HB0259 - Uniform Sales & Use Tax Administration Act.
2001 |
State of Wyoming |
01LSO-0579 |
HOUSE BILL NO. HB0259
Uniform Sales & Use Tax Administration Act.
Sponsored by: Representative(s) Hines and Nagel and
Senator(s) Devin,
Mockler and Peck
A BILL
for
1 AN ACT relating to
taxation and revenue; providing for the
2 Uniform
Sales and Use Tax Administration Act as specified;
3
providing authorization to enter into an agreement for the
4
administration and enforcement of sales and use tax
5
collections as specified; amending and conforming
6
definitions; and providing for an effective date.
7
8 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Wyoming:
9
10 Section
1. W.S. 39-15-401 through 39-15-408
are
11 created to read:
13 ARTICLE 4
14 UNIFORM SALES AND USE TAX ADMINISTRATION ACT
15
16 39-15-401. Title.
Page 1
1
2 This act shall be known
and may be cited as the "Uniform
3
Sales and Use Tax Administration Act."
4
5 39-15-402. Definitions.
6
7 (a) As used in this article:
8
9 (i) "Agreement"
means the streamlined sales and
10 use tax agreement;
11
12 (ii) "Certified
automated system" means software
13 certified jointly by the states that are
signatories to the
14 agreement to calculate the tax imposed by
each jurisdiction
15 on a transaction, determine the amount of
tax to remit to
16 the appropriate state and maintain a record
of the
17 transaction;
18
19 (iii) "Certified
service provider" means an
20 agent certified jointly by the states that
are signatories
21 to the agreement to perform all of the
seller's sales tax
22 functions;
23
Page 2
1 (iv) "Department"
means the department of
2
revenue;
3
4 (v) "Director"
means the director of the
5
department of revenue;
6
7 (vi) "Person"
means an individual, trust,
8
estate, fiduciary, partnership, limited liability company,
9
limited liability partnership, corporation or any other
10 legal entity;
11
12 (vii) "Sales
tax" means the tax levied under
13 W.S. 39-15-101 through 39-15-311;
14
15 (viii) "Seller"
means any person making sales,
16 leases, or rentals of personal property or
services;
17
18 (ix) "State"
means any state of the United
19 States and includes the District of
Columbia;
20
21 (x) "Use
tax" means the tax levied under W.S.
22 39-16-101 through 39-16-311.
23
24 39-15-403. Authority to enter agreement.
Page 3
1
2 (a) The
department of revenue is authorized and
3
directed to enter into the streamlined sales and use tax
4
agreement with one (1) or more states to simplify and
5
modernize sales and use tax administration in order to
6
substantially reduce the burden of tax compliance for all
7
sellers and for all types of commerce. In furtherance of
8 the
agreement, the department is authorized to act jointly
9
with other states that are members of the agreement to
10 establish standards for certification of a
certified
11 service provider and certified automated
system and
12 establish performance standards for multistate
sellers.
13
14 (b) The
department of revenue is further authorized
15 to take other actions reasonably required to
implement the
16 provisions set forth in this article. Other
actions
17 authorized by this section include, but are
not limited to,
18 the adoption of rules and regulations and
the joint
19 procurement, with other member states, of
goods and
20 services in furtherance of the cooperative
agreement.
21
22 (c) The
director of the department or the director's
23 designee is authorized to represent this
state before the
24 other states that are signatories to the
agreement.
Page 4
1
2 39-15-404. Relationship to state law.
3
4 No
provision of the agreement authorized by this article in
5
whole or part shall invalidate or amend any provision of
6
the law of this state. Adoption of the agreement by this
7
state shall not amend or modify any law of this state.
8
Implementation of any condition of the agreement in this
9
state, whether adopted before, at or after membership of
10 this state in the agreement, shall
be by the action of this
11 state in accordance with law.
12
13 39-15-405. Agreement requirements.
