HF 683 (LSB 2500HV (3) 90)

HOUSE FILE 683

BY  COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS

(SUCCESSOR TO HSB 230)

A BILL FOR

An Act relating to the excise tax imposed on the handling of grain, including by providing for transfer of collected revenue to the grain depositors and sellers indemnity fund, providing for the future elimination of the excise tax, and including effective date and retroactive applicability provisions.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  Section 428.35, subsection 6, Code 2023, is amended to read as follows:
   6.  Payment of tax.  The tax, when determined, shall be entered in the same manner as general property taxes on the tax list of the taxing district, and the proceeds of the collection of the tax shall be distributed to the same taxing units and in the same proportion as the general property tax on the tax list of each taxing district Excise tax moneys collected on grain reported in the statement filing form required to be filed sixty days after January 1, 2023, shall be remitted to the department of revenue as required by the department. The department shall transfer the remitted moneys to the grain depositors and sellers indemnity fund created in section 203D.3. All provisions of the law relating to the assessment and collection of property taxes and the powers and duties of the county treasurer, county auditor, and all other officers with respect to the assessment, collection, and enforcement of property taxes apply to the assessment, collection, and enforcement of the excise tax imposed by this section.
    Sec. 2.  Section 428.35, Code 2023, is amended by adding the following new subsections:
   NEW SUBSECTION.  7.  Section no longer applicable.  

Notwithstanding any provision of this section to the contrary, all of the following apply:
   a.  Grain handled on or after January 1, 2023, otherwise required to be reported on the statement filing form filed sixty days after January 1, 2024, as provided in subsection 3 is not subject to the excise tax imposed by subsection 2.
   b.  A statement filing form as described in paragraph “a” otherwise requiring the reporting of grain handled on or after January 1, 2023, is not required to be filed.
   NEW SUBSECTION.  8.  Section repealed.  This section is repealed July 1, 2025.
    Sec. 3.  Section 445.3, subsection 2, Code 2023, is amended to read as follows:
   2.  a.  The commencement of actions for ad valorem taxes authorized under this section shall not begin until the issuance of a tax sale certificate under the requirements of section 446.19. The commencement of actions for all other taxes authorized under this section shall not begin until ten days after the publication of tax sale under the requirements of section 446.9, subsection 2.
   b.  (1)  This subsection does not apply to the collection of ad valorem taxes under section 445.32, and grain handling taxes under section 428.35.
   (2)  (a)  This subsection does not apply to the excise tax imposed on grain subject to handling under section 428.35.
   (b)  This subparagraph is repealed July 1, 2025.
    Sec. 4.  IMPLEMENTATION.  Section 25B.7 shall not apply to the property tax exemption enacted in this Act.
    Sec. 5.  EFFECTIVE DATE.  This Act, being deemed of immediate importance, takes effect upon enactment.
    Sec. 6.  RETROACTIVE APPLICABILITY.  The sections of this Act amending section 428.35 apply retroactively to January 1, 2023, for the assessment year beginning January 1, 2022.
EXPLANATION
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
   BACKGROUND. This bill relates to the grain handling excise tax of one-fourth mill per bushel upon all grain handled. For purposes of the excise tax, “handling or handled” means the receiving of grain at or in each elevator, warehouse, mill, processing plant, or other facility in this state in which it is received for storage, accumulation, sale, processing, or any other purpose. In addition, “grain” means wheat, corn, barley, oats, rye, flaxseed, field peas, soybeans, grain sorghums, spelts, and such other products as are usually stored in grain elevators other than seeds after being processed. The amount of excise tax is calculated on the basis of a statement filed by the person handling the grain due sixty days after the start of the calendar year. The statement records the total number of bushels handled by the person during the prior calendar year. The excise tax is entered on the tax list of the taxing district and revenue collected from the excise tax is distributed to the various taxing authorities within the taxing district in the same manner as general property taxes.
   BILL’S PROVISIONS. The bill requires excise tax moneys on grain reported in the statement filed 60 days after January 1, 2023, for the prior assessment year to be remitted to the department of revenue and transferred to the grain depositors and sellers indemnity fund. The excise tax is no longer assessable for grain handled on or after January 1, 2023, and the statute imposing the tax is repealed July 1, 2025. The bill takes effect upon enactment and is retroactively applicable to January 1, 2023, for the assessment year beginning January 1, 2022.
   GRAIN DEPOSITORS AND SELLERS INDEMNITY FUND. A grain dealer or warehouse operator must do business in this state under a license issued by the department of agriculture and land stewardship. A person selling grain to a licensed grain dealer or depositing grain with a licensed warehouse operator may be reimbursed for a loss incurred by the failure of the licensed grain dealer or licensed warehouse operator to honor a contractual obligation regarding the transaction. The indemnity fund is supported by several sources, including a participation fee paid by those grain dealers and warehouse operators applying for or renewing a license and a per-bushel fee paid only by grain dealers.