CCS/SS/SS/SCS/HCS/HB 600 - This act makes various changes regarding taxation. The act:

(1) Creates a Joint Committee on Tax Policy, consisting of five members from each legislative house. The committee will study and evaluate current and proposed tax policy for taxpayer related fairness, impact, burden, effectiveness, local ramifications and federal/constitutional compliance. The committee will also review all agencies involved in tax policies, study the effects of coupling or decoupling with the federal IRC, and study the effects of a sales tax holiday (Section 21.810);

(2) Requires every vendor or affiliate of a vendor seeking to contract to provide goods and services to the State of Missouri to collect and properly pay all sales and use taxes (Sections 32.057 and 34.040);

(3) Increases from 5 cents to 10 cents per $100 the maximum allowable tax levied on property to provide services for those over age 60 and older, if voter approval is obtained, for Buchanan County only (Section 67.990);

(4) Authorizes the city of Weston to impose a 1/2% sales tax for tourism, with approval by vote of the people (Section 67.2030);

(5) Adds Investment Funds Service Corporations to the list of those professions from which no municipal or other corporation tax or license fee may be collected (Section 71.620);

(6) Requires that amnesty shall be granted for all interest and additions to tax with respect to all unpaid taxes that are paid in full between August 1, 2003, and October 31, 2003; such amnesty shall not apply to persons involved in a criminal or civil litigation related to the tax liability (Section 136.320);

(7) Provides an amnesty period for the penalties, interest, fees and additions to tax for failure to pay sales tax on vehicles and failure to register such vehicles; the amnesty will run from 8/1/03 to 10/31/03; after the amnesty, all such penalties will be doubled (Sections 136.325 and 144.250);

(8) Requires any amount of pension, annuity, or retirement allowance deducted for state individual income tax purposes to be included in the taxpayer's federal adjusted gross income and not otherwise deducted in the calculation of Missouri taxable income. Persons who are 100% disabled, as defined by federal law, are exempted from this provision (Section 143.124);

(9) Requires all lottery and other gaming winnings to be included in Missouri nonresident adjusted gross income when the winnings are from a Missouri source, and requires withholding of such taxes for all winnings on electronic devices, with a $600 minimum threshold, and withholding of such taxes on table games, with a threshold of $1,200 (Sections 143.181 and 313.822);

(10) Allows the Director of the Department of Revenue to require the remittance of sales and use taxes and withholding taxes through an electronic funds payment system for employers and sellers who are required to file and pay on a quarter-monthly frequency (Sections 143.225 and 144.081);

(11) Includes court costs in excess of $25 related to the State Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, or any circuit court of Missouri as amounts that can be offset against a refund of taxes owed to a taxpayer (Sections 143.782 and 488.5028);

(12) Places an option on income tax returns for a refund to be kept by the state and deposited directly into general revenue (Section 143.1020);

(13) Prevents items on which no sales tax has been paid from counting against the purchase price of an item; in the case of a vehicle, the person trading in the item must own that item; in the case of a farmer buying a vehicle for agricultural use, the farmer may trade in grain or livestock which he or she produced (Section 144.025);

(14) Exempts natural gas used in the primary manufacture or processing of an agricultural product and modifies the farm machinery exemption to include the entire purchase price of machinery, supplies and equipment (Section 144.030);

(15) Prohibits retailers from obtaining refunds of sales and use taxes if the retailer has received a prior refund of such taxes for the same specific issue; any overcollected tax may, upon audit, be credited to a retailer for a deficiency discovered during the audit (Section 144.190);

(16) Specifies that some of the proceeds of the Health Initiatives Fund will be appropriated to the Division of Alcohol and Drug Use for the administration and oversight of the Substance Abuse Traffic Offender Program; The Department of Mental Health has the authority to establish the amount of supplemental fees that are paid by persons enrolled in the Substance Abuse Traffic Offender Program; Delinquent fees will have interest charged and will accrue at a rate not to exceed the established annual rates plus three percentage points; The supplemental fees and any interest received by the Department will be deposited in the Mental Health Earnings Fund; The administrator of the Substance Abuse Traffic Offender Program must remit the supplemental fees to the Department on or before the fifteenth day of each month; Any administrator failing to remit the supplemental fees and interest will be subject to a penalty equal to the amount of interest accrued on the supplemental fees; If the supplemental fees, interest, and penalties are not paid within six months, the Attorney General may initiate appropriate action; Delinquent programs shall be assessed attorney's fees and court costs (Sections 191.831, 302.304, 302.540, 577.041, 577.049, and 577.520);

(17) Modifies the rebate amount for prescription drugs in the Missouri Senior Prescription Program; For all transactions that occur prior to July 1, 2003, the rebate amount shall be fifteen percent of the average manufacturers' price; For all transactions that occur on or after July 1, 2003, the rebate amount shall be fifteen percent for brand name prescription drugs and eleven percent for generic prescription drugs (Section 208.565);

(18) Modifies the payment in-lieu of tax scale on certain large boats or vessels documented with the U. S. Coast Guard, so as to include any watercraft purchase price (Section 306.016);

(19) Similar to the FRA, draws down additional federal funds for Rx drugs. This was enacted last session and this amendment extends the program. Relating to the tax levied on licensed retail pharmacies providing outpatient prescription drugs in Missouri - Department of Social Services may adjust more frequently for individual providers for significant changes in sales. Deletes the requirement that the tax be subject to an annual impact study by the Department of Insurance. After July 1, 2005, the tax shall expire after 90 days if the dispensing fee paid to pharmacists falls below FY 2003 levels and the reimbursement dispensed by pharmacies falls below FY 2003 levels. Extends the expiration date of these sections from 2003 to 2005 (Sections 338.520 to 313.550);

(20) Real estate brokers holding funds that belong to another party in a real estate transaction must maintain such funds in a separate account designated as an escrow or trust account. Brokers cannot commingle their own personal funds or any other moneys in this account with the exception of $1,000 specifically identified to cover service charges related to the account. If a broker decides not to maintain an escrow account or within 10 days of opening an escrow account, the Commission must be notified. If there is a dispute regarding ownership of escrow moneys, the funds must be deposited with the state treasurer within 180 days of the original deposit. The funds will be held until the dispute is resolved. The act repeals provisions relating to escrow agents (Section 339.105);

(21) Allows the Secretary of State to dissolve corporations for failure to pay corporate franchise and income tax, with certain notice and other limiting provisions (Sections 351.120, 351.140, 351.484, 355.856, and 356.211);

(22) Authorizes the director of revenue to inform the supreme court clerk of any attorney who is delinquent on or who has failed to file for taxes in the past three years (484.053);

(23) Allows court costs to be paid in installments with a $25 surcharge (Section 484.5025);

(24) Allows a court to collect unpaid court costs in excess of $25 by seeking a set-off of the person's tax refund and allows the courts to hire private collectors to collect past due fines, costs, etc. (Sections 488.5028 and 488.5030);

(25) Requires as a condition of employment with the state government that all state income taxes due be filed and paid by the employee; Requires all state income taxes due to be paid by members of the General Assembly, statewide elected officials, and members of the judiciary; The reporting of tax compliance concerning members of the General Assembly and the Judiciary must be a direct communication between the director of revenue and the official, prior to reporting the situation to the applicable ethics commission (Section 1);

(26) Allows for revoking any professional license granted by the state after issuance unless tax clearance from the Department of Revenue is verified (Section 2); and

(27) Removes statutes regarding licensure requirements for production or distribution of soft drinks or beverages (Repealed Sections 196.365 to 196.545).

The act contains an emergency clause.
JEFF CRAVER