14
15 (a) The
department of revenue shall not enter into
16 the streamlined sales and use tax agreement
unless the
17 agreement requires each state to abide by
the following
18 requirements:
19
20 (i) Uniform
state rate. The agreement shall set
21 restrictions to achieve over time more
uniform state rates
22 through the following:
23
24 (A) Limiting the number of state rates;
Page 5
1
2 (B) Limiting
the application of maximums on
3 the
amount of state tax that is due on a transaction;
4
5 (C) Limiting
the application of thresholds
6 on
the application of state tax.
7
8 (ii) Uniform
standards. The agreement shall
9
establish uniform standards for the following:
10
11 (A) The
sourcing of transactions to taxing
12 jurisdictions;
13
14 (B) The administration of exempt sales;
15
16 (C) The
allowances a seller can take for
17 bad debts;
18
19 (D) Sales and
use tax returns and
20 remittances.
21
22 (iii) Uniform
definitions. The agreement shall
23 require states to develop and adopt uniform
definitions of
24 sales and use tax terms. The definitions
shall enable a
Page 6
1
state to preserve its ability to make policy choices not
2
inconsistent with the uniform definitions;
3
4 (iv) Central
registration. The agreement shall
5
provide a central, electronic registration system that
6
allows a seller to register to collect and remit sales and
7 use
taxes for all signatory states;
8
9 (v) No nexus
attribution. The agreement shall
10 provide that registration with the central
registration
11 system and the collection of sales and use
taxes in the
12 signatory states will not be used as a
factor in
13 determining whether the seller has nexus
with a state for
14 any tax;
15
16 (vi) Local sales
and use taxes. The agreement
17 shall provide for reduction of the burdens
of complying
18 with local sales and use taxes through the
following:
19
20 (A) Restricting
and eliminating variances
21 between the state and local tax bases;
22
23 (B) Requiring
states to administer any
24 sales and use taxes levied by local
jurisdictions within
Page 7
1 the
state so that sellers collecting and remitting the
2
taxes will not have to register or file returns with, remit
3
funds to, or be subject to independent audits from local
4
taxing jurisdictions;
5
6 (C) Restricting
the frequency of changes in
7 the
local sales and use tax rates and setting effective
8
dates for the application of local jurisdictional boundary
9
changes to local sales and use taxes;
10
11 (D) Providing
notice of changes in local
12 sales and use tax rates and of changes in
the boundaries of
13 local taxing jurisdictions.
14
15 (vii) Monetary
allowances. The agreement shall
16 outline any monetary allowances that are to
be provided by
17 the states to sellers or certified service
providers;
18
19 (viii) State
compliance. The agreement shall
20 require each state to certify compliance
with the terms of
21 the agreement prior to joining and to maintain
compliance,
22 under the laws of the member state, with all
provisions of
23 the agreement while a member;
24
Page 8
1 (ix) Consumer
privacy. The agreement shall
2
require each state to adopt a uniform policy for certified
3
service providers that protects the privacy of consumers
4 and
maintains the confidentiality of tax information;
5
6 (x) Advisory
councils. The agreement shall
7
provide for the appointment of an advisory council of
8
private sector representatives and an advisory council of
9
nonmember state representatives to consult with in the
10 administration of the agreement.
11
12 39-15-406. Cooperating sovereigns.
13
14 The agreement
authorized by this article is an accord among
15 individual cooperating sovereigns in
furtherance of their
16 governmental functions. The agreement
provides a mechanism
17 among the member states to establish and
maintain a
18 cooperative, simplified system for the
application and
19 administration of sales and use taxes under
the duly
20 adopted law of each member state.
21
22 39-15-407. Limited binding and beneficial effect.
23
Page 9
1 (a) The
agreement authorized by this act shall bind
2 and
inure only to the benefit of this state and the other
3
member states. No person, other than a member state, is an
4
intended beneficiary of the agreement. Any benefit to a
5
person other than a state is established by the law of this
6 state
and the other member states and not by the terms of
7 the
agreement.
8
9 (b) Consistent
with subsection (a) of this section,
10 no person shall have any cause of action or
defense under
11 the agreement or by virtue of this state's
approval of the
12 agreement. No person may challenge, in any
action brought
13 under any provision of law, any action or
inaction by any
14 department, agency or other instrumentality
of this state,
15 or any political subdivision of this state
on the ground
16 that the action or inaction is inconsistent
with the
17 agreement.
