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PUBLIC LAWS OF MAINE
Second Special Session of the 121st

PART AAA

     Sec. AAA-1. 36 MRSA §1754-B, sub-§2, as enacted by PL 1995, c. 640, §3, is amended to read:

     2. Registration certificates. Application forms for sales tax registration certificates must be prescribed and furnished free of charge by the assessor. The assessor shall issue a registration certificate to each applicant that properly completes and submits an application form. A separate application must be completed and a separate registration certificate issued for each place of business. A registration certificate issued pursuant to this section is nontransferable and is not a license within the meaning of that term in the Maine Administrative Procedure Act. Each application for a registration certificate must contain a statement as to the type or types of items that the applicant intends to purchase for resale, and each retailer registered under this section must inform the assessor in writing of any changes to the type or types of items that it purchases for resale.

When a retailer maintains a place of business in this State, the registration certificate must be conspicuously displayed at that place of business. In the case of a retailer that does not have a fixed place of business and makes sales from one or more motor vehicles, each motor vehicle constitutes a place of business.

     Sec. AAA-2. 36 MRSA §1754-B, sub-§§2-B and 2-C are enacted to read:

     2-B. Provisional resale certificates; new accounts. The assessor shall issue a provisional resale certificate to each applicant for initial registration that states on its application that it expects to make annual gross sales of $10,000 or more. A provisional resale certificate issued between January 1st and September 30th is effective for the duration of the calendar year in which it is issued. A provisional resale certificate issued between October 1st and December 31st is effective until the end of the next succeeding calendar year. Each certificate must contain the name and address of the retailer, the expiration date of the certificate and the certificate number. If a vendor has a true copy of a retailer's resale certificate on file, that retailer need not present the certificate for each subsequent transaction with that vendor during the calendar year for which it is valid.

     2-C. Annual resale certificates; contents; presentation to vendor. The assessor shall annually review the status of each retailer registered under this section. On or before December 31st of each year, the assessor shall issue to each registered retailer with gross sales of $10,000 or more during the 12 months preceding the assessor's review an annual resale certificate effective for the next succeeding calendar year. Each certificate must contain the name and address of the retailer, the expiration date of the certificate and the certificate number. If a vendor has a true copy of a retailer's resale certificate on file, that retailer need not present the certificate for each subsequent transaction with that vendor during the calendar year for which it is valid.

     Sec. AAA-3. 36 MRSA §1811-B is enacted to read:

§1811-B.      Credit for tax paid on purchases for resale

     A retailer registered under section 1754-B may claim a credit for sales tax imposed by chapters 211 to 225 if the retailer has paid the sales tax on an item that it subsequently resells. The credit may be claimed only on the return on which the sale of the item is reported. The credit must be claimed on a return filed within 5 years from the date on which the retailer purchased the item and may not be claimed if the item was used by the retailer prior to its sale.

     Sec. AAA-4. PL 2003, c. 20, Pt. B, §1, under the caption "ADMINISTRATIVE AND FINANCIAL SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF" in the 3rd part designated "Revenue Services - Bureau of 0002" is amended to read:

Revenue Services - Bureau of 0002
Initiative: Provides for the appropriation of Personal Services and All Other funds to establish one limited-period Tax Section Manager position, one limited-period Tax Enforcement Officer position, one limited-period Senior Tax Examiner position, 2 limited-period Senior Revenue Agent positions, one limited-period Revenue Agent position and 5 limited-period Tax Examiner positions for the Tax Amnesty, Enforcement and Withholding on flow throughs initiative within the Maine Revenue Services Bureau. The end date for these positions is the end of fiscal year 2004-05. The Bureau of Revenue Services must report on the success of the tax amnesty and tax enforcement programs by August 15th of each fiscal year to the joint standing committees of the Legislature having jurisdiction over taxation and appropriation and financial affairs matters.
General Fund 2003-04 2004-05

     Sec. AAA-5. Application. Those sections of this Part that amend the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 36, section 1754-B, subsection 2 and enact Title 36, section 1754-B, subsection 2-B apply to sales tax registration certificate applications and provisional and annual resale certificates filed on or after July 1, 2004, or the effective date of this Act, whichever is later.

