Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Job Creation/Economic Development and Vitality Focus Group Bills
More Information on these and all bills is available at www.leg.state.co.us
HB10-1011
DOR Employee Criminal Check
KERR J.--SCHULTHEIS
Concerning authorization for the department of revenue to obtain fingerprint-based criminal record checks for employment purposes.
HB10-1132
Business Production Of Records
GARDNER B.--HODGE
Concerning the production of records by a business in a criminal matter.
SB10-028
Work Share Program
HEATH--(NONE)
Concerning the establishment of the colorado "work share program" to allow payment of unemployment compensation benefits to eligible employees who have received a reduction in work hours.
SB10-085
Exempt Personal Prop Tax Pilot Program
SCHEFFEL--PRIOLA
Concerning the creation of a business personal property tax exemption reimbursement pilot program.
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HB10-1011 This appears to be sensible. Folks with this access could do serious harm.
ReplyDeleteHB10-1132 This also appears to be sensible – an adaptation to modern technology. I don’t see any hidden problems.
SB10-085 This seems like a backward way to chip away at the horrendous business personal property tax. It does help counties such as El Paso that have already eliminated the tax. There is an inherent unfairness in it, but it could be a hold your nose bill.
I left out a key word in SB 85 – It should say that the bill does NOT help El Paso County.
ReplyDeleteMembers of the Legislative Watch Council: here are some updates on the different bills we are most concerned about, along with the Member Alert below that has the numbers to call about the energy bill and the software bill. Please take the time to call Senator Morse on these bills on behalf of our members. He needs to hear from you. Also forward to other people you know who would care about jobs in El Paso County and who would be willing to send an email or make a phone call. Let me, Ernest or Jessica know if you have any questions. Thank you for all you do on behalf of businesses in the Pikes Peak Region!!
ReplyDeleteOf special note from the Denver Post today about HB 1190—the energy tax bill:
House Bill 1190 would suspend, until mid-2012, the tax exemption for energy consumed by industries. It would raise a projected $56.7 million this budget year, and $60.8 million in the next.
We disclose, up front, that this tax seems as though it would apply to The Denver Post's printing operations. Regardless, we think critics of this bill make strong arguments about double-taxation and the impropriety of using a retail sales tax to raise revenue from a wholesale purchase.
Representatives of the Colorado Association of Commerce & Industry contend it's improper to tax a manufacturing input, which is used to create a retail product that is taxed again. They call it double taxation, and we find that argument persuasive.
They also say that, as originally formulated, the lack of taxes on industrial energy consumption was an exclusion, not an exemption. If that is the case, it would seem lawmakers could wade into legal trouble with this bill.
We would hope the legislature would look closely at this proposal, and perhaps explore the revocation of other tax exemptions to replace it should it be deemed untenable.
HB 1159—Mitigation for Water Exports
News from fellow LWCer Andy Colosimo at Colorado Springs Utilities about the Basin of Origin water bill that we talked about today. They worked hard to get Reps. Merrifield and Aupan to vote against it and the bill ultimately died. In Andy’s words, “It was a good day!”
HB 1194 eliminate tax exemption for sales to retailers or vendors of food, meals, or beverages of articles, containers, and bags.
HB 1190—repealing the sales tax exemption on gas and electricity.
From the Restaurant Association (thank you Sallie Clark for forwarding on)
We were able to get the bill (HB1194) repealing the sales tax exemption on “to go” packaging amended by the Senate Finance Committee. The amendment states that the loss of this sales tax exemption will not be permanent (as it was originally written), and we will get the exemption back in three years on 7/1/13. Here is the Denver Business Journal report on last night’s hearing: http://denver.bizjournals.com/denver/stories/2010/02/01/daily47.html
The bill puts the decision on what will be sales taxed and what won’t be sales taxed into the hands of the CO Dept of Revenue. In a glimpse of what will be taxed and what won’t, the department stated last night that they will only tax non-food items not necessary for consumption. That includes bags, utensils, condiments, etc., but not pizza boxes and food wrappers/containers.
The bill (HB1190) repealing the sales tax exemption on gas and electricity (we call it the “Utilities Tax Credit”) is moving forward and will pass. It is a temporary repeal for two years until 7/1/12.
We tried very hard to kill these bills, but the repeal of these sales tax exemptions and seven others are fast-tracked and being pushed hard by the Governor and leadership in both the House and Senate.
Pete
Peter M. Meersman
President & CEO
Colorado Restaurant Association
HB10-1289;
ReplyDeletehttp://www.leg.state.co.us/CLICS/CLICS2010A/csl.nsf/fsbillcont3/602C31F57B1D43A6872576B0008280F2?Open&file=1289_01.pdf
Telecommunications Sales Tax Exemption
LISTON—SCHEFFEL.
Say what!!! I do recognize who the prime sponsors are, but am I seeing this correctly? Are they truly considering adding an exemption during a session in which they are eliminating so many? I’m not sure how to reconcile this with say the industrial fuel exemption elimination or the software tax. Have we seen a fiscal note?
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