An Act Making Technical Changes to the Maine Tax Laws
Maine Legislature, Session 129, LD 2008
Committee: Taxation
Sponsors: TIPPING
Amends: 30-A MRSA §5227, 30-A MRSA §5250-A, 33 MRSA §203, 36 MRSA §208, 36 MRSA §655, 36 MRSA §686, 36 MRSA §4641-B, 36 MRSA §4641-D, 36 MRSA §6232, 36 MRSA §1752, 36 MRSA §2873, 36 MRSA §4401, 36 MRSA §191, 36 MRSA §1861-A, 36 MRSA §5147, 36 MRSA §5206, 36 MRSA §5219-R, 36 MRSA §5219-V, 36 MRSA §5234, 36 MRSA §177, 36 MRSA §194-D, 36 MRSA §4119

Legislative Document
No. 2008
H.P. 1429
House of Representatives, January 14, 2020
An Act Making Technical Changes to the Maine Tax Laws
Submitted by the Department of Administrative and Financial Services pursuant to Joint 
Rule 203.
Reference to the Committee on Taxation suggested and ordered printed.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative TIPPING of Orono.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
PART A
Sec. A-1.  30-A MRSA §5227, sub-§3, ¶D, as amended by PL 2011, c. 101, §20, 
is further amended to read:
D.  Annually return to the municipal or plantation general fund any tax increment 
revenues remaining in the development sinking fund account established under 
paragraph A in excess of those estimated to be required to satisfy the obligations of 
the development sinking fund account after taking into account any transfers made 
under paragraph C.  The municipality or plantation, at any time during the term of the 
district, by vote of the municipal or plantation officers, may return to the municipal or 
plantation general fund any tax increment revenues remaining in the project cost 
account established under paragraph A in excess of those estimated to be required to 
satisfy the obligations of the development project cost account after taking into 
account any transfer made under paragraph C.  In either case, the corresponding 
amount of local valuation may not be included as part of the captured assessed value 
as specified by the municipality or plantation.
Sec. A-2.  30-A MRSA §5250-A, sub-§3, ¶D, as enacted by PL 2003, c. 426, §1, 
is amended to read:
D.    Annually return to the municipal general fund any tax increment revenues 
remaining in the affordable housing development sinking fund account established 
under paragraph A in excess of those estimated to be required to satisfy the 
obligations of the development sinking fund account after taking into account any 
transfers made under paragraph C. The municipality, at any time during the term of 
the district, by vote of the municipal officers, may return to the municipal general 
fund any tax increment revenues remaining in the project cost account established 
under paragraph A in excess of those estimated to be required to satisfy the 
obligations of the development project cost account after taking into account any 
transfer made under paragraph C. In either case, the corresponding amount of local 
valuation may not be included as part of the captured assessed value as specified by 
the municipality.
Sec. A-3.  33 MRSA §203, first ¶, as amended by PL 1999, c. 699, Pt. D, §20 and 
affected by §30, is further amended to read:
Deeds and all other written instruments before recording in the registries of deeds, 
except those issued by a court of competent jurisdiction and duly attested by the proper 
officer thereof, and excepting plans and notices of foreclosure of mortgages and certain 
financing statements as provided in Title 11, section 9-1501, subsection (1), paragraph 
(a), and excepting notices of liens for internal revenue taxes and certificates discharging 
such liens and excepting notices of liens for taxes assessed pursuant to Title 36, Part 1 
and Parts 3 to 8 and Title 26, chapter 13, and releases discharging such liens, and 
excepting notices of liens for taxes assessed pursuant to Title 36, Part 2 when filed by the 
State Tax Assessor, and releases discharging such liens, must be acknowledged by the 
grantors, or by the persons executing any such written instruments, or by one of them, or 
by their attorney executing the same, or by the lessor in a lease or one of the lessors or 
lessor's attorney executing the same, before a notary public in the State, or before an 
attorney-at-law duly admitted and eligible to practice in the courts of the State, if within 
the State; or before any clerk of a court of record having a seal, notary public or 
commissioner appointed by the Governor of this State for the purpose, or a commissioner 
authorized in the State state where the acknowledgment is taken, within the United States; 
or before a minister, vice-consul or consul of the United States or notary public in any 
foreign country.
Sec. A-4.  36 MRSA §208, as amended by PL 2019, c. 379, Pt. A, §1 and c. 401, 
Pt. A, §2, is repealed and the following enacted in its place:
§208.  Equalization
The State Tax Assessor has the duty of equalizing the state and county taxes among 
all municipalities and the unorganized territory. The State Tax Assessor shall equalize 
and adjust the assessment list of each municipality by adding to or deducting from it such 
amount as will make it equal to its just value as of April 1st. Notice of the proposed 
valuations of municipalities within each county must be sent annually to the municipal 
officers of each municipality within that county on or before the first day of October. The 
valuation so determined is subject to review by the State Board of Property Tax Review 
pursuant to subchapter 2-A, but the valuation finally certified to the Secretary of State 
pursuant to section 381 must be used for all computations required by law to be based 
upon the state valuation with respect to municipalities.
Sec. A-5.  36 MRSA §655, sub-§1, ¶B, as amended by PL 2005, c. 652, §1 and 
affected by §3, is further amended to read:
B.  Stock-in-trade, including inventory held for resale by a distributor, wholesaler, 
retail merchant or service establishment.  "Stock-in-trade" also includes an 
unoccupied manufactured home housing, as defined in Title 10, section 9002, 
subsection 7, paragraph A or C, that was not previously occupied at its present 
location, that is not connected to water or sewer and that is owned and offered for 
sale by a person licensed for the retail sale of manufactured homes housing pursuant 
to Title 10, chapter 951, subchapter 2;
Sec. A-6.  36 MRSA §686, as enacted by PL 1997, c. 643, Pt. HHH, §3 and 
affected by §10, is amended to read:
§686.  Denial of homestead exemption; appeals
If the assessor determines that a property is not entitled to a homestead exemption 
under this subchapter, the assessor shall promptly provide a notice of denial, including 
the reasons for the denial, to the applicant by either personal delivery or regular mail.  An 
applicant may appeal a denial of an exemption under this subchapter using the procedures 
provided in subchapter VIII 8.  If the assessor determines that a property receiving an 
exemption under this subchapter any year within the 10 preceding years was not eligible 
for the exemption, the assessor shall immediately notify the bureau in writing.
Sec. A-7.  36 MRSA §4641-B, sub-§2, as enacted by PL 2001, c. 559, Pt. I, §4 
and affected by §15, is amended to read:
2.  Transfer or acquisition of controlling interest in entity with fee interest in 
real property.  A person transferring or acquiring a controlling interest in an entity with 
a fee interest in real property for which a deed is not given shall report the transfer or 
acquisition to the register of deeds in the county or counties in which the real property is 
located within 30 days of the transfer or acquisition on a return in the form of an affidavit 
furnished by the State Tax Assessor.  The return must be signed by both the transferor 
and the transferee and accompanied by payment of the tax due.  When the real property is 
located in more than one county, the tax must be divided among the counties in the same 
proportion in which the real property is distributed among the counties.  Disputes 
between 2 or more counties as to the proper amount of tax due to them as a result of a 
particular transaction must be decided by the State Tax Assessor upon the written petition 
of an official authorized to act on behalf of any such county.
Sec. A-8.  36 MRSA §4641-B, sub-§7, as enacted by PL 2013, c. 521, Pt. A, §2, 
is amended to read:
7.  Assignment of rights in or connected with foreclosed real property.  A person 
assigning rights in or connected with title to foreclosed real property for which a deed is 
not given, including rights as high bidder at the public sale pursuant to Title 14, section 
6323, shall report the assignment to the register of deeds in the county or counties in 
which the real property is located within 30 days of the assignment on a return in the 
form of an affidavit furnished by the State Tax Assessor.  The State Tax Assessor shall 
provide for the collection of the tax in the same manner as in subsection 1 as if the 
assignment were a transfer of real property by deed.  The return must be signed by both 
the transferor and the transferee and accompanied by payment of the tax due.  When the 
real property is located in more than one county, the tax must be divided among the 
counties in the same proportion in which the real property is distributed among the 
counties.  Disputes between 2 or more counties as to the proper amount of tax due to 
them as a result of a particular transaction must be decided by the State Tax Assessor 
upon the written petition of an official authorized to act on behalf of any such county.  
This subsection applies to assignments made during the time between the judgment of 
foreclosure and the transfer of the foreclosed real property by deed.
Sec. A-9.  36 MRSA §4641-D, first ¶, as amended by PL 2007, c. 437, §14, is 
further amended to read:
Except as otherwise provided in this section, any deed, when offered for recording, 
and any report of a transfer of a controlling interest must be accompanied by a 
declaration, signed by the parties to the transaction or their authorized representatives, 
declaring of the value of the property transferred and indicating the taxpayer 
identification numbers of the grantor and grantee, if they are business entities.  The 
declaration of value with regard to a transfer by deed must include evidence of 
compliance with section 5250-A.  The declaration of value must identify the tax map and 
parcel number of the property transferred unless a tax map does not exist that includes 
that property, in which event the declaration must indicate that an appropriate tax map 
does not exist.  The following are exempt from these requirements:
Sec. A-10.  36 MRSA §6232, sub-§1-A, as amended by PL 2019, c. 36, §1, is 
further amended to read:
1-A.  Volunteer program.  A municipality may by ordinance adopt a program that 
permits claimants who are at least 60 years of age to earn benefits up to a an annual 
maximum of $1,000 or 100 times the state minimum hourly wage under Title 26, section 
664, subsection 1, whichever is greater, by volunteering to provide services to the 
municipality.  A program adopted under this subsection does not need to meet the 
requirements of subsection 1, paragraph B or C.  Benefits provided under this subsection 
must be related to the amount of volunteer service provided.  Benefits received under this 
subsection may not be considered income for purposes of Part 8.  A municipality may by 
ordinance establish procedures and additional standards of eligibility for a program 
adopted under this subsection.
PART B
Sec. B-1.  36 MRSA §1752, sub-§11, ¶B, as amended by PL 2019, c. 401, Pt. B, 
§4, is further amended by amending subparagraph (15) to read:
(15)  The sale of positive airway pressure equipment and supplies and oxygen 
delivery equipment for rental for personal use to a person engaged in the business 
of renting positive airway pressure equipment and oxygen delivery equipment;
Sec. B-2.  36 MRSA §2873, sub-§1, as amended by PL 2003, c. 467, §6, is 
further amended to read:
1.  Monthly returns required; payment Payment of estimated tax liability.  On or 
before the 15th day of each month, each person subject to the tax imposed by this chapter 
shall submit to the assessor a return on a form prescribed and furnished by the assessor.  
Each return must be accompanied by a payment of an amount equal to 1/12 of the 
person's estimated tax liability for the entire current state fiscal year or facility fiscal year 
or, in the case of a facility taxed on the basis of a partial facility fiscal year after June 30, 
2003, an amount equal to a fraction of the estimated liability in which the denominator is 
the number of months remaining in the facility fiscal year and the numerator is one.  A 
person may estimate its tax liability for the current state fiscal year or facility fiscal year 
by applying the tax rates provided by section 2872 to the most recent state fiscal year or 
facility fiscal year for which a Medicaid cost report has been finally settled and is no 
longer open to audit adjustment or correction, as long as the fiscal year in question began 
no earlier than 3 years prior to the beginning of the current fiscal year; in the event that 
the information necessary to prepare this estimate is not available, an estimate may be 
prepared on the basis of the reconciliation return most recently submitted or, if the first 
such return has not yet been filed submitted, then on the basis of the revenues formally 
reported by the facility in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles.  