     Sec. AAA-6. Transition provision. On or before August 15, 2004, the State Tax Assessor shall review the accounts of all registered retailers and identify those retailers that had gross sales of $10,000 or more during the 12 months preceding the assessor's review. The assessor shall issue to those retailers a temporary resale certificate effective until December 31, 2004. Any registered retailer that does not have a provisional resale certificate issued pursuant to the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 36, section 1754-B and has been in business for less than 12 months must also be issued a temporary resale certificate valid until December 31, 2004 if the assessor determines that the retailer's gross sales since registration have been at least $833.33 per month on average.

     Sec. AAA-7. Appropriations and allocations. The following appropriations and allocations are made.

ADMINISTRATIVE AND FINANCIAL SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF
Revenue Services - Bureau of 0002
Initiative: Appropriates Personal Services and All Other funds to establish one Tax Analyst position, 2 Senior Revenue Agent positions and one Tax Examiner position to enhance the corporate income tax audit program within the Bureau of Revenue Services. It is projected that this initiative will result in net additional undedicated revenue to the General Fund in fiscal year 2004-05 of $949,000 in the Income Tax line.
General Fund 2003-04 2004-05

Revenue Services - Bureau of 0002
Initiative: Appropriates funds in the Personal Services line category to reclassify 18 existing Revenue Agent positions to Senior Revenue Agent positions within the Bureau of Revenue Services. Individuals in Revenue Agent positions that are reclassified to Senior Revenue Agent positions and new hires will be required to demonstrate that they have achieved certain competency benchmarks before Senior Revenue Agent pay is awarded. Until the achievement of these benchmarks compensation will be at the Revenue Agent level. The changes will improve the ability of the Bureau of Revenue Services to attract and retain capable auditors in order to respond to the increasing complexity of tax audits.
General Fund 2003-04 2004-05

Revenue Services - Bureau of 0002
Initiative: Appropriates funds in the Personal Services and All Other line categories to establish 4 Principal Revenue Agent positions and 6 Senior Revenue Agent positions within the Sales and Special Fuels Tax Division of the Bureau of Revenue Services in order to increase the number and scope of tax audits. It is projected that this initiative will result in net additional undedicated revenue to the General Fund in fiscal year 2004-05 of $1,898,000 in the Sales Tax line.
General Fund 2003-04 2004-05

Revenue Services - Bureau of 0002
Initiative: Appropriates funds in the Personal Services and All Other line categories to establish one Tax Analyst position and to retain the services of an outside contractor to conduct audits of selected returns. This funding is required to administer the Maine estate tax as it decouples from the federal estate tax. It is projected that this initiative will result in additional undedicated revenue to the General Fund in fiscal year 2004-05 of $200,000 in the Estate Tax line.
General Fund 2003-04 2004-05

Revenue Services - Bureau of 0002
Initiative: Appropriates funds to establish one Management Analyst I position needed to field additional calls from retailers, to monitor monthly and annual issuance of resale certificates, to mail certificates and to resolve errors, issues and returned mail involving these certificates.
General Fund 2003-04 2004-05

Revenue Services - Bureau of 0002
Initiative: Appropriates funds to establish one Management Analyst I position required to coordinate and expand revenue discovery efforts in the Individual Income Tax nonfiler program and to oversee related contractual operations. This initiative will provide for the recognition of additional revenue by identifying leads from Federal Individual Record Master File (IRMF) tapes including information such as W-2s and 1099s. This initiative is projected to generate at least $711,750 in net additional revenue to the General Fund annually.
General Fund 2003-04 2004-05

Revenue Services - Bureau of 0002
Initiative: Appropriates funds to establish one Senior Revenue Agent position and one Senior Tax Examiner position for the enhancement of the insurance premium tax program within the Bureau of Revenue Services. This initiative will provide additional resources to conduct audits, of both federal and state returns, on insurance companies, to redesign forms and instructions and to improve the administration of the insurance premium tax program. It is projected that this initiative will generate $474,000 in net additional revenue to the General Fund.
General Fund 2003-04 2004-05

Revenue Services - Bureau of 0002
Initiative: Appropriates funds to establish one Management Analyst I position required to expand the revenue discovery efforts regarding real estate transfers in the State. It is projected that this initiative will generate $806,650 in new revenue to the General Fund from the discovery of unfiled income tax returns and underreported tax.
General Fund 2003-04 2004-05

ADMINISTRATIVE AND FINANCIAL
SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF
DEPARTMENT TOTALS 2003-04 2004-05

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