SB-0327, As Passed Senate, May 29, 2013

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SENATE BILL No. 327

 

 

April 23, 2013, Introduced by Senators ROBERTSON, MOOLENAAR, PROOS, MARLEAU, BRANDENBURG and PAVLOV and referred to the Committee on Finance.

 

 

 

     A bill to amend 1941 PA 122, entitled

 

"An act to establish the revenue collection duties of the

department of treasury; to prescribe its powers and duties as the

revenue collection agency of this state; to prescribe certain

powers and duties of the state treasurer; to establish the

collection duties of certain other state departments for money or

accounts owed to this state; to regulate the importation, stamping,

and disposition of certain tobacco products; to provide for the

transfer of powers and duties now vested in certain other state

boards, commissions, departments, and offices; to prescribe certain

duties of and require certain reports from the department of

treasury; to provide procedures for the payment, administration,

audit, assessment, levy of interests or penalties on, and appeals

of taxes and tax liability; to prescribe its powers and duties if

an agreement to act as agent for a city to administer, collect, and

enforce the city income tax act on behalf of a city is entered into

with any city; to provide an appropriation; to abolish the state

board of tax administration; to prescribe penalties and provide

remedies; and to declare the effect of this act,"

 

by amending section 4 (MCL 205.4), as amended by 2002 PA 657.

 

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:

 

     Sec. 4. (1) Not later than 1 year after the effective date of

 

this section, December 23, 2003, the department of treasury shall


 

submit rules for a public hearing pursuant to the administrative

 

procedures act of 1969, 1969 PA 306, MCL 24.201 to 24.328, that

 

provide for all of the following:

 

     (a) Standards to be followed by department officers and

 

employees for the fair and courteous treatment of the public, and a

 

system for monitoring compliance with those standards.

 

     (b) The procedures governing an informal conference held under

 

section 21. These procedures shall include at least all of the

 

following:

 

     (i) A method by which the department attempts to schedule the

 

informal conference at a mutually convenient time and place.

 

     (ii) A requirement that the department include in the notice

 

for the informal conference the scope and nature of the subject of

 

the informal conference.

 

     (iii) Authorization for the taxpayer at whose request the

 

informal conference is being held to make a sound recording of the

 

informal conference with prior notice to the department and for the

 

department to do the same with prior notice to the taxpayer.

 

     (2) Not later than 1 year after the effective date of this

 

section, December 23, 2003, the department shall develop guidelines

 

to govern departmental employee responses to inquiries from the

 

public and standards for tax audit activities. The guidelines shall

 

explicitly exclude the use of a collection goal or quota for

 

evaluating an employee. The department shall assemble the

 

guidelines required by this subsection into an employee handbook.

 

However, the handbook shall not disclose information or parameters

 

excluded from disclosure under section 28(1)(f). The department


 

shall distribute the handbook to all departmental employees

 

involved in the collection or auditing of taxes and shall make the

 

handbook available to the public.

 

     (3) Beginning October 1, 2013, the department of treasury,

 

employees of the department of treasury, and third-party

 

consultants, contractors, and agents and their employees or those

 

under their direction or control involved in the administration,

 

collection, or auditing of taxes or other money or fees, including

 

unclaimed property, administered by the department of treasury are

 

subject to both of the following:

 

     (a) Are prohibited from using collection goals, budgets, or

 

quotas in actions or decisions relating to the administration,

 

audit, assessment, or collection of money or fees administered by

 

the department of treasury.

 

     (b) Shall be independent and carry out their duties and

 

responsibilities without bias as to the application of the

 

governing statutes and rules which shall be applied. All statutes

 

and rules shall be fairly, consistently, and equally applied to all

 

taxpayers.

 

     (4) If it is determined that any employee, consultant,

 

contractor, agent, or their employees took an action or made a

 

decision impacting a taxpayer based on targeted collection goals,

 

budgets, or quotas, including the potential for revenue loss to the

 

state not supported by statute or law, that action or decision

 

shall be subject to review as provided for in section 21. In

 

addition to the review provided for in section 21, an employee may

 

be subject to disciplinary actions as described in section 28(2).


 

Costs and fees, including attorney fees, may be ordered to be paid

 

by the department of treasury to reimburse a taxpayer for

 

contesting the unauthorized action described in this subsection.

 

     (5) (3) The department shall publish a handbook for taxpayers

 

and tax preparers. The handbook shall be made available at a

 

reasonable cost, not to exceed the actual cost of publication, and

 

shall contain all of the following:

 

     (a) The audit and collection procedures used by the

 

department.

 

     (b) The procedures governing departmental communications with

 

taxpayers in the audit and collection process.