Maine Legislature, Session 122, LD 1462
Committee Amendment CA_A_H392 (House)
Amends: 5 MRSA §12004-K, 36 MRSA §187-B, 36 MRSA §2551, 36 MRSA §5142

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT ,t\" to H.P. 1024, L.D. 1462, 
Act To Make Minor Substantive Changes to the Tax Laws" 
Bill, "An 
Amend the bill in section 1 in the indented paragraph in the 
2nd line 
(page 1, 
line 
in L.D.) 
by inserting after the 
following: 
"employees 
of 
the" 
the 
following: 
'Department 
of 
Administrative and Financial Services,' 
Further 
amend 
the bill 
in 
section 
in the 
indented 
paragraph in the next to the last line (page 1, line 14 in L.D.) 
by striking out the following: 
"~" and inserting in its place 
the following: 'g' 
Further amend the bill by inserting after section 1 the 
following: 
'Sec. 2. 5 MRSA §12004-K, sub-§ll-A, as enacted by PL 1997, c. 
411, §1, is repealed.' 
Further amend the bill in section 3 in subsection 5-B in the 
3rd and 4th lines (page 1, lines 36 and 37 in L.D.) by striking 
out the following: 
"50,!> 
of the tax due or $50, 
whichever is 
greater" and inserting in its place the following: '.i2Q' 
Further amend the bill by inserting after section 3 the 
following: 
'Sec. 4. 36 MRSA §187-B, sub-§7, as amended by PL 2001, c. 
396, §10, is further amended to read: 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT ,Jt .. to H.P. 1024, L.D. 1462 
7. 
Reasonable cause. 
For reasonable cause, the State Tax 
Assessor shall waive or abate any penalty imposed by subsection 
1; subsection 2, paragraphs A and B; subsections 4-A aBeL 5-A and 
5-B; or by the terms of the International Fuel Tax Agreement. 
Reasonable cause includes, but is not limited to, the following: 
A. 
The 
erroneous 
Services; 
failure to file or pay 
information provided by 
resulted directly from 
the Bureau of Revenue 
B. 
The failure to file or pay resulted directly from the 
death or serious illness of the taxpayer or a member of the 
taxpayer's immediate family; 
C. 
The failure to file or pay resulted directly from a 
natural disaster; 
D. 
A return that was due monthly was filed and paid less 
than one month late and all of the taxpayer's returns and 
payments during the preceding 12 months were timely; 
E. 
A return that was due other than monthly was filed and 
paid less than one month late and all of the taxpayer's 
returns 
and payments 
during the preceding 
years were 
timely; 
F. 
The 
taxpayer 
has 
supplied 
substantial 
authority 
justifying the failure to file or pay; or 
G. 
The amount subject to a penalty imposed by subsections 
1, 
and 
4-A; 
and 
subsection 
5-A is 
de 
minimis 
when 
considered in relation to the 
amount otherwise properly 
paid, the reason for the failure to file or pay and the 
taxpayer's compliance history. 
The burden of establishing grounds for waiver or abatement is on 
the taxpayer.' 
Further amend the bill by inserting after section 9 the 
following: 
'Sec. 10. 36 MRS A §505, sub-§4, as amended by PL 2001, c. 635, 
§l, is further amended to read: 
4. 
When interest collected. 
The date or dates from and 
after which interest must accrue, which must also be the date or 
dates on which taxes become delinquent. The rate of interest must 
be specified in the vote and must apply to delinquent taxes 
committed during the taxable year until those taxes are paid in 
full. Except as provided in subsection 4-A, the maximum rate of 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT ,t\" to H.P. 1024, L.D. 1462 
interest must be established by the Treasurer of State and may 
not exceed the a~§ae6~-€eB¥eB~ieBa~-~~~~-~~-eaa~-Eet 
eemmete~a~-~~-~&&-9y-~-&aB~i~-4~~4~~~4~-~-~ae 
~~tS~-~~~~-ef-~~-ea~eR4a~-yea~-~~-ve~e-~~-~~~-~ae 
a~§aes~--eGBv&B~i&Ba~-~-~--~~~~--~£~~~eQ--fe~--eemmete~a~ 
~Rsee~tee--~eaRs--sy--Ma~Be--&aR*iB§--iRS~ieQ~ieRS--eR--~ae--~~tse 
s~siBess-~-e~--&aGa-~~--yeat-~-ae-~~~iBeG-~-~ae 
prime rate as published in the Wall Street Journal on the first 
day of September of the preceding calendar year or, if that day 
falls on a weekend or holiday, on the next succeeding business 
day, 
rounded up to the next whole percent plus 3 percentage 
points. 
The Treasurer of Stater-wae shall send a written notice 
of that rate of interest on or before January 20th of each year 
to the chief municipal officer of each municipality. The interest 
must be added to and become part of the taxes.' 
Further amend the bill by striking out all of sections 11, 
and 13. 
