House of Representatives

HB 2712

tax decisions; distribution

Sponsor: Representatives Yarbrough, Huffman, Allen J, Anderson et al

X	Committee on Ways and Means
	Committee on Judiciary
	Caucus and COW
	As Engrossed and As Passed the House

HB 2712 makes tax decisions decisions available to the public. record.

History

Currently, tax decisions made in the Department of Revenue (DOR), and the Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH) and other state and local tax agencies are confidential.  Likewise, some decisions at the State Board of Tax Appeals, and the Tax Court Court and other courts are also confidentialnot published..  While the DOR has access to these decisions, taxpayers do not.  Taxpayer organizations and practitioners have previously asked the DOR to publish redacted decisions to their website.  Only a fewA few decisions have been were posted., but none have been posted recently. Currently, the Municipal Tax Hearing Office does publish redacted municipal tax decisions.

This bill would give taxpayers equal access to tax decisions. 

Provisions

· Requires the following agencies and courts to provide tax decisions to the law libraries, state university colleges of law and any person who requests them and to publish tax decisions on their official website.

· The DOR

· The OAH

·The State Board of Equalization

· Each city or town tax hearing office

· The State Board of Equalization

· The Department of Economic Security (DES)

· The Department of Transportation (DOT)

· The State Board of Tax Appeals

· The Court of Appeals

·The Tax Court

·

· Defines redacted tax decision as a decision with the name of the taxpayer and the amount of tax in dispute deleted from the text.  . Redacted tax decisions pertain to agencies where taxpayer identifying information is confidential.

· Defines tax decision as a ruling, decision, opinion, minute entry, memorandum decision or any other written resolution of a state, county or municipal tax dispute or appeal and includes actions taken by any of the agencies, courts, or hearing officers of the agencies or courts listed above and the Supreme Court.  Tax decisions do not include published opinions issued by the Tax Court, Court of Appeals, or Supreme Court. 

· Requires the agencies and courts to establish and maintain an official website by January 1, 2008 if they do not currently have one. 

·

·

· ---------- DOCUMENT FOOTER ---------

· Forty-seventh Legislature

· Second Regular Session     2          February 2, 2006

·

· ---------- DOCUMENT FOOTER ---------