Senate File 101 - IntroducedA Bill ForAn Act 1establishing a fuel-efficient motor vehicle use tax
2refund, and making an appropriation.
3BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
1   Section 1.  NEW SECTION.  423.6A  Fuel-efficient motor
2vehicles refund.
   31.  A person who purchases a new motor vehicle may apply to
4the department for a refund of a portion of the amount of use
5tax imposed and paid at the time of purchase of the new motor
6vehicle by the applicant in the amount issued on a tax refund
7certificate issued pursuant to section 473.14.
   82.  The refund may be obtained only in the following manner
9and under the following conditions:
   10a.  On forms furnished by the department and filed by April
1130 after the end of the calendar year in which the tax refund
12certificate is to be applied, the applicant shall report to
13the department the total amount of use tax paid for the new
14motor vehicle for which the tax refund certificate was issued
15pursuant to section 473.14.
   16b.  If required by the department, the applicant shall prove
17that the person making the sale has included the amount thereof
18in the computation of the sales price of such person and that
19such person has paid the tax levied under section 423.5 based
20upon such computation of the sales price.
   21c.  The applicant shall provide the tax refund certificate
22issued pursuant to section 473.14 to the department with the
23forms required by paragraph “a”.
   243.  If satisfied that the foregoing conditions and
25requirements have been complied with, the department shall
26refund the amount claimed by the applicant pursuant to the
27limitations in section 473.14. The department shall not issue
28refunds for an amount more than the amount appropriated for the
29refunds in section 423.6B. An application for a refund under
30this section received after the amount of appropriated funds
31under section 423.6B has been depleted shall be held by the
32department until the following fiscal year at which time the
33department shall reconsider the application.
34   Sec. 2.  NEW SECTION.  423.6B  Appropriation for
35fuel-efficient motor vehicle refund.
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   11.  There is appropriated from the general fund of the
2state each fiscal year for the fiscal period beginning July 1,
32019, and ending June 30, 2024, to the department of revenue
4the sum of five million dollars to be used for fuel-efficient
5motor vehicle use tax refunds established under section
6423.6A. Amounts appropriated pursuant to this section shall
7be in addition to, and shall not replace, funds otherwise
8appropriated to the department of revenue. Notwithstanding
9section 8.33, moneys appropriated in this section that remain
10unencumbered or unobligated at the close of each fiscal year
11shall not revert but shall remain available for expenditure for
12the purposes designated.
   132.  This section is repealed June 30, 2024.
14   Sec. 3.  Section 455A.6, subsection 6, Code 2019, is amended
15by adding the following new paragraph:
16   NEW PARAGRAPH.  e.  Approve or deny the issuance of a tax
17refund certificate under section 473.14.
18   Sec. 4.  NEW SECTION.  473.14  Fuel-efficient motor vehicles
19tax refund — certificate.
   201.  A person who has purchased a new motor vehicle from a
21new motor vehicle dealer in this state on or after July 1,
222019, may apply to the commission for a refund pursuant to
23section 423.6A of use tax paid. If approved by the commission,
24the amount of the use tax refund shall equal ten dollars for
25each mile per gallon that the motor vehicle’s highway gasoline
26mileage rating averaged for city and highway driving as
27estimated by the United States environmental protection agency
28is above thirty-five miles per gallon but a refund issued shall
29not be for an amount less than twenty-five dollars or more than
30two hundred fifty dollars.
   312.  To apply, the person shall submit a completed application
32to the commission containing all of the following information:
   33a.  A copy of the motor vehicle dealer invoice for the motor
34vehicle.
   35b.  A copy of a valid Iowa vehicle registration for the motor
-2-1vehicle. The name appearing on the vehicle registration shall
2be the same name as the name of the purchaser on the dealer
3invoice.
   4c.  Proof of the vehicle purchase which may include but is
5not limited to a copy of the front and back of a canceled check,
6the finance agreement, or a dealer invoice indicating a zero
7balance due and receipt of payment in full.
   8d.  Any other information the department may require.
   93.  If upon receipt of the completed application the
10commission finds that the person is qualified for a use
11tax refund pursuant to section 423.6A and this section, the
12commission shall calculate the amount of the tax refund for
13which the person is eligible and shall issue a tax refund
14certificate to the person or notify the person in writing of
15its denial to do so. A person whose application is denied may
16file an appeal with the department of natural resources within
17sixty days from the date of denial pursuant to chapter l7A.
   184.  For the purposes of this section, “motor vehicle” means
19the same as defined in section 321.1 but shall not include
20a motorcycle, motorsports recreational vehicle, motorized
21bicycle, snowmobile, autocycle, or all-terrain vehicle.
   225.  Once a tax refund certificate is issued pursuant to this
23section, the person may apply to the department of revenue for
24the use tax refund pursuant to section 423.6A.
25EXPLANATION
26The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
27the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
   28This bill establishes a fuel-efficient motor vehicle use tax
29refund.
   30The bill provides for a use tax refund for certain
31fuel-efficient motor vehicles whose combined gasoline mileage
32rating exceeds 35 miles per gallon. The amount of the
33refund shall be either $10 for each mile per gallon above 35.
34However, the amount of the refund shall not be less than $25 or
35more than $250. The use tax refund shall be administered by
-3-1the environmental protection commission of the department of
2natural resources.
   3An amount equal to $5 million per fiscal year for five fiscal
4years is appropriated to the department of revenue to issue the
5use tax refunds.
   6The bill does not apply to a motorcycle, motorsports
7recreational vehicle, motorized bicycle, snowmobile, autocycle,
8or all-terrain vehicle.
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