that the counties do not levy but share in according to a formula in the general law. Counties may supplement these sources of revenue through private acts that levy additional taxes, such as a hotel/motel tax.