§4718. Contributions; Toxin Monitoring Fund

The State Tax Assessor shall determine annually the total amount of tax revenue collected under this chapter. The State Tax Assessor shall deduct the cost of administering the mahogany quahog tax from those revenues and report the remainder to the Treasurer of State, who shall credit that amount to the Toxin Monitoring Fund established in Title 12, section 6731-A, subsection 5, except that not more than $16,000 may be credited to the fund in any year. Revenues collected that are in excess of $16,000 must be credited to the General Fund.

SUMMARY

This bill reduces the tax on mahogany quahogs landed in the State from $1.20 per bushel to 50¢ per bushel. Additionally, the bill requires that all revenues received from this tax be credited to the Toxin Monitoring Fund and that any money not used for monitoring the level of paralytic shellfish toxin in mahogany quahogs be used for research, population studies and support of the mahogany quahog fishery.