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Coming soon in future editions of Taxing Times:
- RDAs hurt school districts and taxpayers
- Open Space Tax
- Your phone taxes explained (yes, they’ve gone up, again)
- Proposed tax increases and bond elections (another long, hot summer for taxpayers)
- How to tell if your elected officials are pro- or anti-taxpayer
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Gov. Walker Listens to Taxpayers - Calls Special Session to Delay Implementation of Streamlined Sales Tax
Gov. Olene Walker has called the Legislature into special session to delay implementation of the Streamlined Sales Tax (SST) law. The Special Session will convene at noon on Monday, June 28th, 2004, at the State Capitol. Sen. Curt Bramble (R-Provo), chair of the Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee, has agreed to sponsor legislation in the special session that will delay SST implementation by one year. Click here to read SB3001.
SST needs to be delayed because certain promises made during the debate on the SST are not being kept. The Legislature promised the following with regards to SST:
- No new taxes on intrastate commerce would be imposed.
- Certified software and certified service providers would be available to keep compliance costs to a minimum, especially for small businesses.
- Taxes collected on remote sales originating out of state (i.e. mail order and Internet) would be offset by tax reductions elsewhere.
So far, the third promise is being kept as the Legislature has passed legislation that requires remote sales tax revenue to be placed into a restricted account in order to keep this revenue from being spent until taxes can be reduced elsewhere. Policy makers are currently determining which taxes will be reduced, including removing the sales tax on food, reducing state and local sales tax rates, or cutting other taxes.
However, unless SST is delayed and changes are made prior to enactment, the first two promises will be broken. If SST is implemented as currently interpreted by the Utah State Tax Commission on July 1, 2004, taxpayers will be subject to new sales taxes on the following:
- FOB origin shipping charges
- Repair charges for tangible personal property attached to real property
- Installation charges for tangible personal property attached to real property
Additionally, certified software and certified service providers are still not available, significantly increasing the cost of compliance for small businesses.
Your Taxpayers Association has been working with the Governor’s office, legislators, and the Tax Commission on this issue. Majority and minority leadership in both the Senate and the House agree that SST needs to be delayed until the problems can be solved.
There will be a public hearing on SB3001 conducted by the Interim Revenue and Taxation Committee on Monday, June 28th, at 9:00 a.m., in Room W135 at the State Capitol (this building is located immediately northwest of the main Capitol building.) This is an opportunity to let elected officials know that taxpayers expect government to keep its promises to taxpayers.
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