- Introduced -

SB 1394 - This act makes various revisions to tax collection laws:

1. ELIMINATION OF LOCAL LETTERS - Section 32.087.16 requires that the Department of Revenue notify each local taxing entity of a delinquency before turning the case over to the Attorney General for collection. Since the Department of Revenue automatically collects the delinquent local tax, the statute will be changed to relieve the Department of Revenue from the requirement to notify the local taxing entity and make statutory that the Department of Revenue will include local tax in its suit against the taxpayer

2. RESPONSIBLE PARTY - Sections 144.241.2 and 144.157.3 permit the Department of Revenue to assess tax against the officer(s) of a corporation as responsible parties if the corporation fails to file and pay tax. The Supreme Court ruled that the use of the word "and" permits the Department of Revenue to assess responsible parties only if it fails to have actually filed a return. This leads to the circumstance that for an officer or responsible party of a corporation to avoid being held personally responsible for the corporation's tax avoidance it only need to file the return. This proposal would change the word "and" to "or" so that an individual cannot avoid being held responsible for taxes by having filed the return.

3. CIRCUIT BREAKER TAX - Currently, if an individual erroneously or fraudulently receives a property tax credit refund that exceeds the amount legally due, the Department of Revenue does not have authority to offset future property tax credit refunds due to the claimant. This is also the case when the taxpayer receiving the property tax credit has an income tax delinquency. The act will allow DOR to offset any property tax credit refund against an income tax delinquency or a delinquency created by a property tax credit claim.

3. REVOCATION OF SALES TAX LICENSE FOR WITHHOLDING DELINQUENCY - The act allows for the revocation of a retail sales tax license for failure to pay employer withholding tax. Currently, businesses are allowed to keep their retail sales tax license and stay in business, despite having large employer withholding tax delinquencies.

JEFF CRAVER