Stricken language would be deleted from and underlined language would be added to present law.
1 State of Arkansas
2 93rd General Assembly A Bill
3 Regular Session, 2021 HOUSE BILL 1447
4
5 By: Representative Ray
6 By: Senator M. Johnson
7
8 For An Act To Be Entitled
9 AN ACT TO REQUIRE VOTER APPROVAL OF CERTAIN TAX
10 LEVIES; TO MAKE TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS; AND FOR OTHER
11 PURPOSES.
12
13
14 Subtitle
15 TO REQUIRE VOTER APPROVAL OF CERTAIN TAX
16 LEVIES; AND TO MAKE TECHNICAL
17 CORRECTIONS.
18
19
20 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS:
21
22 SECTION 1. Arkansas Code 26-74-501 and 26-74-502 are amended to
23 read as follows:
24 26-74-501. Levy of tax.
25 Any county which that does not levy a tax under 14-20-112, county
26 gross receipts tax on hotels and restaurants, and where in which there is not
27 located a city which that levies a tax under 26-75-602 or 26-75-701, by
28 either an ordinance of the county quorum court under 26-74-502(a) or
29 through petition pursuant to 26-74-502(a) under 26-74-502(b) may levy a
30 tax in the amount necessary for the payment of bonds issued or indebtedness
31 incurred by the county public facilities board for the purposes prescribed in
32 this subchapter, but in no event to exceed two percent (2%) upon the gross
33 receipts or gross proceeds from either or both of the following:
34 (1)(A) Gross receipts or gross proceeds from the renting,
35 leasing, or otherwise furnishing of hotel, motel, or short-term condominium
36 rental accommodations for sleeping, meeting, or party room facilities for
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1 profit in such city, but such accommodations shall the county.
2 (B) Subdivision (1)(A) of this section does not include
3 the rental or lease of such accommodations described in subdivision (1)(A) of
4 this section for periods a period of thirty (30) days or more; and
5 (2)(A) Portions The portion of gross receipts or gross proceeds
6 received from the sale of prepared food and beverages for on-premises or off-
7 premises consumption by restaurants, cafes, cafeterias, delis, drive-in
8 restaurants, carry-out restaurants, concession stands, convenience stores,
9 grocery store-restaurants, and similar businesses as shall be defined in the
10 levying ordinance, from the sale of prepared food and beverages for on-
11 premises or off-premises consumption, but such.
12 (B) The tax levied under this section shall not apply to
13 such the gross receipts or gross proceeds of fraternal organizations
14 qualified under 26 U.S.C. 501(c)(3), as it existed on January 1, 2021.
15
16 26-74-502. Voter approval of levy of tax Petitions requesting an
17 election.
18 (a)(1)(A) If a county quorum court enacts an ordinance levying a tax
19 under 26-74-501, the county quorum court shall submit the question of the
20 levying of the tax to the electors at the next primary or general election.
21 (B) If the next primary or general election is less than
22 seventy-five (75) days from the date the ordinance is enacted under
23 subdivision (a)(1)(A) of this section, the election on the question of the
24 levying of the tax shall be delayed until the following primary or general
25 election, whichever occurs first.
26 (2) The tax shall be levied upon approval of a majority of the
27 qualified electors voting on the question of the levying of the tax at the
28 primary or general election.
29 (a)(b)(1)(A) If petitions are a petition is filed requesting an
30 election for an initiated ordinance levying the tax authorized under this
31 subchapter 26-74-501, the county quorum court shall submit the question of
32 the levying of the tax to the electors at the next primary or general
33 election.
34 (B) If the next primary or general election is less than
35 seventy-five (75) days from the date the petition is filed, the election for
36 an initiated ordinance levying the tax authorized under 26-74-501 shall be
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1 delayed until the following primary or general election, whichever occurs
2 first.
3 (2) The petitions must petition shall be signed by not less than
4 five hundred (500) electors of the county. The election shall be held within
5 one hundred twenty (120) days of the filing of the petitions.
6 (3) The tax shall be levied upon approval of a majority of the
7 qualified electors voting on the issue question of the levying of the tax at
8 the primary or general election.
9 (b) If petitions requesting a referendum election are filed, the
10 quorum court levying a tax under this subchapter shall submit the question of
11 the levying of the tax to the electors. The petitions must be signed by not
12 less than five hundred (500) electors of the county and must be filed with
13 the quorum court within thirty (30) days after the adoption of the ordinance
14 levying the tax.
