‘An Act To Refund the Sales Tax Paid on Fuel Used in Commercial Groundfishing Boats’
| HP0162 LD 185 |
First Regular Session - 125th Maine Legislature C "A", Filing Number H-53, Sponsored by
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LR 304 Item 2 |
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| Bill Tracking, Additional Documents | Chamber Status | ||
Amend the bill by striking out the title and substituting the following:
‘An Act To Refund the Sales Tax Paid on Fuel Used in Commercial Groundfishing Boats’
Amend the bill by striking out everything after the title and before the summary and inserting the following:
‘Emergency preamble. Whereas, acts and resolves of the Legislature do not become effective until 90 days after adjournment unless enacted as emergencies; and
Whereas, fuel costs are increasing rapidly and putting Maine commercial groundfishing businesses in financial jeopardy; and
Whereas, it is necessary to enact this legislation as early as possible in the fishing season to alleviate the burden on those businesses; and
Whereas, in the judgment of the Legislature, these facts create an emergency within the meaning of the Constitution of Maine and require the following legislation as immediately necessary for the preservation of the public peace, health and safety; now, therefore,
Sec. 1. 36 MRSA §2013, sub-§1, ¶B-1 is enacted to read:
Sec. 2. 36 MRSA §2013, sub-§2, as amended by PL 2001, c. 396, §24, is further amended to read:
Evidence required by the assessor may include a copy or copies of that portion of the purchaser's or lessee's most recent filing under the United States Internal Revenue Code that indicates that the purchaser or lessee is engaged in commercial agricultural production, commercial fishing or commercial aquacultural production and that the purchased machinery or equipment is depreciable for those purposes or would be depreciable for those purposes if owned by the lessee.
In the event that any piece of machinery or equipment is only partially depreciable under the United States Internal Revenue Code, any reimbursement of the sales tax must be prorated accordingly. In the event that electricity or fuel for a commercial groundfishing boat is used in qualifying and nonqualifying activities, any reimbursement of the sales tax must be prorated accordingly.
Application for refunds must be filed with the assessor within 36 months of the date of purchase or execution of the lease.
Sec. 3. 36 MRSA §2013, sub-§3, as amended by PL 2001, c. 396, §24, is further amended to read:
Sec. 4. 36 MRSA §3218, 3rd ¶, as repealed and replaced by PL 2003, c. 390, §17, is amended to read:
All Except for fuel that qualifies for a refund or exemption under section 2013, all fuel qualifying for a refund under this section is subject to the use tax imposed by chapter 215.
Sec. 5. Application. This Act applies to purchases of fuel for use in a commercial groundfishing boat as defined in the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 36, section 1752, subsection 1-H on or after October 1, 2011.
Emergency clause. In view of the emergency cited in the preamble, this legislation takes effect when approved.’
summary
This amendment limits the tax refund proposed in the bill to the tax paid on fuel for commercial groundfishing boats. It also adds a section to exclude this type of purchase from the use tax as well.