March 1 – The House has given final approval to legislation, HB 1030, that provides taxpayers amnesty from penalties and interest when filing and paying sales/use, income and franchise taxes between August 1 and October 31, 2012. The bill also contains enhanced collection measures for the Department of Revenue, but AIM has worked to minimize negative impact on taxpayers that are trying to comply with the law.
The bill, after many hours of negotiations and last minute hurdles, also contains language drafted by Associated Industries of Missouri that would allow a process for obtaining refunds when vendors are unwilling to participate in the refund process. In these situations, the purchaser would be allowed to address their refund claims directly with the Department of Revenue. We included language developed by our AIM Tax Committee allowing tax cases to be held in abeyance while awaiting the outcome of a similar case, reducing litigation costs for taxpayers.
The bill will now advance to the Senate for further consideration.
The House of Representatives also took up and gave initial approval to AIM-supported language that changes Missouri’s tort law, allowing defendants to be liable only for their percentage of fault in civil cases. Currently, a defendant with 51% or more fault may be forced to pay the entire judgment against all defendants, then must seek collection of amounts from the other defendants. This bill brings fairness to the civil justice system, making each defendant responsible for their portion of any civil judgment based on their percentage of fault. This bill faces one more vote by the full House before advancing to the Senate.
Associated Industries of Missouri also filed legislation this week to allow taxpayers appealing property tax assessments to use non-certified appraisers to assess value in their appeals and clarifying the sales and use tax exemption for manufacturing, processing, fabricating and producing products also includes maintenance, calibration, and other functions. The latter language is styled so that it does not disturb the existing exemption.
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