Taxation - Digest of Bills

Digest of Bills - 2004

TAXATION

S.B. 04-1 Legislative interim committee on stimulating economic development through business personal property tax exemptions and other methods - creation - duties - repeal. Creates the interim committee on stimulating economic development through business personal property tax exemptions and other methods (committee). Establishes the membership of the committee, the compensation for its members, and the subjects for the committee to study.

Requires the committee to meet 6 times during the 2004 interim. Requires the meetings to be open to the public. Requires legislative council staff and the office of legislative legal services to be available to assist the committee in carrying out its duties. Requires the committee to make a report to the general assembly, which may include recommendations for legislation. Repeals the committee on January 1, 2005.

APPROVED by Governor May 21, 2004
EFFECTIVE May 21, 2004

S.B. 04-3 Enterprise zones - information from zone administrators - reports to legislative audit committee. Requires the executive director of the department of local affairs to make an annual presentation to the legislative audit committee that reviews and summarizes the information that the enterprise zone administrators submit to the executive director. Eliminates the state auditor's duty to submit a biennial report to the governor and the general assembly reviewing the executive director's report concerning information that enterprise zone administrators submit to the executive director. Requires the state auditor to include the information from the executive director's report in the enterprise zone audit report that the state auditor submits to the governor and the general assembly no less than once every 5 years.

APPROVED by Governor April 8, 2004
EFFECTIVE August 4, 2004
NOTE: This act was passed without a safety clause. For further explanation concerning the effective date, see page vi of this digest.

S.B. 04-59 Property tax - possessory interests - agricultural land. States that the actual value of possessory interests in agricultural land for property tax purposes shall be the actual amount of the annual rent paid for the property tax year.

APPROVED by Governor May 27, 2004
EFFECTIVE January 1, 2005

S.B. 04-63 Tax refunds - appeal of rejection. Requires all lawsuits related to the rejection or disallowance of certain tax refunds to be filed consistent with the existing statutory provision for an appeal related to a deficiency or a refund, which includes the requirements that there be a final determination by the executive director of the department of revenue and that the appeal be filed within 30 days of the final determination.

Repeals the provision that would allow a taxpayer to file a lawsuit in the absence of a final determination. Eliminates the requirement that a lawsuit for a tax refund, with some exceptions, must be filed after 6 months of the date of filing the claim for a refund, but before 2 years after the date of the mailing of a notice of disallowance of the refund.

APPROVED by Governor April 8, 2004
EFFECTIVE April 8, 2004

S.B. 04-87 Sales and use tax - exemptions - nonsubstantive recodification. Reorganizes the statutory sections that contain the exemptions from sales and use tax and relocates the sections into a new part.

APPROVED by Governor May 21, 2004
EFFECTIVE July 1, 2004

S.B. 04-120 Charitable trust - community or useful public service jobs - property tax exemption. Permits a charitable trust that is exempt from taxation under the federal internal revenue code to be eligible to provide community or useful public service jobs, so long as the charitable trust meets any other requirement related to the provision of such jobs.

Requires property that is owned and used by a charitable trust that is exempt from taxation under the federal internal revenue code to be treated the same as property that is owned and used by any other type of nonprofit organization for the purpose of claiming a religious purpose property tax exemption.

APPROVED by Governor April 20, 2004
EFFECTIVE August 4, 2004
NOTE: This act was passed without a safety clause. For further explanation concerning the effective date, see page vi of this digest.

S.B. 04-178 Income tax - voluntary contribution for organ and tissue donor awareness fund - anatomical gift execution procedures - appropriation. Replaces the procedure that allows an individual to authorize an anatomical donation by signing a card on the back of the individual's driver's license or state identification card with a requirement that the individual notify the federally designated organ procurement agency of the desire to become an anatomical donor so that the individual's name can be placed on the organ and tissue donor registry. Requires the department of revenue (department) to place contact information for the organ and tissue donor registry on the back of each minor driver's license, driver's license, and state identification card. Replaces the procedure that allows an individual to remove his or her name from the organ and tissue donor registry by crossing his or her signature off the card on the back of a driver's license or state identification card with a requirement that the individual notify the federally designated organ procurement agency of his or her decision to be removed from the registry.

