1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to taxation; providing retailers a deduction 
  1.3             from the amount of sales tax remitted to compensate 
  1.4             for costs of collecting the tax; amending Minnesota 
  1.5             Statutes 2000, section 289A.31, subdivision 7. 
  1.6   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.7      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 289A.31, 
  1.8   subdivision 7, is amended to read: 
  1.9      Subd. 7.  [SALES AND USE TAX.] (a) The sales and use tax 
  1.10  required to be collected by the retailer under chapter 297A 
  1.11  constitutes a debt owed by the retailer to Minnesota, and the 
  1.12  sums collected must be held as a special fund in trust for the 
  1.13  state of Minnesota. 
  1.14     A retailer who does not maintain a place of business within 
  1.15  this state as defined by section 297A.21, subdivision 1, shall 
  1.16  not be indebted to Minnesota for amounts of tax that it was 
  1.17  required to collect but did not collect unless the retailer knew 
  1.18  or had been advised by the commissioner of its obligation to 
  1.19  collect the tax.  
  1.20     (b) The use tax required to be paid by a purchaser is a 
  1.21  debt owed by the purchaser to Minnesota. 
  1.22     (c) The tax imposed by chapter 297A, and interest and 
  1.23  penalties, is a personal debt of the individual required to file 
  1.24  a return from the time the liability arises, irrespective of 
  1.25  when the time for payment of that liability occurs.  The debt 
  2.1   is, in the case of the executor or administrator of the estate 
  2.2   of a decedent and in the case of a fiduciary, that of the 
  2.3   individual in an official or fiduciary capacity unless the 
  2.4   individual has voluntarily distributed the assets held in that 
  2.5   capacity without reserving sufficient assets to pay the tax, 
  2.6   interest, and penalties, in which case the individual is 
  2.7   personally liable for the deficiency. 
  2.8      (d) Liability for payment of sales and use taxes includes 
  2.9   any responsible person or entity described in the personal 
  2.10  liability provisions of section 270.101. 
  2.11     (e) Any amounts collected, even if erroneously or illegally 
  2.12  collected, from a purchaser under a representation that they are 
  2.13  taxes imposed under chapter 297A are state funds from the time 
  2.14  of collection and must be reported on a return filed with the 
  2.15  commissioner.  The amounts collected are not subject to refund 
  2.16  unless the seller submits written evidence to the commissioner 
  2.17  that the tax and any interest earned on the tax has been or will 
  2.18  be refunded or credited to the purchaser by the seller. 
  2.19     (f) The tax imposed under chapter 297A on sales of tickets 
  2.20  to the premises of or events sponsored by the state agricultural 
  2.21  society and conducted on the state fairgrounds during the period 
  2.22  of the annual state fair may be retained by the state 
  2.23  agricultural society if the funds are used and matched as 
  2.24  required under section 37.13, subdivision 2. 
  2.25     (g) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, a 
  2.26  retailer who is not required by section 289A.20, subdivision 4, 
  2.27  to remit taxes imposed under this chapter by means of electronic 
  2.28  funds transfer in the current year may deduct and retain from 
  2.29  the amount of sales taxes otherwise required to be remitted, if 
  2.30  timely remitted, a retail merchant's collection allowance equal 
  2.31  to the lesser of (i) $100; or (ii) the taxpayer's annual 
  2.32  liability for state sales taxes imposed on items subject to the 
  2.33  general rate under section 297A.62, subdivisions 1 and 3.  
  2.34     Sec. 2.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  2.35     Section 1 is effective for sales and purchases made after 
  2.36  June 30, 2001.