SB 89

This bill makes various changes to laws administered by the Department of

Revenue.

Taxation

The bill creates a sales and use tax exemption for patient health care records

sold to the patient or a person that the patient authorizes to receive the records. The

exemption is consistent with a recent Tax Appeals Commission decision. See

Cannon

& Dunphy, S.C. v. Wisconsin Dept. of Revenue

(CCH 401-970).

The bill also provides that tangible personal property transferred by a service

provider in conjunction with the sale of a service is not considered incidental to the

sale if the seller charges a separate and optional fee for the transferred property.

With regard to the county sales tax, the bill prohibits DOR from acting on any

claim for a refund or adjustment of the tax after the end of the year that is four years

after the year in which the county enacts an ordinance to repeal the tax.

The bill also replaces an obsolete reference to the definition of “active foreign

business income” under the Internal Revenue Code with the actual language of that

definition that existed prior to 2011. In addition, the bill modifies the law related to

filing informational returns for the payment of wages, salaries, commissions,

bonuses, and rent so that the same provisions that apply to individuals and

corporations apply to tax-options corporations.

For purposes of claiming a capital gains income tax deferral or exclusion based

on investments in a qualified business, the bill defines “investment” as amounts paid

to acquire stock or other ownership interest in a partnership, corporation, tax-option

corporation, or limited liability company treated as a partnership or corporation.

Under the bill, with regard to the administration of various excise taxes, DOR

must publish on its Internet site a list of persons holding valid permits for the sale

of cigarettes, tobacco products, and fermented malt beverages.

Finally, the bill makes technical changes related to the property tax assessment

roll, filing duplicate paperwork with DOR regarding managed forest land, the

charge-back of refunded or rescinded property taxes, the sales and use tax

exemption for fuel and electricity consumed in manufacturing, and the

administration of the food and beverage taxes imposed by an exposition district.

Unclaimed property

The bill does not require DOR to pay interest to a person who receives the

person's previously unclaimed property from the state if that property is a U.S.

savings bond. Under current law, DOR pays interest on unclaimed property received

by a claimant if the property was interest bearing to the owner on the date that the

person holding the property surrendered it to DOR.

Lottery