15
16 SECTION 2. Arkansas Code 26-75-602 and 26-75-603 are amended to
17 read as follows:
18 26-75-602. Gross receipts taxes authorized Voter approval of levy of
19 tax.
20 (a)(1) Any A city of the first class, city of the second class, or
21 incorporated town by ordinance of the governing body thereof may levy a tax
22 not to exceed three percent (3%) upon the gross receipts or gross proceeds
23 identified in subsection (c) of this section.
24 (2)(A) If the governing body enacts an ordinance levying a tax
25 under this section, the governing body shall submit the question of the
26 levying of the tax to the electors at the next primary or general election.
27 (B) If the next primary or general election is less than
28 seventy-five (75) days from the date the ordinance is enacted under this
29 subsection, the election on the question of the levying of the tax shall be
30 delayed until the following primary or general election, whichever occurs
31 first.
32 (3) The tax shall be levied upon approval of a majority of the
33 qualified electors voting on the question of the levying of the tax at the
34 primary or general election.
35 (b)(1) Any A city of the first class in which is located a city park
36 of one thousand (1,000) acres or more in a like manner is located may levy an
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1 additional tax of one percent (1%) upon the gross receipts or gross proceeds
2 identified in subsection (c) of this section.
3 (2) Revenues collected from this the additional tax authorized
4 under subdivision (b)(1) of this section shall be used by the city parks and
5 recreation department for the promotion and development of city parks and
6 recreation areas.
7 (c) The tax authorized in this subchapter section shall be upon any
8 one (1) or more of the following, as specified in the levying ordinance:
9 (1)(A) The gross receipts or gross proceeds from renting,
10 leasing, or otherwise furnishing hotel, motel, house, cabin, bed and
11 breakfast, campground, condominium, or other similar rental accommodations
12 for sleeping, meeting, or party room facilities for profit in such the city
13 or town, but such accommodations shall.
14 (B) Subdivision (c)(1)(A) of this section does not include
15 the rental or lease of such accommodations described in subdivision (c)(1)(A)
16 of this section for periods a period of thirty (30) days or more;
17 (2)(A) The portion of the gross receipts or gross proceeds
18 received from the sale of prepared food and beverages for on-premises or off-
19 premises consumption by restaurants, cafes, cafeterias, delicatessens, drive-
20 in restaurants, carry-out restaurants, concession stands, convenience stores,
21 grocery store-restaurants, or similar businesses as shall be defined in the
22 levying ordinance from the sale of prepared food and beverages for on-
23 premises or off-premises consumption, but such.
24 (B) The tax shall not apply to such the gross receipts or
25 gross proceeds of organizations qualified under 26 U.S.C. 501(c)(3), as it
26 existed on January 1, 2021; and
27 (3) The admission price to a state park located within the
28 municipal boundary of the city or town.
29
30 26-75-603. Collection of tax.
31 (a) From the effective date of the levying ordinance, the tax so
32 levied shall be paid by the persons, firms, and corporations liable therefor
33 A person liable for a tax levied under 26-75-602 shall pay the tax, and
34 shall be collected by the advertising and promotion commission of the levying
35 city or by a designated agent of the commission shall collect the tax in the
36 same manner and at the same time as the tax levied by the Arkansas Gross
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1 Receipts Act of 1941, 26-52-101 et seq.
2 (b)(1)(A) The person paying the tax levied under 26-75-602 shall
3 report and remit it upon forms provided by the commission and as directed by
4 the commission.
5 (B) The rules, forms of notice, assessment procedures, and
6 the enforcement and collection of the tax under the Arkansas Gross Receipts
7 Act of 1941, 26-52-101 et seq., and the Arkansas Tax Procedure Act, 26-
8 18-101 et seq., so far as practicable shall be are applicable with respect to
9 the enforcement and collection of the tax levied pursuant to the authority of
10 this subchapter under 26-75-602.
11 (2)(A) However, the administration and enforcement of the tax
12 levied under 26-75-602 and all actions arising from the tax levied under
13 26-75-602 shall be by and in the name of the commission through the proper
14 commission officials or agents.
15 (B) The commission shall have the authority to may sue and
16 be sued in its name.
17 (3) The Department of Finance and Administration shall have no
18 authority to enforce or collect the tax levied pursuant to this subchapter
19 under 26-75-602.
20 (c) The levying city is authorized to may adopt ordinances: consistent
21 (1) Consistent with and in similar form to the Arkansas Tax
22 Procedure Act, 26-18-101 et seq., to enable the commission or its the
23 commission's agent to enforce the tax levied under 26-75-602 through
24 examination of records, notices of proposed and final assessment, and
25 administrative hearings on proposed assessments. The levying city is also
26 authorized to adopt ordinances which; and
27 (2) That enable the commission to:
28 (1)(A)(i) Assess penalties and interest against taxpayers
29 who fail to timely report or pay the tax levied under 26-75-602.
