An Act To Amend the Definition of "Eligible Business Equipment for the Purposes of the Business Equipment Tax Exemption Program
Maine Legislature, Session 128, LD 1212
Committee: Taxation
Sponsors: KATZ, SPEAR, GRATWICK, MIRAMANT
Amends: 36 MRSA §652, 36 MRSA §691

Legislative Document
No. 1212
S.P. 406
In Senate, March 28, 2017
An Act To Amend the Definition of "Eligible Business Equipment" 
for the Purposes of the Business Equipment Tax Exemption 
Program
Reference to the Committee on Taxation suggested and ordered printed.
HEATHER J.R. PRIEST
Secretary of the Senate
Presented by Senator KATZ of Kennebec.
Cosponsored by Representative SPEAR of South Thomaston and
Senators: GRATWICK of Penobscot, MIRAMANT of Knox.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1.  36 MRSA §652, sub-§1, ¶K, as amended by PL 2009, c. 425, §1, is 
repealed. 
Sec. 2.  36 MRSA §691, sub-§1, ¶A, as amended by PL 2009, c. 571, Pt. II, §1 
and affected by §5, is further amended to read: 
A.  "Eligible business equipment" means qualified property that, in the absence of 
this subchapter, would first be subject to assessment under this Part on or after April 
1, 2008.  "Eligible business equipment" includes, without limitation, repair parts, 
replacement parts, replacement equipment, additions, accessions and accessories to 
other qualified business property that first became subject to assessment under this 
Part before April 1, 2008 if the part, addition, equipment, accession or accessory 
would, in the absence of this subchapter, first be subject to assessment under this Part 
on or after April 1, 2008.  "Eligible business equipment" also includes inventory 
parts.  For property tax years beginning on or after April 1, 2017, "eligible business 
equipment" includes the personal property leased by a benevolent and charitable 
organization that is exempt from taxation under section 501 of the Code and the 
primary purpose of which is the operation of a hospital licensed by the Department of 
Health and Human Services, a health maintenance organization or a blood bank. 
"Eligible business equipment" does not include: 
(1) Office furniture, including, without limitation, tables, chairs, desks, 
bookcases, filing cabinets and modular office partitions; 
(2) Lamps and lighting fixtures used primarily for the purpose of providing 
general purpose office or worker lighting; 
(3) Property owned or used by an excluded person; 
(4) Telecommunications personal property subject to the tax imposed by section 
457; 
(5)  Gambling machines or devices, including any device, machine, paraphernalia 
or equipment that is used or usable in the playing phases of any gambling activity 
as that term is defined in Title 8, section 1001, subsection 15, whether that 
activity consists of gambling between persons or gambling by a person involving 
the playing of a machine. "Gambling machines or devices" includes, without 
limitation: 
(a)  Associated equipment as defined in Title 8, section 1001, subsection 2; 
(b)  Computer equipment used directly and primarily in the operation of a 
slot machine as defined in Title 8, section 1001, subsection 39; 
(c)  An electronic video machine as defined in Title 17, section 1831, 
subsection 4; 
(d)  Equipment used in the playing phases of lottery schemes; and 
(e)  Repair and replacement parts of a gambling machine or device;  
(6)  Property located at a retail sales facility and used primarily in a retail sales 
activity unless the property is owned by a business that operates a retail sales 
facility in the State exceeding 100,000 square feet of interior customer selling 
space that is used primarily for retail sales and whose Maine-based operations 
derive less than 30% of their total annual revenue on a calendar year basis from 
sales that are made at a retail sales facility located in the State.  For purposes of 
this subparagraph, the following terms have the following meanings: 
(a)  "Primarily" means more than 50% of the time; 
(b)  "Retail sales activity" means an activity associated with the selection and 
purchase of goods or services or the rental of tangible personal property.  
"Retail sales activity" does not include production as defined in section 1752, 
subsection 9-B; and 
(c)  "Retail sales facility" means a structure used to serve customers who are 
physically present at the facility for the purpose of selecting and purchasing 
goods or services at retail or for renting tangible personal property.  "Retail 
sales facility" does not include a separate structure that is used as a 
warehouse or call center facility;  
(7)  Property that is not entitled to an exemption by reason of the additional 
limitations imposed by subsection 2; or 
(8)  Personal property that would otherwise be entitled to exemption under this 
subchapter used primarily to support a telecommunications antenna used by a 
telecommunications business subject to the tax imposed by section 457. 
Sec. 3.  Application.  That section of this Act that repeals the Maine Revised 
Statutes, Title 36, section 652, subsection 1, paragraph K applies to tax years beginning 
on or after April 1, 2017. 
SUMMARY 
This bill changes the statutory location of the tax exemption for personal property 
occupied or used solely for its own purposes by an incorporated benevolent and 
charitable organization that is exempt from taxation under section 501 of the Code and 
the primary purpose of which is the operation of a hospital licensed by the Department of 
Health and Human Services, a health maintenance organization or a blood bank.  This bill 
moves the exemption from the statutes regarding exemption of real and personal 
property, since the exemption no longer applies to real property, to the definition of 
"eligible business equipment" for the purposes of defining personal property that is 
exempt from property tax under the business equipment tax exemption, or "BETE," 
program.