For income tax years that commence on or after January 1, 2004, but before January 1, 2007, requires a voluntary contribution designation line for the organ and tissue donation awareness fund (fund) to appear on Colorado individual income tax return forms. Requires the department to determine annually and report to the state treasurer and the general assembly the total amount designated to the fund, and requires the state treasurer to credit that amount to the fund. Requires the state treasurer to make transfers from the fund at least quarterly to the department for the reasonable costs of tracking and reporting moneys designated as voluntary contributions to the fund.

Requires moneys designated to the fund to be used in the same manner as other fund moneys. Makes an appropriation of $501 from the fund to the department of revenue. Makes a legislative declaration.

APPROVED by Governor June 4, 2004
EFFECTIVE August 4, 2004
NOTE: This act was passed without a safety clause. For further explanation concerning the effective date, see page vi of this digest.

S.B. 04-182 Tobacco escrow funds - release of moneys of nonparticipating manufacturers. Requires amounts placed into escrow on account of units sold in Colorado by a tobacco product manufacturer that is not a participating manufacturer under the terms of the tobacco litigation master settlement agreement to be released from escrow and revert back to the tobacco product manufacturer to the extent that the amounts exceed the amounts of master settlement agreement payments that the manufacturer would have been required to make had it been a participating manufacturer.

APPROVED by Governor April 8, 2004
EFFECTIVE April 8, 2004

S.B. 04-207 Pet animal care and facilities - unpaid fines - denial of license renewal - income tax - pet overpopulation fund voluntary contribution. Authorizes the commissioner of agriculture to refuse to renew any license issued pursuant to the "Pet Animal Care and Facilities Act" to any person who has not paid civil penalties owed for a violation of such act.

Reestablishes the pet overpopulation fund voluntary contribution program so that a designation line for the pet overpopulation fund appears on Colorado state individual income tax return forms for income tax years commencing on or after January 1, 2004, but prior to January 1, 2007.

APPROVED by Governor June 4, 2004
EFFECTIVE June 4, 2004

H.B. 04-1067 Business personal property tax - conversion to unclaimed property. Requires the department of revenue (department), within 18 months of cancellation, to forward to the state treasurer specified information regarding any refund of business personal property tax that is represented by a warrant that has not been presented by a taxpayer for payment within 6 months from its date of issuance and that has been cancelled by the department or by the state controller in accordance with standard operating procedures. Requires the department also to forward to the state treasurer an amount of money equal to the amount of the warrant.

Gives the amount of the refund the status of unclaimed property that is presumed abandoned and adds such amount to intangible property that may be claimed pursuant to the provisions of the "Unclaimed Property Act". Allows the department to reclaim from the unclaimed property trust fund any amount forwarded by the department to the state treasurer that was based on a warrant representing an erroneous refund.

Requires a person claiming a refund represented by a cancelled warrant to file a claim for the amount of the refund with the state treasurer under the "Unclaimed Property Act" rather than with the department. Requires the department and the state treasurer to cooperate to ensure that any taxpayer who contacts the department to claim the amount of a refund represented by a cancelled warrant is provided with the information or assistance necessary to obtain the refund from the state treasurer.

APPROVED by Governor April 7, 2004
EFFECTIVE April 7, 2004

H.B. 04-1071 Tax - cigarette or other tobacco products - bad debt credit. Requires the department of revenue to give credit to a wholesaler or distributor for taxes paid on cigarettes or other tobacco products that are bad debts. Prohibits the credit to be given unless the bad debt has been charged off as uncollectible on the books of the wholesaler or distributor. Requires a wholesaler or distributor to repay the credit if the wholesaler or distributor receives payment for the bad debt subsequent to receiving the credit. Requires a wholesaler or distributor to provide certain evidence in order to claim a credit for the bad debt. Makes the person who owes the bad debt to the wholesaler or distributor responsible for cigarette or tobacco product tax in an amount equal to the bad debt credit.

APPROVED by Governor April 5, 2004
EFFECTIVE August 4, 2004
NOTE: This act was passed without a safety clause. For further explanation concerning the effective date, see page vi of this digest.

H.B. 04-1119 Child care facilities tax credit - extension - clarification. With respect to the existing income tax credit for taxpayers who make contributions to promote child care in the state:

● Specifies that the term "child care" means care provided to a child 12 years of age or younger.

● Specifies the types of child care facilities and child care programs to which a taxpayer claiming the credit may make donations.

● Specifically allows a taxpayer to claim the credit for a donation made to any program that received donations for which the credit was allowed to the donor for any income tax year that ended before January 1, 2004.

● Changes the future repeal date of the credit from January 1, 2005, to January 1, 2010.

APPROVED by Governor March 9, 2004
EFFECTIVE March 9, 2004

H.B. 04-1237 Sales and use tax - collection and remittance of tax - electronic database of state addresses - retailer held harmless. Allows any retailer that collects and remits sales and use tax to the department of revenue to use an electronic database of state addresses to determine the jurisdictions to which tax is owed on any purchase. Holds harmless any retailer that collects the incorrect amount of tax from a purchaser due to incorrect data contained in the database.

Requires any database that a retailer uses to determine the jurisdictions to which tax is owed on a purchase to be certified by the department of revenue. Requires an electronic database provider to apply to the department for certification and specifies the criteria that a database is to satisfy in order to be certified as acceptable for use by retailers. Specifies that a department certification is valid for 3 years.

Authorizes the department of revenue to designate an entity to examine electronic databases and report to the department as to the accuracy and suitability of the databases for use by retailers. Allows the entity to impose a fee on all electronic database providers that apply to have a database certified in order to cover the reasonable and documented costs of examining the database.

Allows the department of revenue to waive the certification process and certify an electronic database as suitable for use by retailers if the database has been previously certified by a public or private entity and the certification criteria of the certifying entity are the same as or more stringent than the department's criteria.

Authorizes the department of revenue to deny or revoke the certification of any electronic database for just cause. Directs the executive director of the department to promulgate rules for the administration of the electronic database system.

APPROVED by Governor May 17, 2004
EFFECTIVE May 17, 2004

H.B. 04-1241 State use tax - motor vehicles. Clarifies that any motor vehicle purchased and held for resale in this state by a licensed motor vehicle dealer who meets the eligibility requirements to receive a full-use dealer plate is considered to be in the regular course of business and is not subject to the state use tax. Establishes that a motor vehicle shall be considered to be purchased and held for resale if:

● The manufacturer's certificate of origin or certificate of title for the motor vehicle is assigned to the motor vehicle dealer;

● The motor vehicle is included in a current list of vehicles for retail sale that is prepared by the motor vehicle dealer in the ordinary course of business; and

● At any given time, the motor vehicle is available to be purchased and delivered to a retail customer within 3 business days.

APPROVED by Governor April 26, 2004
EFFECTIVE April 26, 2004

H.B. 04-1356 Tax-exempt property - charitable purposes - incidental use. For real or personal property that is used for charitable purposes, increases the total amount of gross rental income that an owner of such property may earn for allowing the property to be used for noncharitable purposes and still qualify for a property tax exemption based on the use of the property for charitable purposes.

APPROVED by Governor April 7, 2004
EFFECTIVE August 4, 2004
NOTE: This act was passed without a safety clause. For further explanation concerning the effective date, see page vi of this digest.

H.B. 04-1358 Income tax - voluntary contribution for Colorado state fair. For income tax years that commence on or after January 1, 2004, but before January 1, 2007, requires a voluntary contribution designation line for the Colorado state fair authority cash fund (fund) to appear on individual income tax return forms. Requires the department of revenue to determine annually and report to the state treasurer and the general assembly the total amount designated to the fund, and requires the state treasurer to credit that amount to the fund.

Generally requires voluntary contributions to be credited to the fund for the use, operation, maintenance, and support of the Colorado state fair and industrial exposition, but requires the general assembly to annually appropriate fund moneys to the department of revenue for its costs in administering voluntary contributions to the fund.

APPROVED by Governor May 21, 2004
EFFECTIVE May 21, 2004

H.B. 04-1418 FY 2004-05 budget reduction bill - property tax grants - heat or fuel assistance grants - quarterly payment. Specifies that state property tax grants and heat or fuel assistance grants for the elderly or disabled that are paid by the state shall be paid on a quarterly basis.

For the 2003-04 fiscal year, appropriates $22,223 to the department of revenue for costs incurred in the implementation of the act. For the 2004-05 fiscal year, appropriates $47,196 for the costs incurred in the implementation of the act.

APPROVED by Governor April 28, 2004
EFFECTIVE April 28, 2004

H.B. 04-1424 Property taxation - possessory interests - negligible value. States that if the value of a possessory interest in property that is otherwise exempt from taxation is less than $250 or the duration of the possessory interest is shorter than 30 days, the actual value of the possessory interest shall be deemed negligible and no tax shall be assessed.

VETOED by the Governor June 4, 2004