83R24401 TJB-D

By: Thompson of Harris, et al. H.B. No. 1923

Substitute the following for H.B. No. 1923:

By: Hilderbran C.S.H.B. No. 1923

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the administration, collection, and enforcement of sales and use taxes.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Section 151.023(b), Tax Code, is amended to read as follows:

(b) For the purpose of determining the amount of tax collected and payable to the state and a municipality, county, or other local governmental entity, the amount of tax accruing and due, and whether a tax liability has been incurred under this chapter and Chapter 321, 322, or 323, the comptroller or a person authorized by the comptroller may:

(1) inspect at any time during business hours any business premises where a taxable event has occurred and examine, copy, and photograph the books, returns, records, papers, and equipment relating to the conduct in question; and

(2) require by delivery of written notice to the taxpayer or to an employee, representative, or agent of the taxpayer that, not later than the 10th working day after the date the notice is delivered, the taxpayer produce to an agent or designated representative of the comptroller for inspection the books, records, papers, and returns relating to the taxable activity stated in the notice.

SECTION 2. Section 151.027(c), Tax Code, is amended to read as follows:

(c) This section does not prohibit:

(1) the examination of information, if authorized by the comptroller, by another state officer or law enforcement officer, by a tax official of another state, by a tax official of the United Mexican States, or by an official of the United States if a reciprocal agreement exists;

(2) the delivery to a taxpayer, or a taxpayer's authorized representative, of a copy of a report or other paper filed by the taxpayer under this chapter;

(3) the publication of statistics classified to prevent the identification of a particular report or items in a particular report;

(4) the use of records, reports, or information secured, derived, or obtained by the attorney general or the comptroller in an action under this chapter against the same taxpayer who furnished the information;

(5) the delivery to a successor, receiver, executor, administrator, assignee, or guarantor of a taxpayer of information about items included in the measure and amounts of any unpaid tax or amounts of tax, penalties, and interest required to be collected;

(6) the delivery of information, including complete audit and tax compliance information, to a municipality, county, or other local governmental entity in accordance with Section 321.302, 321.3022, 322.2022, or 323.3022; or

(7) the release of information in or derived from a record, report, or other instrument required to be furnished under this chapter by a governmental body, as that term is defined in Section 552.003, Government Code.

SECTION 3. Section 321.302, Tax Code, is amended by amending Subsections (b) and (c) and adding Subsections (e) and (f) to read as follows:

(b) If a municipality requests an additional report, the comptroller shall make an additional quarterly report to the municipality including the name, address, and account number, if any, of, and the amount of tax received and the amount due to the municipality from, each person doing business in the municipality who has failed to pay the tax under this chapter to the municipality or under Chapter 151. The additional report must also include statements:

(1) showing whether or not there has been a partial tax payment, and, if so, the proportional allocation to the municipality of the partial payment, by the delinquent taxpayer;

(2) showing whether or not the taxpayer is delinquent in the payment of sales and use taxes to the state; [and]

(3) describing the steps taken by the comptroller to collect the delinquent taxes; and

(4) showing the tax periods covered by the delinquencies and the amount of delinquency in each period.

(c) If a municipality determines that a person doing business in the municipality has wholly or partly collected or reported taxes incorrectly under this chapter [is not included in a comptroller's report], the municipality shall report to the comptroller the name and address of the person. Within 120 [90] days after receiving the report from a municipality, the comptroller shall send to the municipality:

(1) an explanation as to why the person is not obligated for the municipal tax;

(2) a statement that the person is obligated for the municipal tax and the tax is delinquent that includes:

(A) a description of the action the comptroller is taking to collect the delinquent tax;

(B) the date by which the comptroller will begin the initial review; and

(C) the date and periods covered by the most recent audit of the person by the comptroller if the comptroller has conducted an audit of the person during the previous 10 years, or a statement that the comptroller has not conducted an audit of the person during the previous 10 years; [or]

(3) a certification that the person is obligated for the municipal tax, the periods for which the person is obligated, [and that] the [full] amount of the tax due in each period that the person is obligated, and a statement as to whether the tax due has been credited to the municipality's account; or

(4) an acknowledgment that by providing the report to the comptroller, the municipality has reserved the right to receive from the comptroller any tax due to the municipality and collected by the comptroller from the person that is the subject of the report for the four years preceding the date the comptroller received the report from the municipality.

(e) If a municipality disagrees with a determination made by the comptroller under Subsection (c) regarding a taxpayer's obligation or delinquency or the amount of tax due that has been credited to the municipality's account, the municipality may petition the comptroller for a redetermination under Section 111.009. For purposes of that section and any related provisions in Chapter 111, a municipality is a party having a direct interest in the comptroller's determination.

(f) The comptroller may set and collect from the municipality or other local governmental entity reasonable fees to cover the expense of compiling and providing information or providing access to the administrative process authorized by this section.

SECTION 4. Sections 321.3022(a-1), (c), and (f), Tax Code, are amended to read as follows:

(a-1) Except as otherwise provided by this section, the comptroller on request shall provide to a municipality or other local governmental entity that has adopted a tax under this chapter:

(1) information relating to the amount of tax paid to the municipality or other local governmental entity under this chapter during the preceding or current calendar year by each person doing business in the municipality or other local governmental entity who annually remits to the comptroller state and local sales tax payments of more than $5,000; [and]

(2) information relating to the gross sales, taxable sales, and taxable purchases by each person doing business in the municipality by individual outlet as reported to the comptroller on a sales and use tax return; and

(3) any other information as provided by this section.

(c) The comptroller on request shall provide to a municipality or other local governmental entity a sales and use tax audit report, including any supporting documentation, related to applicable local sales tax collections and corrections [shall provide the information under Subsection (b) as an aggregate total for all persons doing business in the defined area without disclosing individual tax payments].

(f) Information received by a municipality or other local governmental entity under this section is confidential, is not open to public inspection, and may be used only for the purpose of economic forecasting, for determining a taxpayer's compliance with Sections 321.203 and 321.205, for internal auditing of a tax paid to the municipality or other local governmental entity under this chapter, or for the purpose described in Subsection (g).

SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2013.