Further amend the bill in section 14 in that part designated 
"§1811-B." by striking out all of the indented paragraph (page 8, 
lines 22 to 32 in L.D.) and inserting in its place the following: 
'A retailer registered under section 1754-B may claim a 
credit for sales tax imposed by eaap~e~6-~~-~~-66§ this Part if 
the 
retailer 
has 
paid 
the 
sales 
tax 
on 
aR--~~em--~aa~--i~ 
s~sse~~eB~~y--tese~~s tangible personal property purchased for 
resale at retail sale. 
The credit may be claimed only on the 
return eR-wkiek-~~~~~~-~~-~-i&-~epet~ee that corresponds 
to the period in which the tax was paid. 
The credit m~s~--&e 
e~a~mee-eB-~-~~~~&-~i~ee-w4~~~~-~~-~tem-~£~~~~&-wa~ea 
~ae-~~-ai-l~--p\,lo~&ase4-~£e--i-t-em--aRe may not be claimed if the 
item was-o\:lsee has been withdrawn from inventory by the retailer 
for the retailer's own use prior to its sale. 
If the retailer 
purchases an item for resale at retail sale and pays tax to its 
vendor and if the retailer's sales and use tax liability for the 
tax period in question is less than the credit being claimed, the 
retailer is entitled either to carry the credit forward or to 
receive a refund of the tax paid.' 
Further amend the bill by inserting after section 14 the 
following: 
'Sec. 15. 36 MRSA §2551, sub-§12, as enacted by PL 2003, c. 
673, Pt. V, §25 and affected by §29, is amended to read: 
12. 
Production. 
"Production" 
means 
an 
operation 
or 
integrated series of operations engaged in as 
a business or 
segment of 
a 
business 
that transforms 
or 
converts personal 
property by physical, 
chemical or other means 
into a 
form, 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT ,A" to H.P. 1024, L.D. 1462 
composition 
or 
character 
different 
from 
that 
in 
which 
it 
originally 
existed. 
"Production" 
includes 
film 
production. 
"Production" includes manufacturing, processing, assembling and 
fabricating operations that meet the definitional requisites, 
including biological processes that are part of an integrated 
process of manufacturing organisms 
or microorganic materials 
through the application of biotechnology. 
"Production" does not 
include biological processes except as otherwise provided by this 
subsection, wood harvesting operations, the severance of sand, 
gravel, oil, gas or other natural resources produced or severed 
from 
the soil or water, 
or activities 
such 
as 
cooking or 
preparing drinks, meals, food or food products by a retailer for 
retail sale.' 
Further amend the bill by striking out all of section 19. 
Further amend the bill by striking out all of section 20 and 
inserting in its place the following: 
'Sec. 20. 36 MRSA §5142, sub-§2, ,C, as enacted by PL 2005, c. 
12, Pt. LLLL, §2, is amended to read: 
C. 
Proceeds from any gambling activity conducted in this 
State or lottery tickets purchased in this State, including 
payments received By from a 3rd party for the transfer of 
the 
rights to 
future 
proceeds 
related to 
any 
gambling 
activity or lottery tickets.' 
Further amend the bill in section 22 in subsection 8-A by 
striking out all of paragraphs A and B (page 11, lines 25 to 38 
in L.D.) and inserting in their place the following: 
'A. 
Compensation received during any taxable year after 
2003 for personal services performed in this State as an 
employee prior to January 1. 
2004 is Maine-source income 
subject to taxation under this Part if the nonresident 
taxpayer is present in the State performing the personal 
services for more than 10 days during that taxable year. 
B. 
Compensation received during any taxable year after 2003 
for personal services performed in this State as an employee 
after December 31. 2003 is Maine-source income subject to 
taxation under this Part if the nonresident taxpayer was 
present in the State performing personal services for more 
than 10 days during the year in which the personal services 
were performed.' 
Further amend the bill by inserting after section 28 the 
following: 
COMM/rrEE AMENDMENT 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT ,A .. to H.P. 1024, L.D. 1462 
'Sec. 29. 36 MRSA c. 920, as amended, is repealed.' 
Further amend the bill by striking out all of section 29 
(page 13, lines 30 to 42 in L.D.) and inserting in its place the 
following: 
'Sec. 29. Application. Those sections of this Act that enact 
the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 36, section 187-B, subsection 
5-B and section 193, subsection 2, paragraphs A and B apply to 
returns filed for periods beginning on or after January 1, 2006. 
That section of this Act that amends Title 36, section 1811-B 
applies to sales occurring on or after September 1, 2005. 
That 
section of 
this 
Act 
that 
amends 
Title 
36, 
section 
5250-B, 
subsection 1, paragraph C applies to tax years beginning on or 
after January 1, 2005. 
Those sections of this Act that repeal 
Title 36, section 5142, subsection 8 and enact Title 36, section 
5142, subsection 8-A apply to tax years beginning on or after 
January 1, 2004.' 
Further amend the bill by relettering or renumbering any 
nonconsecutive 
Part 
letter 
or 
section 
number 
to 
read 
consecutively. 
SUMMARY 
This amendment makes technical corrections, adds new minor 
substantive changes to the tax laws and deletes sections that are 
unnecessary, duplicative of changes in other bills or considered 
not to be minor. 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT