HBA-SEP H.B. 3146 77(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 3146
By: Hartnett
Ways & Means
4/5/2001
Introduced



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Each year there are people who intentionally and knowingly fail to remit
taxes owed to the state. Periodically updating statutes relating to the
administration of tax requirements may allow for better enforcement.  House
Bill 3146 amends law relating to the enforcement and collection of taxes,
fees, and other revenue.  

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does
not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state
officer, department, agency, or institution. 

ANALYSIS

House Bill 3146 amends the Code of Criminal Procedure, and the Government
and Tax codes relating to the enforcement and collection of taxes, fees,
and other revenue.  The bill amends the Code of Criminal Procedure to
provide that investigators commissioned as peace officers by the office of
the comptroller of public accounts (comptroller) are peace officers (Sec.
2.12).   

The bill amends the Government Code to entitle the comptroller to obtain
from the Department of Public Safety (DPS) criminal history record
information maintained by DPS that the comptroller believes is necessary
for the enforcement or administration of limited sales, excise, and use
taxes; taxes on the sale, rental, and use of motor vehicles; the motor
fuels tax; and the controlled substances tax.  DPS is prohibited from
releasing or disclosing the information to any person who is not the
subject of the criminal history record information except on court order
(Sec. 411.109).  

The bill amends the Tax Code to require the attorney general to bring suit
to recover taxes, tax penalties, and interest in the name of any local
governmental entities that have imposed sales and use taxes (Sec. 111.010).
The comptroller is authorized to provide notice to holders of assets
belonging to a person who is delinquent in paying taxes by mail, facsimile,
or electronic transmission rather than only by registered mail (Sec.
111.021).  The bill specifies that in a jeopardy determination, the amount
required to be paid to the state or due for a tax period, rather than the
amount determined, is due and payable immediately (Sec. 111.022).  The bill
provides that a person who acquires a business or business assets from a
taxpayer through a fraudulent transfer or a sham transaction is liable for
any tax, penalty, and interest owed a tax payer regardless of whether the
person withholds an amount of the purchase price to pay the business
termination tax if it is insufficient to satisfy the liability of the
seller and the purchase price paid to the seller is not reasonably
equivalent to the value of the business or stock of goods (Secs. 110.020
and 111.024).  
A state tax lien is prohibited from being fully released before the
taxpayer has paid any other tax, penalty, interest, fee, or sum that the
taxpayer owes the state and that is administered or collected by the
comptroller (Sec. 113.009).  The bill specifies that a state tax lien on
personal property and real estate attaches to personal property and real
estate owned by the taxpayer beginning on the first day of the period for
which the lien is filed by the state rather than on or after the date the
lien is filed by the state (Sec. 113.105).  The bill authorizes the
comptroller to copy and photograph the books, returns, records, papers, and
equipment  of a person liable for the use tax.  The comptroller is
authorized to perform, during business hours, an inspection of premises
where a taxable event has occurred and to require tax payers to produce
records for inspection not later than the 10th working day after the
receipt of written notice (Sec. 151.025).  The bill specifies the types of
records to be kept by all sellers and all other persons storing, using, or
consuming in this state a taxable item purchased from a retailer (Sec.
151.025).   

The bill increases the maximum amount of security that is allowed for the
payment of taxes by a retailer (Sec. 151.253).  The bill provides that a
person commits an offense if the person, intentionally or knowingly, fails
to pay the sales tax collected by that person and sets forth penalties
based on the amount of tax collected and not paid (Sec. 151.7032).  The
bill specifies penalties for the offenses of selling without a permit, and
for failure to furnish a required report (Secs. 151.708 and 151.709).  The
bill provides that it is a third degree felony for a person to
intentionally or knowingly conceal, destroy, make a false entry in, or fail
to make an entry in required records (Sec. 151.7102).  The bill also
provides that it is a Class C misdemeanor for a person to fail to produce
or allow inspection of requested records (Sec. 151.1703). The bill modifies
the penalties for the offense of signing a false statement or certificate,
the offense of operating a motor vehicle without payment of tax, and the
offense of failure to keep records (Secs. 152.101--152.103).  The bill
provides that a person commits an offense if the person, intentionally or
knowingly, fails to pay to the tax assessor-collector the motor vehicle
sales tax collected by that person and correlates the penalty with the
amount of tax collected and not paid (Sec. 152.104). Venue for prosecution
for offenses relating to the limited sales, excise, and use tax and to
taxes on the sale, rental, and use of motor vehicles is required to be in
Travis County or the county in which any element of the offense occurs
(Secs. 151.714 and 152.106). 

The bill specifies that a person forfeits to the state a civil penalty of
not less than $25 or more than $200 if the person furnishes to a supplier a
signed statement for purchasing diesel fuel tax free and then uses that
fuel to operate a diesel powered motor vehicle on the public highway (Sec.
153.402).  The bill also specifies that a person commits an offense if the
person refuses to permit an employee of either the comptroller, the
attorney general, the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission, or
the Department of Agriculture to measure or gauge the contents of or take
samples from a storage tank or container on premises where motor fuel is
produced, processed, stored, sold, delivered, or used or furnishes to a
supplier a signed statement for purchasing diesel fuel tax free and then
uses the fuel to operate a diesel powered motor vehicle on the public
highway (Sec. 153.403). The bill prohibits the comptroller from setting the
amount of security of a permittee subject to the mixed beverage tax imposed
at more than $50,000, rather than $25,000 (Sec. 183.053).   

The bill amends the Texas Business Corporation Act and the Texas Limited
Liability Company Act to provide that the original and copy of an
application for withdrawal and dissolution delivered to the secretary of
state are to be accompanied by a certificate from the comptroller that all
state taxes, penalties, and interest have been paid (SECTIONS 30--32).  The
bill repeals provisions regarding the general criminal penalty for offenses
relating to the limited sales, excise, and use tax; suit for tax
collection, disapproval of a municipal suit, and judgments in a municipal
suit relating to local sales and use taxes; suits for tax collection,
disapproval of a suit, and judgments in a suit relating to sales and use
taxes for special purpose taxing authorities; and suit for tax collection,
disapproval of a county suit, and judgments in a county suit relating to
county sales and use tax (SECTION 33).  

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2001.