HBA-KDB H.B. 1285 77(R)BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 1285
By: Brimer
Ways & Means
7/20/2001
Enrolled



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Prior to the 77th Legislature, the comptroller of public accounts
(comptroller) could only provide sales tax information on businesses that
remitted payments of $100,000 or more to certain cities based on
population.  Cities are in need of sales tax information in the aggregate
for a defined area to establish benchmarks to evaluate the effectiveness of
certain economic development incentives as well as to apportion revenue
under interlocal revenue sharing agreements.  Such information may be
useful to a municipality when establishing its budget or making other
considerations.  House Bill 1285 authorizes municipalities to request from
the comptroller sales tax information for each person doing business in a
defined area.  The information can only be provided by the comptroller as
an aggregate total for all persons doing business in the defined area
without disclosing individual tax payments. 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does
not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state
officer, department, agency, or institution. 

ANALYSIS

House Bill 1285 amends the Tax Code to require the comptroller of public
accounts (comptroller) on request to provide to a municipality that has
adopted a municipal sales and use tax (tax) with information relating to
the amount of tax paid to the municipality during the preceding or current
calendar year by each person doing business in an area, as defined by the
municipality, that is part of: 

 _an interlocal agreement;
 
 _a tax abatement agreement;
 
 _a reinvestment zone;
 
 _a tax increment financing district;
 
 _a revenue sharing agreement;
 
 _an enterprise zone;
 
 _a neighborhood empowerment zone; 
 
 _any other similar agreement, zone, or district; or

 _any area defined by the municipality for the purpose of economic
forecasting. 

The bill requires the comptroller to provide such information as an
aggregate total for all persons doing business in the defined area without
disclosing individual tax payments.  If the request for such information
involves not more than three persons doing business in the defined area
that remit taxes,  the bill requires the comptroller to refuse to provide
the information to the municipality unless the comptroller receives
permission from each of the persons allowing the comptroller to provide the
information to the municipality as requested.  The bill authorizes such
information to be used by the municipality to assist in determining revenue
sharing under a revenue sharing agreement or other similar agreement. 

EFFECTIVE DATE

June 14, 2001.