Senate File 2421 - Introduced



                                       SENATE FILE       
                                       BY  COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND
                                           MEANS

                                       (SUCCESSOR TO SSB 3287)


    Passed Senate, Date               Passed House,  Date             
    Vote:  Ayes        Nays           Vote:  Ayes        Nays         
                 Approved                            

                                      A BILL FOR

  1 An Act authorizing certain special charter cities to impose a
  2    special charter city sales and services tax.
  3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
  4 TLSB 6595SV 82
  5 tw/sc/5

PAG LIN



  1  1    Section 1.  NEW SECTION.  423F.1  SPECIAL CHARTER CITY
  1  2 SALES AND SERVICES TAX.
  1  3    1.  Subject to the provisions of this chapter, a special
  1  4 charter city with a population greater than seventy=five
  1  5 thousand may impose by ordinance a special charter city sales
  1  6 and services tax at the rate of one percent on the sales price
  1  7 taxed by the state under chapter 423, subchapter II.
  1  8    a.  A special charter city sales and services tax shall be
  1  9 imposed on the same basis as the state sales and services tax
  1 10 or, in the case of the use of natural gas, natural gas
  1 11 service, electricity, or electric service, on the same basis
  1 12 as the state use tax.
  1 13    b.  A special charter city sales and services tax shall not
  1 14 be imposed on the sale of any property or on any service not
  1 15 taxed by the state, except the tax shall not be imposed on the
  1 16 sales price from the sale of motor fuel or special fuel as
  1 17 defined in chapter 452A which is consumed for highway use or
  1 18 in watercraft or aircraft if the fuel tax is paid on the
  1 19 transaction and a refund has not or will not be allowed, on
  1 20 the sales price from the sale of equipment by the state
  1 21 department of transportation, or on the sales price from the
  1 22 sale or use of natural gas, natural gas service, electricity,
  1 23 or electric service in a city where the sales price from the
  1 24 sale of natural gas or electric energy is subject to a
  1 25 franchise fee or user fee during the period the franchise or
  1 26 user fee is imposed.
  1 27    c.  A special charter city sales and services tax is
  1 28 applicable to transactions within the incorporated areas of
  1 29 the special charter city where it is imposed and shall be
  1 30 collected by all persons required to collect state sales
  1 31 taxes.
  1 32    d.  The amount of the sale, for purposes of determining the
  1 33 amount of the special charter city sales and services tax,
  1 34 does not include the amount of any state sales tax or other
  1 35 local option sales and services taxes.
  2  1    e.  A tax permit other than the state sales tax permit
  2  2 required under section 423.36 shall not be required by local
  2  3 authorities.
  2  4    2.  If a special charter city sales and services tax is
  2  5 imposed by a city pursuant to this chapter, a local excise tax
  2  6 at the same rate shall be imposed by the city on the purchase
  2  7 price of natural gas, natural gas service, electricity, or
  2  8 electric service subject to tax under chapter 423, subchapter
  2  9 III, and not exempted from tax by any provision of chapter
  2 10 423, subchapter III.  The local excise tax is applicable only
  2 11 to the use of natural gas, natural gas service, electricity,
  2 12 or electric service within the incorporated areas of the city
  2 13 where it is imposed and, except as otherwise provided in this
  2 14 chapter, shall be collected and administered in the same
  2 15 manner as the special charter city sales and services tax.
  2 16 For purposes of this chapter, "special charter city sales and
  2 17 services tax" shall also include the local excise tax.
  2 18    3.  A special charter city sales and services tax under
  2 19 this chapter may be imposed in addition to any local sales and
  2 20 services tax imposed under chapter 423B in an area of the
  2 21 city.
  2 22    Sec. 2.  NEW SECTION.  423F.2  ELECTION == IMPOSITION ==
  2 23 REPEAL.
  2 24    1.  ELECTION REQUIREMENT.  A special charter city sales and
  2 25 services tax shall be imposed pursuant to this chapter only
  2 26 after an election at which a majority of those voting on the
  2 27 question favors imposition and shall then be imposed until