18
19 (c) No law of
this state, or the application thereof,
20 shall be declared invalid as to any person
or circumstance
21 on the ground that the provision or
application is
22 inconsistent with the agreement.
23
24 39-15-408. Seller and third party liability.
Page 10
1
2 (a) A certified
service provider shall be deemed the
3
agent of a seller, with whom the certified service provider
4 has
contracted, for the collection and remittance of sales
5 and
use taxes. As the seller's agent, the certified service
6
provider shall be liable for any sales and use tax due each
7
member state on all sales transactions it processes for the
8
seller except as set out in this section.
9
10 (b) A seller
that contracts with a certified service
11 provider shall not be liable to the state
for sales or use
12 tax due on any transaction processed by the
certified
13 service provider unless the seller misrepresented
the type
14 of items it sells or committed fraud. In the
absence of
15 probable cause to believe that the seller
has committed
16 fraud or made a material misrepresentation,
the seller
17 shall not be subject to any audit on the
transaction
18 processed by the certified service provider.
A seller shall
19 be subject to audit for any transaction not
processed by
20 the certified service provider. The member
states acting
21 jointly may perform a system check of the
seller and review
22 the seller's procedures to determine if the
certified
23 service provider's system is functioning
properly and the
Page 11
1
extent to which the seller's transactions are being
2
processed by the certified service provider.
3
4 (c) A person
that provides a certified automated
5
system is responsible for the proper functioning of that
6
system and is liable to the state for underpayments of tax
7
attributable to errors in the functioning of the certified
8
automated system. A seller that uses a certified automated
9
system shall remain responsible and is liable to the state
10 for reporting and remitting tax.
11
12 (d) A seller
that has a proprietary system for
13 determining the amount of tax due on a
transaction and has
14 signed an agreement establishing a
performance standard for
15 that system is liable for the failure of the
system to meet
16 the performance standard.
17
18 Section
2. W.S.
39-15-101(a)(vi), (viii) and by
19 creating a new paragraph (xvii), 39-15-104
by creating a
20 new subsection (f), 39-15-105(a)(viii)(H)
and by creating a
21 new paragraph (ix), 39-15-106(a), 39-15-207,
39-16-101(a)
22 by creating a new paragraph (xii),
39-16-104 by creating a
23 new subsection (e), 39-16-105(a)(vii)(B)
and by creating a
Page 12
1 new paragraph (ix), 39-16-106(a)
and 39-16-207 are amended
2
to read:
3
4 39-15-101. Definitions.
5
6 (a) As used in this article:
7
8 (vi) "Retail
sale" means the sale of tangible 9
personal property to a person for use
and not for 10
subsequent
resale any sale, lease or rental for any
purpose
11 other
than for resale, sublease or subrent;
12
13 (viii) "Sales
price":
means the consideration 14
paid
by the purchaser of tangible personal property 15
excluding
the actual trade-in value allowed on tangible 16
personal
property and manufacturer rebates for motor 17
vehicles
exchanged at the time of transaction, admissions 18
or
services which are subject to taxation as provided by 19
this
article and excluding any taxes imposed by the federal 20
government
or this article;
21
22 (A) Shall apply to the measure subject to
23 sales
tax and means the total amount or consideration,
24 including
cash, credit, property and services for which
Page 13
1 personal property or services are sold, leased or rented,
2 valued in money, whether received in
money or otherwise,
3 without any deduction for the
following:
4
5 (I) The seller's cost of property
6 sold;
7
8 (II) The cost of materials used, labor
9 or service cost, interest, losses, all
costs of
10 transportation
to the seller and any other expense of the
11 seller;
12
13 (III) Charges by the seller for any
14 services
necessary to complete the sale other than delivery
15 and
installation charges;
16
17 (IV) Delivery charges;
18
19 (V) Installation charges;
20
21 (VI) The value of exempt personal
22 property
given to the purchaser where taxable and exempt
23 personal
property have been bundled together and sold by
24 the
seller as a single product or piece of merchandise.