Regardless of the method used for preparing the estimate, the estimate may include 
adjustments to reflect changes in the number of licensed or certified beds or extraordinary 
changes in payment rates.  Once a taxpayer has made its first monthly payment for a state 
fiscal year or facility fiscal year pursuant to this subsection, the monthly amount must 
remain fixed throughout the fiscal year unless the assessor authorizes a change.  If the 
person's estimated annual tax liability as reported and paid pursuant to this subsection 
does not equal the tax imposed on that person by section 2872, any adjustments necessary 
to reconcile the estimated tax with the correct tax amount must be made pursuant to 
subsection 2.
Sec. B-3.  36 MRSA §4401, sub-§9, ¶C, as enacted by PL 2019, c. 530, Pt. A, §2 
and affected by §7, is amended to read:
C.  Any product that contains adult use marijuana subject to tax under Title 28-B, 
section 1001 chapter 723; or
Sec. B-4.  Retroactive application.  That section of this Part that amends the 
Maine Revised Statutes, Title 36, section 1752, subsection 11, paragraph B applies 
retroactively to sales occurring on or after January 1, 2012.
PART C
Sec. C-1.  36 MRSA §191, sub-§2, ¶HHH, as enacted by PL 2019, c. 386, §1, is 
amended to read:
HHH.  The disclosure to the Office of Program Evaluation and Government 
Accountability and the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction 
over taxation matters pursuant to section 5219-VV, subsection  4  5, paragraph B C of 
the revenue loss, including the loss due to refundable credits, attributable to each 
taxpayer claiming the tax credit for major food processing and manufacturing facility 
expansion provided under that section, regardless of the number of persons eligible 
for the credit.
Sec. C-2.  36 MRSA §1861-A, as amended by PL 2019, c. 441, §6, is further 
amended to read:
§1861-A.  Reporting use tax on individual income tax returns
The assessor shall provide that individuals report use tax on items with a sale price of 
$5,000 or less on their Maine individual income tax returns.  Taxpayers are required to 
attest to the amount of their use tax liability for the period of the tax return.  
Alternatively, they may elect to report an estimated use tax liability amount that is .04% 
of their Maine adjusted gross income.  A taxpayer electing to satisfy a use tax liability by 
estimating it shall calculate the liability in accordance with the use tax table.  The 
estimated liability is applicable only to purchases of any individual items each having a 
sale price no greater than $1,000.  For each taxable item with a sale price greater than 
$1,000 but no more than $5,000, the actual use tax liability for each purchase must be 
added to the amount of the estimated liability derived from the use tax table use tax equal 
to .04% of a taxpayer's Maine adjusted gross income.  Upon subsequent review, if use tax 
liability for the period of the return exceeds the amount of use tax paid with the return, a 
credit of that amount paid relative to the item or items being supplementarily assessed is 
allowed.  Use tax on any item with a sale price of more than $5,000 must be reported in 
accordance with section 1951-A.
Sec. C-3.  36 MRSA §5147, as enacted by PL 2019, c. 401, Pt. C, §7, is amended 
to read:
§5147.  Installment sale election
Notwithstanding any provision of this Part to the contrary, an individual who 
transferred, during the taxable year, real or tangible property located in this State under an 
installment sale agreement may elect to recognize, for purposes of determining the 
taxable income under this chapter, the total gain or loss from that sale in the taxable year 
of the transfer, or to recognize any remaining gain or loss in a subsequent tax year to the 
extent of the gain or loss not reported in a prior tax year.  An election under this section is 
not available to an individual unless that individual is a nonresident of this State at the 
time of the transfer or at the time the election is made.  An election under this section 
must be made on a timely filed original income tax return, including if filed by any 
extension granted for filing the return, and, once made, is irrevocable.
Sec. C-4.  36 MRSA §5206, last ¶, as enacted by PL 2005, c. 608, §1 and 
affected by §5, is amended to read:
In each taxable year in which a financial institution sustains a book net operating loss, 
a credit must be allowed against the franchise tax on assets under subsection 1.  The 
credit must be computed by multiplying the book net operating loss Maine net income by 
the applicable franchise tax rate imposed by subsection 1, paragraph A.  The total amount 
of any credit allowed may not exceed the franchise tax on assets due under subsection 1, 
paragraph B.  In any tax year in which there is excess credit, the excess credit must be 
carried forward for no more than the next 5 tax years and may be applied against the tax 
computed under subsection 1.
Sec. C-5.  36 MRSA §5219-RR, sub-§9, ¶A, as enacted by PL 2017, c. 361, §2, 
is amended to read:
A.  On or before March 1st annually, a certified applicant shall file a report with the 
commissioner for the tax year ending during the immediately preceding calendar 
year, referred to in this paragraph subsection as the "report year," containing the 
following information:
(1)  The employment of the certified applicant for the report year, including 
specific information on:
(a)  The number of qualified employees that are employed by the certified 
applicant at the end of the report year;
(b)  The total number of qualified employees hired during the report year; 
and
(c)  The number of qualified employees in positions that are covered by a 
collective bargaining agreement;
(2)  The total dollar amount of payroll associated with employment in the report 
year, including specific information on:
(a)  The average annual salary and wages for qualified employees; and
(b)  The median annual salary and wages for qualified employees;
(3)  The total dollar amount that was spent on goods and services obtained from 
businesses with an office in the State from which business operations in the State 
are managed; and
(4)  The incremental level of qualified investments made during the report year, 
including specific information on:
(a)  The amount of qualified investment in facility, production equipment and 
employee training and development, reported as an aggregate sum;
(b)  The portion of the qualified investment reported under subparagraph (a) 
that was spent on goods and services from businesses with an office in the 
State from which business operations in the State are managed; and
(c)  Whether the certified applicant has qualified for the additional credit 
under subsection 3, paragraph B.
The commissioner may prescribe forms for the annual reports required under this 
paragraph. The commissioner shall provide copies of the report to the State Tax 
Assessor and to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction 
over taxation matters at the time the report is received. 
Sec. C-6.  36 MRSA §5219-RR, sub-§9, ¶C, as enacted by PL 2017, c. 361, §2, 
is amended to read:
C.  The By December 31st of each year, the State Tax Assessor shall report to the 
joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over taxation matters 
the revenue loss during each state fiscal the report year as a result of this section for 
each taxpayer claiming the credit and, if necessary, shall include updated revenue 
loss amounts for any previous tax year. For purposes of this paragraph, "revenue 
loss" means the credit claimed by the taxpayer and allowed pursuant to this section.
Sec. C-7.  36 MRSA §5219-VV, sub-§5, as enacted by PL 2019, c. 386, §2, is 
amended to read:
5.  Reporting required.  A certified applicant, the commissioner and the assessor are 
required to make reports pursuant to this subsection.
A.  On or before March 1st of each year, a certified applicant shall file a report with 
the commissioner for the tax year ending during the immediately preceding calendar 
year, referred to in this paragraph subsection as "the report year," containing the 
following information:
(1)  The number of full-time employees based in the State of the certified 
applicant on the last day of the tax year ending during the calendar year 
immediately preceding the report year; and
(2)  The incremental amount of qualified investment made in the report year.
The commissioner may prescribe forms for the annual report described in this 
paragraph.  The commissioner shall provide copies of the report to the assessor, to the 
Office of Program Evaluation and Government Accountability and to the joint 
standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over taxation matters at the 
time the report is received.
B.  By April 1st of each year, the commissioner shall report to the Office of Program 
Evaluation and Government Accountability and to the joint standing committee of the 
Legislature having jurisdiction over taxation matters aggregate data on employment 
levels and qualified investment amounts of certified applicants for each year that the 
certified applicant claimed a credit under this section, and the assessor shall report to 
the Office of Program Evaluation and Government Accountability and to the 
committee the revenue loss during the previous calendar year, including the loss due 
to refundable credits, as a result of this section for each taxpayer claiming the credit.
C.  By December 31st of each year, the assessor shall report to the Office of Program 
Evaluation and Government Accountability and to the joint standing committee of the 
Legislature having jurisdiction over taxation matters the revenue loss during the 
report year as a result of this section for each taxpayer claiming the credit and, if 
necessary, shall include updated revenue loss amounts for any previous tax year. For 
purposes of this paragraph, "revenue loss" means the credit claimed by the taxpayer 
and allowed pursuant to this section, consisting of the amount of the credit used to 
reduce the tax liability of the taxpayer and the amount of the credit refunded to the 
taxpayer, stated separately.
Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, the reports provided under this 
subsection are public records as defined in Title 1, section 402, subsection 3.
Sec. C-8.  36 MRSA §5234, as enacted by PL 1975, c. 660, §9, is repealed.
Sec. C-9.  Application; retroactivity.  That section of this Part that amends the 
Maine Revised Statutes, Title 36, section 1861-A applies to individual income tax years 
beginning on or after January 1, 2020.  That section of this Part that amends Title 36, 
section 5147 applies retroactively to tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2019.
PART D
Sec. D-1.  36 MRSA §177, sub-§2, as amended by PL 1999, c. 414, §8, is further 
amended to read:
2.  Responsible individual.  Each person required to collect taxes that are designated 
by subsection 1 as trust funds shall inform the State Tax Assessor, at the time an audit of 
that person's trust fund obligation is performed by the assessor, of the name and position 
of the each individual who generally is responsible for the control or management of that 
person's funds or finances and, if different, the each individual who is specifically 
responsible for the collection and paying over of those trust funds.
Sec. D-2.  36 MRSA §194-D, sub-§1, ¶A, as enacted by PL 2019, c. 343, Pt. G, 
§13, is amended by amending subparagraph (2) to read:
(2)  A contractor for the bureau, including the contractor's employees, 
subcontractors and subcontractors' employees, who provides or is assigned to 
provide services to the bureau under an identified contract. For the purposes of 
this subparagraph, "identified contract" means a contract that the assessor 
determines involves access or the substantial possibility of access to the bureau's 
information technology systems or to confidential tax information;
Sec. D-3.  36 MRSA §194-D, sub-§1, ¶D is enacted to read:
D.  "Identified contract" means a contract that the assessor determines involves 
access or the substantial possibility of access to the bureau's information technology 
systems or to confidential tax information.
Sec. D-4.  36 MRSA §194-D, sub-§2, ¶A, as enacted by PL 2019, c. 343, Pt. G, 
§13, is amended to read:
A.  As part of the process of evaluating an affected person, except for a current 
employee of the bureau, for employment with the bureau, a background investigation 
must be conducted before an offer of employment is extended.
Sec. D-5.  36 MRSA §4119, as enacted by PL 2017, c. 474, Pt. G, §2, is amended 
to read:
§4119.  Annual adjustments for inflation
Beginning in 2018 and each year thereafter, on or about September 15th, for the 
estates of decedents who die during the succeeding calendar year, the assessor shall 
multiply the cost-of-living adjustment by the dollar amount contained in section 4102, 
subsection 5 applicable to estates of decedents dying on or after January 1, 2018. For the 
purposes of this section, the "cost-of-living adjustment" is the Chained Consumer Price 
Index for the 12-month period ending June 30th of the preceding calendar year divided by 
the Chained Consumer Price Index for the 12-month period ending June 30, 2017.  If the 
dollar amount, adjusted by the application of the cost-of-living adjustment, is not a 
multiple of $10,000, any increase must be rounded to the nearest multiple of $10,000.
SUMMARY
Part A makes the following changes to the property tax laws.
1.  It clarifies the time period when excess tax increment revenues can be transferred 
by a municipality to the municipality's general fund.
2.  It removes the requirement that a notice of a tax lien pursuant to the Maine 
Revised Statutes, Title 36, Part 2 contain the signature of a notary public, when filed by 
the State Tax Assessor.
3.  It resolves a conflict created when 2 public laws amended the same section of law 
in different ways and updates the notice of proposed state valuation provision by 
requiring the notice to be made to the municipal officers of the municipality instead of the 
chair of the board of assessors or the chair of the board of selectmen.
4.  It changes the term "manufactured home" to "manufactured housing" to match the 
defined term in Title 10.
5.  It conforms a cross-reference to legislative drafting manual standards.
6.  It removes the signature requirements under the real estate transfer tax laws with 
respect to assignation of rights in relation to foreclosed real property.
7.  It clarifies that the municipal property tax assistance program benefits cap is an 
annual cap.
Part B makes the following changes to the sales tax laws.
1.  It clarifies in the exclusion to the definition of "retail sale" for sales and use tax 
purposes that the sale of positive airway pressure equipment for rental for personal use to 
a person engaged in the business of renting positive airway pressure equipment also 
includes oxygen delivery equipment.  The clarification applies retroactively to sales 
occurring on or after January 1, 2012.
2.  It removes the requirement under the health care provider tax provision that a 
return be submitted with the monthly estimated payment.
3.  It corrects a cross-reference to the marijuana excise tax.
Part C makes the following changes to the income tax laws.
1.  It clarifies that information regarding the tax credit for major food processing and 
manufacturing facility expansion provided to the Office of Program Evaluation and 
Government Accountability is exempt from the confidentiality statute and corrects cross-
references related to the disclosure of that information.
2.  It removes the requirement that a tax table be used to calculate use tax reportable 
on individual income tax returns. The change applies to individual income tax years 
beginning on or after January 1, 2020.
3.  It strikes references to losses in the Maine income tax law regarding the 
installment sale of Maine real or tangible property.  Because a taxpayer must already 
report the entire loss in the year of the sale for both federal and Maine income tax 
purposes, what is purported to be an option to accelerate the claim of the loss under 
Maine income tax law has no purpose or practical effect.  Removing the references to 
such losses clarifies the law and is intended to mitigate taxpayer confusion.
4.  It clarifies that the net operating loss credit under the financial institutions 
franchise tax is computed by multiplying Maine net income by the applicable franchise 
tax rate.
5.  It delays the State Tax Assessor's yearly reporting requirement for the tax credit 
for Maine shipbuilding facility investment until December 31st, clarifies that the report is 
for the tax year ending during the immediately preceding calendar year and defines the 
term "revenue loss" for the purposes of the State Tax Assessor's annual reporting 
requirement.  These changes effect consistency with the reporting requirements for the 
credit for major business headquarters expansion, as amended by Public Law 2017, 
chapter 375, and the credit for major food processing and manufacturing facility 
expansion.
6.  It delays the State Tax Assessor's yearly reporting requirement for the tax credit 
for major food processing and manufacturing facility expansion until December 31st of 
each year, clarifies that the report is for the tax year ending during the immediately 
preceding calendar year and defines the term "revenue loss" for the purposes of the State 
Tax Assessor's annual reporting requirement.  These changes effect consistency with the 
reporting requirements for the credit for major business headquarters expansion, as 
amended by Public Law 2017, chapter 375, and the credit for Maine shipbuilding facility 
investment.
7.  It repeals the provision of law that requires the calculation of income tax using 
blended tax rates for fiscal year filers when there is a change in tax rate that does not refer 
to the first day of the taxable year.
Part D makes the following changes to the tax laws.
1.  It clarifies that one or more responsible individuals may be designated to collect 
trust fund taxes under the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 36, section 177.
2.  It clarifies that the definition of "identified contract" applies to all of Title 36, 
section 194-D concerning Maine Revenue Services background investigations.
3.  It clarifies that an additional background investigation is not required when a 
person who is currently employed by Maine Revenue Services applies for another 
position within Maine Revenue Services.
4.  It codifies the practice of rounding the Maine estate tax exclusion amount cost-of-
living adjustment to the nearest multiple of $10,000.