  2 28 repealed as provided in this section.
  2 29    2.  MANNER OF ELECTION.  The question of whether a special
  2 30 charter city sales and services tax shall be imposed in a
  2 31 special charter city shall be submitted to the voters by one
  2 32 of the following methods:
  2 33    a.  Upon its own motion, the governing body of the city may
  2 34 within thirty days of adoption of the motion direct the county
  2 35 commissioner of elections to submit the question of the
  3  1 imposition of a special charter city sales and services tax to
  3  2 the registered voters of the city.
  3  3    b.  Upon the receipt of a petition signed by the residents
  3  4 of the city, the governing body of the city shall within
  3  5 thirty days direct the county commissioner of elections to
  3  6 submit the question of the imposition of a special charter
  3  7 city sales and services tax to the registered voters of the
  3  8 city.  A petition requesting imposition of a special charter
  3  9 city sales and services tax shall be signed by a number of
  3 10 eligible electors of the city equal to five percent of the
  3 11 persons in the city who voted in the most recent general
  3 12 election.
  3 13    3.  TIMING AND BALLOT REQUIREMENTS.
  3 14    a.  The county commissioner of elections shall submit the
  3 15 question of imposition of a special charter city sales and
  3 16 services tax at the general election, at the regular city
  3 17 election, or at a special election called for that purpose.
  3 18 The election shall not be held sooner than sixty days after
  3 19 publication of notice of the ballot proposition.
  3 20    b.  The ballot proposition shall specify the date the tax
  3 21 will be imposed.  The date of imposition shall be as provided
  3 22 in section 423F.3, subsection 1.
  3 23    c.  The ballot proposition shall contain a statement of the
  3 24 purposes for which the revenues shall be expended.  Moneys
  3 25 collected from a special charter city sales and services tax
  3 26 shall be expended pursuant to section 423F.4, subsection 3.
  3 27    d.  When submitting the question of the imposition of a
  3 28 special charter city sales and services tax, the governing
  3 29 body of the city may direct that the ballot question contain a
  3 30 provision for the repeal, without election, of the tax on a
  3 31 specific date, which date shall be as provided in section
  3 32 423F.3, subsection 1.
  3 33    e.  If a majority of those voting on the question of
  3 34 imposition of the special charter city sales and services tax
  3 35 favors imposition of the tax, the governing body of the city
  4  1 shall impose the tax at the rate specified in section 423F.1,
  4  2 subsection 1, for an unlimited period.
  4  3    4.  REPEAL BY ELECTION.
  4  4    a.  A special charter city sales and services tax may be
  4  5 repealed after an election at which a majority of those voting
  4  6 on the question of repeal favored the repeal.  The date on
  4  7 which the repeal takes effect shall not be earlier than ninety
  4  8 days following the election.
  4  9    b.  The election at which the question of a repeal of the
  4 10 special charter city sales and services tax is submitted to
  4 11 the registered voters shall be called and held in the same
  4 12 manner and under the same conditions as provided in
  4 13 subsections 2 and 3.
  4 14    c.  An election to repeal a special charter city sales and
  4 15 services tax shall not be submitted to the registered voters
  4 16 of a city more than once every four years.
  4 17    5.  NOTICE TO THE DIRECTOR OF REVENUE.  Within ten days of
  4 18 the election at which a majority of those voting on the
  4 19 question favors the imposition or repeal of a special charter
  4 20 city sales and services tax, the county auditor shall give
  4 21 written notice of the result of the election by sending a copy
  4 22 of the abstract of the votes from the election to the director
  4 23 of revenue.  The director shall have the authority to waive
  4 24 the notice requirement.
  4 25    Sec. 3.  NEW SECTION.  423F.3  ADMINISTRATION.
  4 26    1.  a.  A special charter city sales and services tax shall
  4 27 be imposed either January 1 or July 1 following the
  4 28 notification of the director of revenue but not sooner than
  4 29 ninety days following the passage of the ordinance and not
  4 30 sooner than sixty days following notice to sellers, as defined
  4 31 in section 423.1.
  4 32    b.  A special charter city sales and services tax shall be
