Rep. Norm Thurston — Voting Record

Bill

Number

H.B. 40 (2021GS)

Sponsor

Rep. Thurston, N.  (Thurston’s own bill)

Final action

Governor Signed 3/22/2021

Outcome

Became law — signed by Gov. Spencer J. Cox

Summary

What it does

• This bill:
• requires the State Tax Commission to disclose to the Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission whether an individual applying for a license or a licensee is current on state tax obligations.

Every vote on this bill

Bill text

TAX STATUS DISCLOSURE AMENDMENTS
GENERAL SESSION
STATE OF UTAH
Chief Sponsor: Norman K. Thurston
Senate Sponsor: 
Lincoln Fillmore
LONG TITLE
General Description:
This bill requires the State Tax Commission to disclose tax status information to the
Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission related to individuals who are obtaining or
maintaining a license under the Alcoholic Beverage Control Act.
Highlighted Provisions:
This bill:
▸ requires the State Tax Commission to disclose to the Alcoholic Beverage Control
Commission whether an individual applying for a license or a licensee is current on
state tax obligations.
Money Appropriated in this Bill:
None
Other Special Clauses:
None
Utah Code Sections Affected:
AMENDS:
59-1-403
, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2020, Chapter 294
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
Section 1. Section 
59-1-403
 is amended to read:
59-1-403.
Confidentiality -- Exceptions -- Penalty -- Application to property tax.
(1) (a) Any of the following may not divulge or make known in any manner any
information gained by that person from any return filed with the commission:
(i) a tax commissioner;
(ii) an agent, clerk, or other officer or employee of the commission; or
(iii) a representative, agent, clerk, or other officer or employee of any county, city, or
town.
(b) An official charged with the custody of a return filed with the commission is not
required to produce the return or evidence of anything contained in the return in any action or
proceeding in any court, except:
(i) in accordance with judicial order;
(ii) on behalf of the commission in any action or proceeding under:
(A) this title; or
(B) other law under which persons are required to file returns with the commission;
(iii) on behalf of the commission in any action or proceeding to which the commission
is a party; or
(iv) on behalf of any party to any action or proceeding under this title if the report or
facts shown by the return are directly involved in the action or proceeding.
(c) Notwithstanding Subsection (1)(b), a court may require the production of, and may
admit in evidence, any portion of a return or of the facts shown by the return, as are specifically
pertinent to the action or proceeding.
(2) This section does not prohibit:
(a) a person or that person's duly authorized representative from receiving a copy of
any return or report filed in connection with that person's own tax;
(b) the publication of statistics as long as the statistics are classified to prevent the
identification of particular reports or returns; and
(c) the inspection by the attorney general or other legal representative of the state of the
report or return of any taxpayer:
(i) who brings action to set aside or review a tax based on the report or return;
(ii) against whom an action or proceeding is contemplated or has been instituted under
this title; or
(iii) against whom the state has an unsatisfied money judgment.
(3) (a) Notwithstanding Subsection (1) and for purposes of administration, the
commission may by rule, made in accordance with Title 63G, Chapter 3, Utah Administrative
Rulemaking Act, provide for a reciprocal exchange of information with:
(i) the United States Internal Revenue Service; or
(ii) the revenue service of any other state.
(b) Notwithstanding Subsection (1) and for all taxes except individual income tax and
corporate franchise tax, the commission may by rule, made in accordance with Title 63G,
Chapter 3, Utah Administrative Rulemaking Act, share information gathered from returns and
other written statements with the federal government, any other state, any of the political
subdivisions of another state, or any political subdivision of this state, except as limited by
Sections 
59-12-209
 and 
59-12-210
, if the political subdivision, other state, or the federal
government grant substantially similar privileges to this state.
(c) Notwithstanding Subsection (1) and for all taxes except individual income tax and
corporate franchise tax, the commission may by rule, in accordance with Title 63G, Chapter 3,
Utah Administrative Rulemaking Act, provide for the issuance of information concerning the
identity and other information of taxpayers who have failed to file tax returns or to pay any tax
due.
(d) Notwithstanding Subsection (1), the commission shall provide to the director of the
Division of Environmental Response and Remediation, as defined in Section 
19-6-402
, as
requested by the director of the Division of Environmental Response and Remediation, any
records, returns, or other information filed with the commission under Chapter 13, Motor and
Special Fuel Tax Act, or Section 
19-6-410.5
 regarding the environmental assurance program
participation fee.
(e) Notwithstanding Subsection (1), at the request of any person the commission shall
provide that person sales and purchase volume data reported to the commission on a report,
return, or other information filed with the commission under:
(i) Chapter 13, Part 2, Motor Fuel; or
(ii) Chapter 13, Part 4, Aviation Fuel.
(f) Notwithstanding Subsection (1), upon request from a tobacco product manufacturer,
as defined in Section 
59-22-202
, the commission shall report to the manufacturer:
(i) the quantity of cigarettes, as defined in Section 
59-22-202
, produced by the
manufacturer and reported to the commission for the previous calendar year under Section
59-14-407
; and
(ii) the quantity of cigarettes, as defined in Section 
59-22-202
, produced by the
manufacturer for which a tax refund was granted during the previous calendar year under
Section 
59-14-401
 and reported to the commission under Subsection 
59-14-401
(1)(a)(v).
(g) Notwithstanding Subsection (1), the commission shall notify manufacturers,
distributors, wholesalers, and retail dealers of a tobacco product manufacturer that is prohibited
from selling cigarettes to consumers within the state under Subsection 
59-14-210
(2).
(h) Notwithstanding Subsection (1), the commission may:
(i) provide to the Division of Consumer Protection within the Department of
Commerce and the attorney general data:
(A) reported to the commission under Section 
59-14-212
; or
(B) related to a violation under Section 
59-14-211
; and
(ii) upon request, provide to any person data reported to the commission under
Subsections 
59-14-212
(1)(a) through (c) and Subsection 
59-14-212
(1)(g).
(i) Notwithstanding Subsection (1), the commission shall, at the request of a committee
of the Legislature, the Office of the Legislative Fiscal Analyst, or the Governor's Office of
Management and Budget, provide to the committee or office the total amount of revenues
collected by the commission under Chapter 24, Radioactive Waste Facility Tax Act, for the
time period specified by the committee or office.
(j) Notwithstanding Subsection (1), the commission shall make the directory required
by Section 
59-14-603
 available for public inspection.
(k) Notwithstanding Subsection (1), the commission may share information with
federal, state, or local agencies as provided in Subsection 
59-14-606
(3).
(l) (i) Notwithstanding Subsection (1), the commission shall provide the Office of
Recovery Services within the Department of Human Services any relevant information
obtained from a return filed under Chapter 10, Individual Income Tax Act, regarding a taxpayer
who has become obligated to the Office of Recovery Services.
(ii) The information described in Subsection (3)(l)(i) may be provided by the Office of
Recovery Services to any other state's child support collection agency involved in enforcing
that support obligation.
(m) (i) Notwithstanding Subsection (1), upon request from the state court
administrator, the commission shall provide to the state court administrator, the name, address,
telephone number, county of residence, and social security number on resident returns filed
under Chapter 10, Individual Income Tax Act.
(ii) The state court administrator may use the information described in Subsection
(3)(m)(i) only as a source list for the master jury list described in Section 
78B-1-106
.
(n) (i) As used in this Subsection (3)(n):
(A) "GOED" means the Governor's Office of Economic Development created in
Section 
63N-1-201
.
(B) "Income tax information" means information gained by the commission that is
required to be attached to or included in a return filed with the commission under Chapter 7,
Corporate Franchise and Income Taxes, or Chapter 10, Individual Income Tax Act.
(C) "Other tax information" means information gained by the commission that is
required to be attached to or included in a return filed with the commission except for a return
filed under Chapter 7, Corporate Franchise and Income Taxes, or Chapter 10, Individual
Income Tax Act.
(D) "Tax information" means income tax information or other tax information.
(ii) (A) Notwithstanding Subsection (1) and except as provided in Subsection
(3)(n)(ii)(B) or (C), the commission shall at the request of GOED provide to GOED all income
tax information.
(B) For purposes of a request for income tax information made under Subsection
(3)(n)(ii)(A), GOED may not request and the commission may not provide to GOED a person's
address, name, social security number, or taxpayer identification number.
(C) In providing income tax information to GOED, the commission shall in all
instances protect the privacy of a person as required by Subsection (3)(n)(ii)(B).
(iii) (A) Notwithstanding Subsection (1) and except as provided in Subsection
(3)(n)(iii)(B), the commission shall at the request of GOED provide to GOED other tax
information.
(B) Before providing other tax information to GOED, the commission shall redact or
remove any name, address, social security number, or taxpayer identification number.
(iv) GOED may provide tax information received from the commission in accordance
with this Subsection (3)(n) only:
(A) as a fiscal estimate, fiscal note information, or statistical information; and
(B) if the tax information is classified to prevent the identification of a particular
return.
(v) (A) A person may not request tax information from GOED under Title 63G,
Chapter 2, Government Records Access and Management Act, or this section, if GOED
received the tax information from the commission in accordance with this Subsection (3)(n).
(B) GOED may not provide to a person that requests tax information in accordance
with Subsection (3)(n)(v)(A) any tax information other than the tax information GOED
provides in accordance with Subsection (3)(n)(iv).
(o) Notwithstanding Subsection (1), the commission may provide to the governing
board of the agreement or a taxing official of another state, the District of Columbia, the United
States, or a territory of the United States:
(i) the following relating to an agreement sales and use tax:
(A) information contained in a return filed with the commission;
(B) information contained in a report filed with the commission;
(C) a schedule related to Subsection (3)(o)(i)(A) or (B); or
(D) a document filed with the commission; or
(ii) a report of an audit or investigation made with respect to an agreement sales and
use tax.
(p) Notwithstanding Subsection (1), the commission may provide information
concerning a taxpayer's state income tax return or state income tax withholding information to
the Driver License Division if the Driver License Division:
(i) requests the information; and
(ii) provides the commission with a signed release form from the taxpayer allowing the
Driver License Division access to the information.
(q) Notwithstanding Subsection (1), the commission shall provide to the Utah
Communications Authority, or a division of the Utah Communications Authority, the
information requested by the authority under Sections 
63H-7a-302
, 
63H-7a-402
, and
63H-7a-502
.
(r) Notwithstanding Subsection (1), the commission shall provide to the Utah
Educational Savings Plan information related to a resident or nonresident individual's
contribution to a Utah Educational Savings Plan account as designated on the resident or
nonresident's individual income tax return as provided under Section 
59-10-1313
.
(s) Notwithstanding Subsection (1), for the purpose of verifying eligibility under
Sections 
26-18-2.5
 and 
26-40-105
, the commission shall provide an eligibility worker with the
Department of Health or its designee with the adjusted gross income of an individual if:
(i) an eligibility worker with the Department of Health or its designee requests the
information from the commission; and
(ii) the eligibility worker has complied with the identity verification and consent
provisions of Sections 
26-18-2.5
 and 
26-40-105
.
(t) Notwithstanding Subsection (1), the commission may provide to a county, as
determined by the commission, information declared on an individual income tax return in
accordance with Section 
59-10-103.1
 that relates to eligibility to claim a residential exemption
authorized under Section 
59-2-103
.
(u) Notwithstanding Subsection (1), the commission shall provide a report regarding
any access line provider that is over 90 days delinquent in payment to the commission of
amounts the access line provider owes under Title 69, Chapter 2, Part 4, Prepaid Wireless
Telecommunications Service Charges, to the board of the Utah Communications Authority
created in Section 
63H-7a-201
.
(v) Notwithstanding Subsection (1), the commission shall provide the Department of
Environmental Quality a report on the amount of tax paid by a radioactive waste facility for the
previous calendar year under Section 
59-24-103.5
.
(w) Notwithstanding Subsection (1), the commission may, upon request, provide to the
Department of Workforce Services any information received under Chapter 10, Part 4,
Withholding of Tax, that is relevant to the duties of the Department of Workforce Services.
(x) Notwithstanding Subsection (1), the commission may provide the Public Service
Commission or the Division of Public Utilities information related to a seller that collects and
remits to the commission a charge described in Subsection 
69-2-405
(2), including the seller's
identity and the number of charges described in Subsection 
69-2-405
(2) that the seller collects.
(y) Notwithstanding Subsection (1), the commission shall provide the Alcoholic
Beverage Control Commission, upon request, with taxpayer status information related to state
tax obligations necessary to comply with the requirements described in Section 
32B-1-203
.
(4) (a) Each report and return shall be preserved for at least three years.
(b) After the three-year period provided in Subsection (4)(a) the commission may
destroy a report or return.
(5) (a) Any individual who violates this section is guilty of a class A misdemeanor.
(b) If the individual described in Subsection (5)(a) is an officer or employee of the
state, the individual shall be dismissed from office and be disqualified from holding public
office in this state for a period of five years thereafter.
(c) Notwithstanding Subsection (5)(a) or (b), GOED, when requesting information in
accordance with Subsection (3)(n)(iii), or an individual who requests information in
accordance with Subsection (3)(n)(v):
(i) is not guilty of a class A misdemeanor; and
(ii) is not subject to:
(A) dismissal from office in accordance with Subsection (5)(b); or
(B) disqualification from holding public office in accordance with Subsection (5)(b).
(6) Except as provided in Section 
59-1-404
, this part does not apply to the property tax.