Please see below a couple of items of note from the Sales and Use Tax Task Force and the Legislative Oversight Committee on Tax Policy. Both committees met last week.
Sales and Use Tax Task Force
The committee discussed bill drafts as well as the future of the interim committee. There have been some discussions regarding making the task force a section under the Legislative Oversight Committee on Tax Policy. There is still some debate as to whether that is a good next step. No decisions were made on the future of the task force except that it will continue at least through 2026, when it is scheduled to sunset.
The task force approved drafting for the following bills and will decide if they want to introduce them as committee bills at the next meeting on September 25. It should be noted that drafts will be shared with the Tax Council for feedback.
Bill Concept 1: Audits
- The intent of the legislation is to require that third party auditors keep certain information confidential when conducting an audit. There will be versions of the bill drafted. One that will require NDAs, one that will create statutory confidentiality requirements, and resolution. At the next meeting, the committee will decide which version they want to move forward.
Bill Concept 2: DOR Confidentiality Statute Update License & Contractor Exemption Look Up
- The intent is to give DOR statutory authority to allow sales tax to be looked up by business name rather than a number. The bill will also adjust confidentiality to allow state business license and contractor exemptions certificates based on business name as well as license number.
Bill Concept 3: Working Group for SUTS 3.0
- This will not be legislation but a letter coming from the Task Force that will direct DOR to establish a working group to evaluate improvements needed to increase taxpayer adoption and utilization of the Colorado Sales and Use Tax System centralized filing portal.
Legislative Oversight Committee on Tax Policy
The committee met and discussed proposed committee bills. The Colorado Chamber was also asked to present and provide feedback to the committee regarding the implementation of the alternative transportation tax credit as well as feedback regarding the utilization of the business personal property tax credit. The committee approved drafting for 10 bills and will decide if they want to introduce them as committee bills at the next meeting on September 27. Two key pieces are below:
Alternative Transportation Tax Credit
- The Committee is drafting legislation to make some clarifying adjustment to the current tax credit to make it easier to utilize. The Chamber will report back those specific changes as the bill is drafted. Staff will provide drafts to the council for feedback.
Business Personal Property Tax Credit
- The committee is drafting two different legislative concepts regarding business personal property tax. The first will increase the exemption above its current cap which is $52,000. The other will change how the tax credit is calculated to make it easier for businesses to claim. The fiscal impact of each bill will likely determine which version moves forward. Like the legislation above, the chamber will look to the Tax Council for feedback.
For any questions, please contact Meghan Dollar, SVP of Governmental Affairs and Political Operations ([email protected])