Page 14
1
2 (B) Shall not include:
3
4 (I) Discounts, including cash, terms
5 or coupons which are not reimbursed by
a third party, which
6 are allowed by a seller and taken by a
purchaser on a sale;
7
8 (II) Interest, financing and carrying
9 charges from credit extended on the
sale of personal
10 property
or services, if the amount is separate stated on
11 the
invoice, bill of sale or similar document given to the
12 purchaser;
and
13
14 (III) Any tax legally imposed directly
15 on
the consumer which is separately stated on the invoice,
16 bill
of sale or similar document given to the purchaser.
17
18 (xvii) "Delivery charge" means a charge by the
19 seller
for preparation and delivery to a location
20 designated
by the purchaser of personal property or
21 services
including, but not limited to, transportation,
22 shipping,
handling, postage, crating and packing.
23
24 39-15-104. Taxation rate.
Page 15
1
2 (f) The tax rate
imposed upon a transaction subject
3 to the Uniform Sales and Use Tax
Administration Act shall
4 be consistent with the uniform
sourcing rule provided in
5 the streamlined sales and use tax
agreement adopted
6 pursuant to that act, W.S. 39-15-401
et seq. and shall be
7 consistent with state law.
8
9 39-15-105. Exemptions.
10
11 (a) The
following sales or leases are exempt from the
12 excise tax imposed by this article:
13
14 (viii) For the
purpose of exempting sales of
15 services and tangible personal property as
an economic
16 incentive, the following are exempt:
17
18 (H) The tax
imposed by W.S. 39-15-104(b)
19 shall not apply to farm implements. For
purposes of this
20 section only, "farm implements"
means any tractor or other
21 machinery designed or adapted and used
exclusively for
22 agricultural operations and specifically
excludes
23 snowmobiles, lawn tractors, all-terrain
vehicles and repair
Page 16
1 or
replacement parts. This subparagraph is repealed
2 effective December 31, 2005;
3
4 (ix) For the purpose of
avoiding application of
5 the sales tax more than once on the
same article of
6 tangible property for the same
taxpayer:
7
8 (A) The trade-in value
of tangible personal
9 property shall be excluded from the
sales price of new
10 tangible
personal property when trade-in and purchase occur
11 in
one (1) transaction.
12
13 39-15-106. Licenses; permits.
14
15 (a) Every
vendor shall obtain from the department a
16 sales tax license to conduct business in the
state. Any
17 out-of-state vendor not otherwise subject to
this article
18 may voluntarily apply for a license from the
department and
19 if licensed, shall collect and remit the
state sales tax
20 imposed by W.S. 39-15-103. The license shall
be granted
21 only upon application stating the name and
address of the
22 applicant, the character of the business in
which the
23 applicant proposes to engage, the location
of the proposed
24 business and other information as the
department may
Page 17
1
require. Effective July 1, 1997, a license fee of sixty
2
dollars ($60.00) shall be required from each new vendor,
3 except for any remote vendor who has no requirement to
4 register in this state, and who is using one (1) of the
5 technology models pursuant to W.S. 39-15-401, et seq.
6 Failure
of a vendor to timely file any return may result in
7 forfeiture
of the license granted under this section. The
8 department
shall charge sixty dollars ($60.00) for
9 reinstatement
of any forfeited license.
10
11 39-15-207. Compliance; collection procedures.
12
13 (a) Returns, reports and preservation of records.
14 There are no specific applicable provisions
for compliance 15
and collection
procedures returns, reports and
preservation
16 of records
for this article.
17
18 (b) Payment. There are no specific applicable
19 provisions
for payment for this article.
20
21 (c) Timelines. Local tax rates and boundary changes
22 for
purposes of this article shall be effective on the
23 first
day of a calendar quarter after sixty (60) days
24 notice
has been given to a vendor. In the case of a vendor
Page 18
1 selling from a printed catalog, the new tax rate shall take
2 effect on the first day of the
calendar quarter following
3 one hundred twenty (120) days notice
provided to the
4 vendor.
5
6 39-16-101. Definitions.
7
8 (a) As used in this article:
9
10 (xii) "Purchase price" means "sales price" as
11 defined
under W.S. 39-15-101.
12
13 39-16-104. Taxation rate.
14
15 (e) The tax rate imposed upon a transaction subject
16 to
the Uniform Sales and Use Tax Administration Act shall
17 be
consistent with the uniform sourcing rule provided in
18 the
streamlined sales and use tax agreement adopted
19 pursuant
to that act, W.S. 39-15-401 et seq. and shall be
20 consistent
with state law.
21
22 39-16-105. Exemptions.
23
Page 19
1 (a) The
following purchases or leases are exempt from
2 the
excise tax imposed by this article:
3
4 (vii) For the
purpose of exempting sales of
5 services
provided primarily to businesses, exemptions shall
6 be
as specified by the legislature and as follows:
7
8 (B) The tax
imposed by W.S. 39-16-104(b)
9
shall not apply to farm implements. For purposes of this
10 section only, "farm implements"
means any tractor or other
11 machinery designed or adapted and used
exclusively for
12 agricultural operations and specifically
excludes
13 snowmobiles, lawn tractors, all-terrain
vehicles and repair
14 or replacement parts. This subparagraph is repealed
15 effective
December 31, 2005.
16
17 (ix) For the purpose of avoiding application of
18 the
use tax more than once on the same article of tangible
19 property
for the same taxpayer:
20
21 (A) The trade-in value of tangible personal
22 property
shall be excluded from the sales price of new
23 tangible
personal property when trade-in and purchase occur
24 in
one (1) transaction.
Page 20
1
2 39-16-106. Licenses; permits.
3
4 (a) Every
vendor shall register with the department
5 of
revenue, giving the name and address of all agents
6
operating in the state and the location of all places of
7
business together with other information as required by the
8
department. Effective July 1, 1997, a license fee of sixty
9
dollars ($60.00) shall be required from each new vendor,
10 except for any
remote vendor who has no requirement to
11 register in this
state, and who is using one (1) of the
12 technology models
pursuant to W.S. 39-15-401, et seq.
13 Failure of a vendor to timely file any
return may result in
14 forfeiture of the license granted under this
section. The
15 department shall charge sixty dollars
($60.00) for
16 reinstatement of any forfeited license. Any
out-of-state
17 vendor not otherwise subject to this article
may
18 voluntarily register with the department and
if registered,
19 shall collect and remit the state use tax
imposed by W.S.
20 39-16-104.
21
22 39-16-207. Compliance; collection procedures.
23
Page 21
1 (a) Returns, reports
and preservation of records.
2
There are no specific applicable provisions for compliance 3
and collection procedures returns, reports and preservation
4 of records for this article.
5
6 (b) Payment. There are
no specific applicable
7 provisions for payment for this
article.
8
9 (c) Timelines. Local
tax rates and boundary changes
10 for
purposes of this article shall be effective on the
11 first
day of a calendar quarter after sixty (60) days
12 notice
has been given to a vendor. In the case of a vendor
13 selling
from a printed catalog, the new tax rate shall take
14 effect
on the first day of the calendar quarter following
15 one
hundred twenty (120) days notice provided to the
16 vendor.
17
18 Section 3. W.S. 39-15-109(d)(ii) is repealed.
19
20 Section
4. The Wyoming legislature finds
that this
21 state should enter into an agreement
with one (1) or more
22 other states to simplify and
modernize sales and use tax
23 administration in order to
substantially reduce the burden
Page 22
1 of
tax compliance for all sellers and for all types of
2
commerce.
3
5
6 (a) Section 1 of this act is effective
immediately
7 upon
completion of all acts necessary for a bill to become
8 law
as provided by Article 4, Section 8 of the Wyoming
9
Constitution.
10
11 (b) Section 2 of this act is effective July 1, 2002.
12
13 (END)
Page 23