  4 33 repealed only on June 30 or December 31, but not sooner than
  4 34 ninety days following the repeal of the ordinance.  However,
  4 35 the sales and services tax shall not be repealed before the
  5  1 tax has been in effect for one year.
  5  2    c.  At least forty days before the imposition or repeal of
  5  3 the tax, a city shall provide notice of the action by
  5  4 certified mail to the director of revenue.
  5  5    d.  The imposition of a special charter city sales and
  5  6 services tax shall not be applied to purchases from a printed
  5  7 catalog wherein a purchaser computes the local tax based on
  5  8 rates published in the catalog unless a minimum of one hundred
  5  9 twenty days' notice of the imposition has been given to the
  5 10 seller and the first day of a calendar quarter has occurred on
  5 11 or after the one hundred twentieth day.
  5 12    2.  a.  The director of revenue shall administer a special
  5 13 charter city sales and services tax as nearly as possible in
  5 14 conjunction with the administration of state sales tax laws.
  5 15 The director shall provide appropriate forms or provide space
  5 16 on the regular state tax forms for reporting special charter
  5 17 city sales and services tax liability.
  5 18    b.  The ordinance of a city imposing a special charter city
  5 19 sales and services tax shall adopt by reference the applicable
  5 20 provisions of the appropriate sections of chapter 423.  All
  5 21 powers and requirements of the director to administer the
  5 22 state sales tax law and use tax law are applicable to the
  5 23 administration of a special charter city sales and services
  5 24 tax law and the local excise tax, including but not limited to
  5 25 the provisions of section 422.25, subsection 4, sections
  5 26 422.30, 422.67, and 422.68, section 422.69, subsection 1,
  5 27 sections 422.70 to 422.75, section 423.14, subsection 1 and
  5 28 subsection 2, paragraphs "b" through "e", and sections 423.15,
  5 29 423.23, 423.24, 423.25, 423.31 to 423.35, 423.37 to 423.42,
  5 30 423.46, and 423.47.  Local officials shall confer with the
  5 31 director of revenue for assistance in drafting the ordinance
  5 32 imposing a special charter city sales and services tax.  A
  5 33 certified copy of the ordinance shall be filed with the
  5 34 director as soon as possible after passage of the ordinance.
  5 35    c.  Frequency of deposits and quarterly reports of a
  6  1 special charter city sales and services tax with the
  6  2 department of revenue are governed by the tax provisions in
  6  3 section 423.31.  Local tax collections shall not be included
  6  4 in computation of the total tax to determine frequency of
  6  5 filing under section 423.31.
  6  6    d.  The director shall apply a boundary change of a city
  6  7 imposing or collecting the special charter city sales and
  6  8 services tax to the imposition or collection of that tax only
  6  9 on the first day of a calendar quarter which occurs sixty days
  6 10 or more after the director has given notice of the boundary
  6 11 change to sellers.
  6 12    3.  a.  The director, in consultation with local officials,
  6 13 shall collect and account for a special charter city sales and
  6 14 services tax.  The director shall certify each quarter the
  6 15 amount of sales and services tax receipts and any interest and
  6 16 penalties to be credited to a special charter city sales and
  6 17 services tax fund of that city established in the office of
  6 18 the treasurer of state.  All taxes collected under this
  6 19 chapter by a retailer or any individual are deemed to be held
  6 20 in trust for the state of Iowa and the local jurisdictions
  6 21 imposing the taxes.
  6 22    b.  All local tax moneys and interest and penalties
  6 23 received or refunded one hundred eighty days or more after the
  6 24 date on which the city repeals its special charter city sales
  6 25 and services tax shall be deposited in or withdrawn from the
  6 26 general fund of the state.
  6 27    Sec. 4.  NEW SECTION.  423F.4  PAYMENT TO THE CITY == USE
  6 28 OF RECEIPTS.
  6 29    1.  The director shall credit the special charter city
  6 30 sales and services tax receipts and interest and penalties
  6 31 from a city=imposed tax to the city's special charter city
  6 32 sales and services tax fund.
  6 33    2.  a.  The director of revenue by August 15 of each fiscal
  6 34 year shall send to the city where the special charter city tax
