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