Date: 03/15/2006

Final
BILL SUMMARY for SB06-070

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON FINANCE

Votes: View--> Action Taken:
Refer Senate Bill 06-070 to the Committee of the WPASS



01:37 PM -- Senate Bill 06-070 - Concerning Excess Personal Property Tax Refunds

Representative Plant, prime sponsor, explained the provisions of the bill. He explained that Senate Bill 06-070 assures that companies who finance the leasing of equipment in Colorado (lessors) will pay back any excess personal property tax payments that are collected in excess of property taxes owed.

The following person testified:

01:41 PM -- Mr. Bob Hullinghorst, Boulder County Treasurer, testified in support of the bill and distributed a fact sheet on the legislation (Attachment A). He explained the events that led to the bill. Mr. Hullinghorst said that taxpayers in Boulder County who overpaid personal property taxes to a lessor who were not reimbursed for the overpayment, led to the legislation. Mr. Hullinghorst commented that some companies abuse the personal property taxing system and it has led to the requirements under Senate Bill 06-070. He explained further saying that most leases specify that there is a "charge back" on property taxes that are paid on an annual basis. The charge back can either be paid on a monthly or annual basis depending upon the lease. Mr. Hullinghorst closed by saying that mostly smaller businesses are more effected by the collection and rebate process than larger businesses.

The committee questioned whether the rebate issue is more prevalent with larger companies. Mr. Hullinghorst responded by saying that the size of the company may not matter but the issue is a matter of responsiveness and accountability. There are companies that abuse the collections of personal property taxes, in fact, some companies are charging an additional "handling charge" for the collection. Representative Plant concluded by saying that the abuses are the reasons for the penalties in the bill.




BILL:SB06-070
TIME: 01:51:21 PM
MOVED:Judd
MOTION:Refer Senate Bill 06-070 to the Committee of the Whole. The motion passed on a 10-0-3 vote.
SECONDED:Garcia
VOTE
Benefield
Yes
Cloer
Excused
Crane
Yes
Frangas
Excused
Garcia
Yes
Harvey
Yes
Jahn
Yes
Kerr
Excused
Marshall
Yes
Massey
Yes
McCluskey
Yes
Judd
Yes
Vigil
Yes
Final YES: 10 NO: 0 EXC: 3 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS