By: Springer  S.B. No. 1439
         (In the Senate - Filed March 2, 2023; March 16, 2023, read
  first time and referred to Committee on Local Government;
  March 29, 2023, reported favorably by the following vote:  Yeas 7,
  Nays 0; March 29, 2023, sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
 
  relating to the ad valorem taxation of tangible personal property
  held or used for the production of income by related business
  entities.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 11.145, Tax Code, is amended to read as
  follows:
         Sec. 11.145.  INCOME-PRODUCING TANGIBLE PERSONAL PROPERTY
  HAVING VALUE OF LESS THAN $2,500. (a) In this section:
               (1)  "Related business entity" means a business entity
  that:
                     (A)  engages in a common business enterprise with
  at least one other business entity; and
                     (B)  owns tangible personal property that:
                           (i)  is held or used for the production of
  income as part of the common business enterprise; and
                           (ii)  is located at the same physical
  address that tangible personal property owned by at least one other
  business entity engaged in the common business enterprise is
  located.
               (2)  "Unified business enterprise" means a common
  business enterprise composed of more than one related business
  entity.
         (b)  Subject to Subsection (d), a [A] person is entitled to
  an exemption from taxation of the tangible personal property the
  person owns that is held or used for the production of income if
  that property has a taxable value of less than $2,500.
         (c) [(b)]  The exemption provided by Subsection (b) [(a)]
  applies to each separate taxing unit in which a person holds or uses
  tangible personal property for the production of income.
         (d)  For[, and, for] the purpose [purposes] of Subsection (b)
  [(a)], all property described by that subsection in a [each] taxing
  unit that is owned by a person is:
               (1)  aggregated to determine taxable value; and
               (2)  if the person is a related business entity,
  aggregated with the property described by that subsection in the
  taxing unit that is owned by each other related business enterprise
  that composes the same unified business enterprise to determine
  taxable value for the entity.
         (e)  A chief appraiser may investigate a business entity to
  determine whether the entity:
               (1)  is a related business entity; and
               (2)  has aggregated tangible personal property as
  provided by Subsection (d)(2).
         SECTION 2.  Section 22.01, Tax Code, is amended by amending
  Subsections (a), (c-1), and (f) and adding Subsection (n) to read as
  follows:
         (a)  Except as provided by Chapter 24, a person shall render
  for taxation all tangible personal property used for the production
  of income that the person owns or that the person manages and
  controls as a fiduciary on January 1. A rendition statement shall
  contain:
               (1)  the name and address of the property owner;
               (2)  a description of the property by type or category;
               (3)  if the property is inventory, a description of
  each type of inventory and a general estimate of the quantity of
  each type of inventory;
               (4)  the physical address [location] or taxable situs
  of the property; and
               (5)  the property owner's good faith estimate of the
  market value of the property or, at the option of the property
  owner, the historical cost when new and the year of acquisition of
  the property.
         (c-1)  In this section:
               (1)  "Related business entity" and "unified business
  enterprise" have the meanings assigned by Section 11.145.
               (2)  "Secured party" has the meaning assigned by
  Section 9.102, Business & Commerce Code.
               (3) [(2)]  "Security interest" has the meaning
  assigned by Section 1.201, Business & Commerce Code.
         (f)  Notwithstanding Subsections (a) and (b), a rendition
  statement of a person who owns tangible personal property used for
  the production of income located in the appraisal district that, in
  the owner's opinion, has an aggregate value of less than $20,000 is
  required to contain only:
               (1)  the name and address of the property owner;
               (2)  a general description of the property by type or
  category; and
               (3)  the physical address [location] or taxable situs
  of the property.
         (n)  A rendition statement of a related business entity must
  contain the information required by Subsection (a) or (f), as
  applicable, stated for each related business entity that composes
  the unified business enterprise of which the related business
  entity that is the subject of the rendition is a part.
         SECTION 3.  Section 22.24(c), Tax Code, is amended to read as
  follows:
         (c)  The comptroller may prescribe or approve different
  forms for different kinds of property but shall ensure that each
  form requires a property owner to furnish the information necessary
  to identify the property and to determine its ownership,
  taxability, and situs. Each form must include a box that the
  property owner may check to permit the property owner to affirm that
  the information contained in the most recent rendition statement
  filed by the property owner in a prior tax year is accurate with
  respect to the current tax year in accordance with Section
  22.01(l). Each form must include a box that a property owner that is
  a related business entity, as defined by Section 11.145, must check
  to identify the owner as a related business entity. A form may not
  require but may permit a property owner to furnish information not
  specifically required by this chapter to be reported. In addition,
  a form prescribed or approved under this subsection must contain
  the following statement in bold type: "If you make a false statement
  on this form, you could be found guilty of a Class A misdemeanor or a
  state jail felony under Section 37.10, Penal Code."
         SECTION 4.  The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
  an ad valorem tax year that begins on or after the effective date of
  this Act.
         SECTION 5.  This Act takes effect January 1, 2024.
 
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