30 (ii) The penalty is equal to five percent (5%) of
31 the unpaid tax amount per month not to exceed a total assessment of thirty-
32 five percent (35%) of the unpaid tax.
33 (iii) Simple interest on unpaid taxes shall be
34 assessed at the rate of ten percent (10%) per annum;
35 (2)(B) Assess unpaid or unreported tax within three (3)
36 years of the date the tax is due;
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1 (3)(C) Provide for judicial relief from proposed
2 assessments in accordance with subsection (d) of this section; and
3 (4)(D) Issue certificates of indebtedness in accordance
4 with subdivision (c)(3)(c)(2)(C) of this section.
5 (d)(1) Within thirty (30) days of the issuance of the notice and
6 demand for payment of a deficiency in tax established by a final
7 determination of the hearing officer, a taxpayer may seek judicial relief
8 from the final determination by either:
9 (A) Paying under protest the amount of the deficiency,
10 plus penalty and interest determined by the commission to be due, and filing
11 a suit to recover that amount within one (1) year from the date of payment
12 under protest; or
13 (B)(i) Filing with the commission a bond in double the
14 amount of the tax deficiency due and by filing suit within thirty (30) days
15 thereafter to stay the effect of the commission's determination.
16 (ii) The bond shall be subject to the condition that
17 the taxpayer shall file:
18 (a) File suit within thirty (30) days after
19 filing the bond, to stay the effect of the commission's determination; shall
20 faithfully
21 (b) Faithfully and diligently prosecute the
22 suit to a final determination,; and shall pay
23 (c) Pay any deficiency found by the court to
24 be due and any court costs assessed against the taxpayer.
25 (iii) A taxpayer's failure to file suit, diligently
26 prosecute the suit, or pay any tax deficiency and court costs, as required by
27 this subsection, shall result in the forfeiture of the bond in the amount of
28 the assessment and assessed court costs.
29 (2)(A) The method methods provided in this section is are the
30 exclusive method methods for seeking relief from a written decision of the
31 commission establishing a deficiency in tax.
32 (B) No injunction shall issue A court shall not issue an
33 injunction to stay proceedings for assessment or collection of this the tax
34 levied under 26-75-602.
35 (e)(1) If a taxpayer does not timely and properly pursue the
36 taxpayer's remedies seeking relief from a decision of the commission and a
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1 final assessment is made against the taxpayer, or if the taxpayer fails to
2 pay the deficiency assessed upon notice and demand, then the commission as
3 soon as practicable thereafter shall issue to the circuit clerk of the county
4 where in which the taxpayer's business is located a certificate of
5 indebtedness certifying that the person named therein in the certificate of
6 indebtedness is indebted to the commission for the amount of the tax
7 established by the commission as due.
8 (2) The circuit clerk shall enter immediately upon the circuit
9 court judgment docket:
10 (A) The name of the delinquent taxpayer;
11 (B) The amount certified as being due;
12 (C) The name of the tax; and
13 (D) The date of entry upon the judgment docket.
14 (3) The entry of the certificate of indebtedness: shall have
15 (A) Has the same force and effect as the entry of a
16 judgment rendered by the circuit court.; and
17 (B) This entry shall constitute Constitutes the
18 commission's lien upon the title of any real and personal property of the
19 taxpayer in the county where in which the certificate of indebtedness is
20 recorded.
21 (4)(A) The certificate of indebtedness authorized by this
22 subsection shall continue in force for ten (10) years from the date of
23 recording and shall automatically expire after the ten-year period has run.
24 (B) Actions on the lien on the certificate of indebtedness
25 shall be commenced within ten (10) years after the date of recording of the
26 certificate, and not afterward.
27 (5) The commission shall have has all remedies and may take all
28 proceedings for the collection of the tax which levied under 26-75-602 that
29 may be taken for the recovery of a judgment at law.
30 (f) The provisions of subsections Subsections (d) and (e) of this
31 section shall be are effective only when the levying city adopts and the
32 voters approve an ordinance which under 26-75-602 that specifically
33 provides that these provisions shall be utilized by the commission shall
34 utilize subsections (d) and (e) of this section in enforcing the tax levied
35 under 26-75-602.
36
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1 SECTION 3. Arkansas Code 26-75-701(b), concerning the sales tax
2 authorized on hotels and restaurant