Eliminating obsolete statutory references regarding property, sales, and income taxes; the uniform unclaimed property act; and lottery games. (FE)

Electronic assessment rolls Under current law, when a board of review changes an assessor's valuation of property, the clerk is required to revise the assessment roll by using red ink to cross out the assessor's valuation and enter the board's valuation. The bill modifies the requirement to reflect the use of electronic assessment rolls. Under the bill, the clerk is required to enter the board's valuation and a note about the change to the assessor's valuation into the assessment roll, but there is no requirement to use red ink or to cross out the assessor's valuation.

Internet equipment in the broadband market The bill eliminates obsolete tax deductions, credits, and exemptions for certain Internet equipment used in the broadband market and purchased before July 1, 2009.

Objecting to property tax assessments Under current law, when the local board of review conducts a hearing to consider an objection to a person's property tax assessment, the board must, at the request of the assessor or the person making an objection, compel the attendance of witnesses. The bill eliminates the option for the person making the objection to request the attendance of witnesses. This option was included in 2007 Wisconsin Act 86 . However, the state supreme court found the entire act to be unconstitutional in Metropolitan Associates v. City of Milwaukee , 2011 WI 20. Another act, 2017 Wisconsin Act 358 , repealed other provisions the court found unconstitutional under Metropolitan Associates .

Sales tax exemption certificates Under current law, drugs prescribed for the treatment of a human being by a person authorized to prescribe the drugs, and dispensed on prescription filled by a pharmacist, are exempt from the sales tax. Generally, a person does not need to present to the seller a sales tax exemption certificate issued by DOR to claim the exemption.

Under current law, insulin furnished by a pharmacist to a person for treatment of diabetes as directed by a physician is considered to be dispensed on prescription and, therefore, exempt from the sales tax. However, a person must present a tax exemption certificate to claim the exemption. The bill modifies the exemption for insulin so that insulin furnished by a pharmacist to a person for treatment of diabetes of a human being is exempt from the sales tax and the purchaser is not required to present an exemption certificate.

Current law also provides sales tax exemptions for patient health care records that are sold to the patient and for farm-raised fish sold to a fish farm. In order to claim either exemption, the purchaser must present to the seller an exemption certificate issued by DOR. The bill eliminates the requirement that a purchaser present an exemption certificate to claim the exemption for patient health care records or for farm-raised fish.

Married persons tax credit This bill updates references to, and incorporates definitions from, the Internal Revenue Code for the purpose of claiming the married persons tax credit.

Unclaimed property This bill make technical changes to the state's adoption of the Revised Uniform Unclaimed Property Act. For example, under current law, a “loyalty card” means, in part, a record given without direct monetary consideration under an award, reward, benefit, loyalty, incentive, rebate, or promotional program. The bill creates the term “financial organization loyalty card” and defines that term, in part, as a card or electronic record given without direct monetary consideration under an award, reward, benefit, loyalty, incentive, rebate, or promotional program established by a financial organization.

Lottery games With regard to lottery games, current law requires that all drawings to select among winning numbers, among entries, or among finalists must be recorded on both videotape and audiotape. This bill modifies that provision so that all such drawings must be documented with a video and audio recording.

The bill also eliminates an obsolete provision related to lottery prizes received on or before October 21, 1998, and payable over a 10-year period. Under current law, the recipient of such a prize had until December 31, 2000, to change the form of the payment from an annuity to a lump-sum payment.