Sec. 21. 36 MRSA §1811, last ¶, as amended by PL 1995, c. 281, §19 and affected by §42, is further amended to read:

Rental or lease of an automobile for one year or more must be taxed at the time of the lease or rental transaction at 6% 5 1/2% of the following: the total monthly lease payment multiplied by the number of payments in the lease or rental, the amount of equity involved in any trade-in and the value of any cash down payment. Collection and remittance of the tax is the responsibility of the person that negotiates the lease transaction with the lessee.

Sec. 22. 36 MRSA §1812, sub-§1, ¶A, as repealed and replaced by PL 1991, c. 591, Pt. XX, §3 and affected by §§7 and 8, is repealed.

Sec. 23. 36 MRSA §1812, sub-§1, ¶A-1 is enacted to read:

A-1.__If the tax rate is 5 1/2%:

Amount of Sale Price________________ Amount of Tax

$0.01 to $0.09, inclusive__________________0¢

.10 to__ .18, inclusive__________________1¢

.19 to__ .36, inclusive__________________2¢

.37 to__ .54, inclusive__________________3¢

.55 to__ .72, inclusive__________________4¢

.73 to__ .90, inclusive__________________5¢

.91 to__1.09, inclusive__________________6¢

1.10 to__1.27, inclusive__________________7¢

1.28 to__1.45, inclusive__________________8¢

1.46 to__1.63, inclusive__________________9¢

1.64 to__1.81, inclusive________________ 10¢

1.82 to__2.00, inclusive________________ 11¢

Sec. 24. 36 MRSA §2521-A, 3rd ¶, as amended by PL 1997, c. 435, §5, is further amended to read:

Insurance companies, captive insurance companies, associations or attorneys-in-fact of a reciprocal insurer with annual tax liability not exceeding $500 may with approval of the State Tax Assessor file an annual return with payment on the last day of January each year or before March 15th covering the prior calendar year.