UNAPPROVED DRAFT BILL -- Subject to Change Without Notice!
BILL NO.
INTRODUCED BY
(Primary Sponsor)BY REQUEST OF THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
A BILL FOR AN ACT ENTITLED: "AN ACT ALLOWING THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION TO REQUEST FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE INCOME INFORMATION FOR INDIVIDUALS AND CORPORATIONS TO DETERMINE THE RATIO OF GROSS FARM INCOME TO TOTAL GROSS INCOME FOR AN APPLICANT FILING FOR A STANDARD DEDUCTION REFUND FOR GASOLINE AND SPECIAL FUELS; SUBJECTING THE INFORMATION OBTAINED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION TO RESTRICTIONS ON DISCLOSURE; AMENDING SECTIONS 15-30-303, 15-31-511, AND 15-70-362, MCA; AND PROVIDING AN IMMEDIATE EFFECTIVE DATE AND A RETROACTIVE APPLICABILITY DATE."
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MONTANA:
Section 1. Section 15-30-303, MCA, is amended to read:
"15-30-303. Confidentiality of tax records. (1) Except as provided in subsections (7) and (8) or in accordance with a proper judicial order or as otherwise provided by law, it is unlawful to divulge or make known in any manner:
(a) the amount of income or any particulars set forth or disclosed in any individual report or individual return required under this chapter or any other information secured in the administration of this chapter; or
(b) any federal return or federal return information disclosed on any return or report required by rule of the department or under this chapter.
(2) (a) The officers charged with the custody of the reports and returns may not be required to produce them or evidence of anything contained in them in an action or proceeding in a court, except in an action or proceeding:
(i) to which the department is a party under the provisions of this chapter or any other taxing act; or
(ii) on behalf of a party to any action or proceedings under the provisions of this chapter or other taxes when the reports or facts shown by the reports are directly involved in the action or proceedings.
(b) The court may require the production of and may admit in evidence only as much of the reports or of the facts shown by the reports as are pertinent to the action or proceedings.
(3) This section does not prohibit:
(a) the delivery to a taxpayer or the taxpayer's authorized representative of a certified copy of any return or report filed in connection with the taxpayer's tax;
(b) the publication of statistics classified to prevent the identification of particular reports or returns and the items of particular reports or returns; or
(c) the inspection by the attorney general or other legal representative of the state of the report or return of any taxpayer who brings an action to set aside or review the tax based on the report or return or against whom an action or proceeding has been instituted in accordance with the provisions of 15-30-311.
(4) Reports and returns must be preserved for at least 3 years and may be preserved until the department orders them to be destroyed.
(5) Any offense against subsections (1) through (4) is punishable by a fine not exceeding $1,000 or by imprisonment in the county jail for a term not exceeding 1 year, or both. If the offender is an officer or employee of the state, the offender must be dismissed from office and may not hold any public office in this state for a period of 1 year after dismissal.
(6) This section may not be construed to prohibit the department from providing taxpayer return information and information from employers' payroll withholding reports to:
(a) the department of labor and industry to be used for the purpose of investigation and prevention of noncompliance, tax evasion, fraud, and abuse under the unemployment insurance laws; or
(b) the state fund to be used for the purpose of investigation and prevention of noncompliance, fraud, and abuse under the workers' compensation program.
(7) The department may permit the commissioner of internal revenue of the United States or the proper officer of any state imposing a tax upon the incomes of individuals or the authorized representative of either officer to inspect the return of income of any individual or may furnish to the officer or an authorized representative an abstract of the return of income of any individual or supply the officer with information concerning an item of income contained in a return or disclosed by the report of an investigation of the income or return of income of an individual, but the permission may be granted or information furnished only if the statutes of the United States or of the other state grant substantially similar privileges to the proper officer of this state charged with the administration of this chapter.
(8) The department shall furnish:
(a) to the department of justice all information necessary to identify those persons qualifying for the additional exemption for blindness pursuant to 15-30-112(4), for the purpose of enabling the department of justice to administer the provisions of 61-5-105;
(b) to the department of public health and human services information acquired under 15-30-301, pertaining to an applicant for public assistance, reasonably necessary for the prevention and detection of public assistance fraud and abuse, provided notice to the applicant has been given;
(c) to the department of labor and industry for the purpose of prevention and detection of fraud and abuse in and eligibility for benefits under the unemployment compensation and workers' compensation programs information on whether a taxpayer who is the subject of an ongoing investigation by the department of labor and industry is an employee, an independent contractor, or self-employed;
(d) to the department of fish, wildlife, and parks specific information that is available from income tax returns and required under 87-2-102 to establish the residency requirements of an applicant for hunting and fishing licenses;
(e) to the board of regents information required under 20-26-1111;
(f) to the legislative fiscal analyst and the office of budget and program planning individual income tax information as provided in 5-12-303. The information provided to the office of budget and program planning must be the same as the information provided to the legislative fiscal analyst.
(g) to the department of transportation income information to determine the ratio of gross farm income to total gross income based on the most recent income tax return filed by an applicant applying for a refund under 15-70-223 and 15-70-362, provided that notice to the applicant has been given as provided in 15-70-223 and 15-70-362. The information obtained by the department of transportation is subject to the same restrictions on disclosure as are individual income tax returns."
Section 2. Section 15-31-511, MCA, is amended to read:
"15-31-511. Confidentiality of tax records. (1) Except as provided in this section in accordance with a proper judicial order or as otherwise provided by law, it is unlawful to divulge or make known in any manner:
(a) the amount of income or any particulars set forth or disclosed in any return or report required under this chapter or any other information relating to taxation secured in the administration of this chapter; or
(b) any federal return or information in or disclosed on a federal return or report required by law or rule of the department of revenue under this chapter.
(2) (a) An officer or employee charged with custody of returns and reports required by this chapter may not be ordered to produce any of them or evidence of anything contained in them in any administrative proceeding or action or proceeding in any court, except:
(i) in an action or proceeding in which the department is a party under the provisions of this chapter; or
(ii) in any other tax proceeding or on behalf of a party to an action or proceeding under the provisions of this chapter when the returns or reports or facts shown in them are directly pertinent to the action or proceeding.
(b) If the production of a return, report, or information contained in them is ordered, the court shall limit production of and the admission of returns, reports, or facts shown in them to the matters directly pertinent to the action or proceeding.
(3) This section does not prohibit:
(a) the delivery of a certified copy of any return or report filed in connection with a return to the taxpayer who filed the return or report or to the taxpayer's authorized representative;
(b) the publication of statistics prepared in a manner that prevents the identification of particular returns, reports, or items from returns or reports;
(c) the inspection of returns and reports by the attorney general or other legal representative of the state in the course of an administrative proceeding or litigation under this chapter;
(d) access to information under subsection (4); or
(e) the director of revenue from permitting a representative of the commissioner of internal revenue of the United States or a representative of a proper officer of any state imposing a tax on the income of a taxpayer to inspect the returns or reports of a corporation. The department may also furnish those persons abstracts of income, returns, and reports; information concerning any item in a return or report; and any item disclosed by an investigation of the income or return of a corporation. The director of revenue may not furnish that information to a person representing the United States or another state unless the United States or the other state grants substantially similar privileges to an officer of this state charged with the administration of this chapter.
(4) The department shall on request:
(a) allow the inspection of returns and reports by the legislative auditor, but the information furnished to the legislative auditor is subject to the same restrictions on disclosure outside that office as provided in subsection (1); and
(b) deliver corporation income tax data to the legislative fiscal analyst and the office of budget and program planning, but the information furnished to the legislative fiscal analyst and the office of budget and program planning is subject to the same restrictions on disclosure outside those offices as provided in subsection (1).
(c) furnish to the department of transportation income information to determine the ratio of gross farm income to total gross income based on the most recent corporation tax return filed by an applicant for a refund under 15-70-223 and 15-70-362, provided that the department of transportation has notified the applicant, as required by 15-70-223 and 15-70-362. The information obtained by the department of transportation is subject to the same restrictions on disclosure outside that agency as provided in subsection (1).
(5) A person convicted of violating this section shall be fined not to exceed $1,000 or be imprisoned in the county jail for a term not to exceed 1 year, or both. If a public servant, as defined in 45-2-101, is convicted of violating this section, the person forfeits office and may not hold any public office or public employment in the state for a period of 1 year after conviction."
Section 3. Section 15-70-362, MCA, is amended to read:
"15-70-362. Estimate allowed for agricultural use -- seller's signed statement acceptable on keylock or cardtrol purchases. (1) An applicant whose use qualifies as agricultural use may apply for a refund of 60% of the applicable tax on the gallons of special fuel as indicated by bulk delivery invoices or by evidence of keylock or cardtrol purchases as an estimate of off-roadway use. To ensure that the applicant's use qualifies as agricultural use, the department of transportation may request from the department of revenue information on the ratio of the applicant's gross farm income to total gross income, provided that the department of transportation gives notice to the applicant.
(2) If any invoice or evidence is either lost or destroyed, the purchaser may support the purchaser's claim for refund by submitting an affidavit relating the circumstances of the loss or destruction and by producing other evidence as may be required by the department of transportation.
(3) An applicant whose use does not qualify as agricultural use may not estimate and shall maintain records as required by 15-70-361."
NEW SECTION. Section 4. Effective date. [This act] is effective on passage and approval.
NEW SECTION. Section 5. Retroactive applicability. [This act] applies retroactively, within the meaning of 1-2-109, to occurrences after December 31, 1998.
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Latest Version of LC 176 (LC0176.01)
Processed for the Web on December 4, 1998 (11:40AM)
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Status of this Bill
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