- Perfected -

SS/SB 1248 - This act modifies various provisions relating to the assessment, collection and refund procedures of income and sales taxes.

The act:

(1) Modifies the repayment of refunds or overpayments to taxpayers in that no interest shall be applied to a repayment that is made within 120 days of the date of the return, or the last day for filing (Sec. 143.225);

(2) Requires that amnesty shall be granted for all interest and additions to tax with respect to unpaid taxes that are paid in full between August 1, 2002, and September 30, 2002; such amnesty shall not apply to persons involved in a criminal or civil litigation related to the tax liability nor to persons involved in an appeal to the Administrative Hearing Commission or a protest with the department of revenue regarding such tax liability; certain other requirements must be met and a collection fee may be imposed; the amnesty provisions of this section apply to all taxes administered by the department of revenue, i.e. includes both sales and income taxes (Sec. 136.320);

(3) Repeals the discount bonus retained by employers for timely filing of income tax withholdings from the time the act is enacted until January 1, 2006 (Secs. 143.225 & 143.261);

(4) Modifies the carry-back of overpayments to tax with respect to tax credits which are retroactively claimed by a taxpayer by amended return so that such taxpayer will not receive the benefit of retroactive interest for such claimed overpayment (Sec. 143.811);

(5) Prohibits retailers from obtaining refunds of sales taxes without crediting the original purchasers, except that it allows over-collections of less than $1000 to be refunded without the higher burden of returning the funds to the purchaser; this $1000 threshold is an aggregate sum over a five year period; the act also permits any taxpayer to sue the state on behalf of a class of all taxpayers for refunds of sales taxes which have been incorrectly or illegally collected (Sec. 144.190);

(6) Requires that within sixty days the state gaming commission shall provide the general assembly with a report indicating the extent to which the admission fee to excursion gambling boats must be increased to provide sufficient revenue to enable a three percent pay increase for all state employees;

The aggregate increase in revenue produced by this act may be considered as a source of revenue for funding the foundation formula.

JEFF CRAVER