  6 35 is imposed an estimate of the amount of tax moneys the city
  7  1 will receive for the year and for each month of the year.  At
  7  2 the end of each month, the director may revise the estimates
  7  3 for the year and remaining months.
  7  4    b.  The director of revenue shall remit ninety=five percent
  7  5 of the estimated tax receipts for the city to the city on or
  7  6 before August 31 of the fiscal year and on or before the last
  7  7 day of each following month.
  7  8    c.  The director of revenue shall remit a final payment of
  7  9 the remainder of tax moneys due the city for the fiscal year
  7 10 before November 10 of the next fiscal year.  If an overpayment
  7 11 has resulted during the previous fiscal year, the November
  7 12 payment shall be adjusted to reflect any overpayment.
  7 13    3.  All special charter city sales and services tax
  7 14 revenues received by the city under this chapter shall be
  7 15 deposited in a special fund of the city and shall be used as
  7 16 follows:
  7 17    a.  Ninety percent of the moneys shall be used to provide
  7 18 financial assistance to the following:
  7 19    (1)  Resident students of the special charter city
  7 20 graduating from a public or nonpublic school located in the
  7 21 special charter city who have enrolled in an institution of
  7 22 higher education.  For purposes of this subparagraph,
  7 23 "financial assistance" includes loans, forgivable loans,
  7 24 grants, and scholarships, and "institution of higher
  7 25 education" includes a four=year college or university, a
  7 26 community college, or a technical or vocational school.
  7 27    (2)  Eligible members of the armed forces of the United
  7 28 States for the purchase of residences or the establishment or
  7 29 expansion of businesses located in the special charter city.
  7 30 For purposes of this subparagraph, "eligible member of the
  7 31 armed forces of the United States" means a person who is or
  7 32 was a member of the national guard, reserve, or regular
  7 33 component of the armed forces of the United States who has
  7 34 served at least ninety days of active duty service beginning
  7 35 on or after September 11, 2001.  "Eligible member of the armed
  8  1 forces of the United States" also means a former member of the
  8  2 national guard, reserve, or regular component of the armed
  8  3 forces of the United States who was honorably discharged due
  8  4 to injuries incurred while on active federal service beginning
  8  5 on or after September 11, 2001, that precluded completion of a
  8  6 minimum aggregate of ninety days of active federal service.
  8  7    b.  Ten percent of the moneys shall be used to hire
  8  8 additional public safety personnel.
  8  9                           EXPLANATION
  8 10    This bill authorizes special charter cities of 75,000 or
  8 11 more in population to impose a 1 percent special charter city
  8 12 sales and services tax on the same basis as the state sales
  8 13 tax or in the case of the use of natural gas, natural gas
  8 14 service, electricity, or electricity service on the same basis
  8 15 as the state use tax.
  8 16    The tax cannot be imposed unless approved at an election.
  8 17 The issue can be submitted either upon a motion by the
  8 18 governing body of a city or by petition of 5 percent of the
  8 19 eligible electors in the city.
  8 20    The question of the imposition of the tax must be submitted
  8 21 at a general election, a regular city election, or at a
  8 22 special election on the issue.  The ballot proposition for the
  8 23 tax must include certain information including the type and
  8 24 rate of the tax, the date it will be imposed, and the purposes
  8 25 for which the revenues shall be expended.
  8 26    The tax can be repealed at election by a majority vote, or
  8 27 a repeal date can be included on the ballot at the election
  8 28 where its imposition is proposed.  A vote to repeal the tax
  8 29 must be conducted in the same manner as the election imposing
  8 30 the tax.
  8 31    All revenues collected from the special charter city sales
  8 32 and services tax must be spent by the city as follows:  90
  8 33 percent for providing scholarships to graduating high school
  8 34 students in the city who are enrolling in college and for
  8 35 eligible veterans purchasing a residence in the city or
  9  1 establishing or expanding a business in the city and 10
  9  2 percent for hiring additional public safety personnel.
  9  3 LSB 6595SV 82
  9  4 tw/sc/5