By Swinford                                          H.C.R. No. 211
       74R13342 CCK-D
                              HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
    1-1        WHEREAS, In 1986, as part of state deficit reduction measures
    1-2  following a slowdown in the Texas economy, the 69th Legislature,
    1-3  2nd Called Session, enacted House Bill 78 repealing Section 111.106
    1-4  of the Tax Code; and
    1-5        WHEREAS, The repealed section, which had been in effect since
    1-6  1982, required the state to pay annual interest of 10 percent on
    1-7  refunds for state taxes overpaid in error; and
    1-8        WHEREAS, To minimize state interest payments during the time
    1-9  the section was in effect, the comptroller of public accounts
   1-10  adopted policies to expedite the processing of tax refund claims;
   1-11  and
   1-12        WHEREAS, With repeal of the section, that incentive was lost,
   1-13  and administrative proceedings can now require up to two or three
   1-14  years for completion if a claim results in a refund hearing; and
   1-15        WHEREAS, This delay creates an injustice for taxpayers who
   1-16  receive a refund, since they neither draw interest on the refund
   1-17  amount nor enjoy the former benefit of expedited claim processing;
   1-18  now, therefore, be it
   1-19        RESOLVED, That the 74th Legislature of the State of Texas
   1-20  hereby declare its intent that the comptroller of public accounts
   1-21  adopt the following policies:
   1-22              (1)  if a taxpayer claims a refund or credit because an
   1-23  amount of tax, penalty, or interest has been erroneously collected,
   1-24  the comptroller shall pay no interest on any refund, but the
    2-1  taxpayer may request and shall be granted an accelerated
    2-2  administrative hearing process on refund claims and deficiency
    2-3  assessments in order to obtain a speedier administrative decision;
    2-4              (2)  the comptroller shall establish forms and
    2-5  procedures to carry out the accelerated administrative hearing
    2-6  process;
    2-7              (3)  on request by a taxpayer for an accelerated
    2-8  administrative hearing, the comptroller shall begin the process
    2-9  within 10 working days, and the procedure including the
   2-10  administrative hearing and final decision shall be completed within
   2-11  90 working days; and
   2-12              (4)  the taxpayer shall have 30 days to ask for a
   2-13  rehearing, and the comptroller shall have no more than 30 days
   2-14  after the request for a rehearing to render a decision on the
   2-15  rehearing; and, be it further
   2-16        RESOLVED, That the secretary of state forward an official
   2-17  copy of this resolution to the comptroller of public accounts.