General Assembly Raised Bill No. 5546
February Session, 2014 LCO No. 2448
*02448_______FIN*
Referred to Committee on FINANCE, REVENUE AND BONDING
Introduced by:
(FIN)
General Assembly
Raised Bill No. 5546
February Session, 2014
LCO No. 2448
*02448_______FIN*
Referred to Committee on FINANCE, REVENUE AND BONDING
Introduced by:
(FIN)
AN ACT IMPLEMENTING CERTAIN RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE AUDITORS OF PUBLIC ACCOUNTS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:
Section 1. Subsection (b) of section 12-15 of the 2014 supplement to the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2014):
(b) The commissioner may disclose (1) returns or return information to (A) an authorized representative of another state agency or office, upon written request by the head of such agency or office, when required in the course of duty or when there is reasonable cause to believe that any state law is being violated, or (B) an authorized representative of an agency or office of the United States, upon written request by the head of such agency or office, when required in the course of duty or when there is reasonable cause to believe that any federal law is being violated, provided no such agency or office shall disclose such returns or return information, other than in a judicial or administrative proceeding to which such agency or office is a party pertaining to the enforcement of state or federal law, as the case may be, in a form which can be associated with, or otherwise identify, directly or indirectly, a particular taxpayer except that the names and addresses of jurors or potential jurors and the fact that the names were derived from the list of taxpayers pursuant to chapter 884 may be disclosed by the Judicial Branch; (2) returns or return information to the Auditors of Public Accounts, when required in the course of duty under chapter 23; (3) returns or return information to tax officers of another state or of a Canadian province or of a political subdivision of such other state or province or of the District of Columbia or to any officer of the United States Treasury Department or the United States Department of Health and Human Services, authorized for such purpose in accordance with an agreement between this state and such other state, province, political subdivision, the District of Columbia or department, respectively, when required in the administration of taxes imposed under the laws of such other state, province, political subdivision, the District of Columbia or the United States, respectively, and when a reciprocal arrangement exists; (4) returns or return information in any action, case or proceeding in any court of competent jurisdiction, when the commissioner or any other state department or agency is a party, and when such information is directly involved in such action, case or proceeding; (5) returns or return information to a taxpayer or its authorized representative, upon written request for a return filed by or return information on such taxpayer; (6) returns or return information to a successor, receiver, trustee, executor, administrator, assignee, guardian or guarantor of a taxpayer, when such person establishes, to the satisfaction of the commissioner, that such person has a material interest which will be affected by information contained in such returns or return information; (7) information to the assessor or an authorized representative of the chief executive officer of a Connecticut municipality, when the information disclosed is limited to (A) a list of real or personal property that is or may be subject to property taxes in such municipality, or (B) a list containing the name of each person who is issued any license, permit or certificate which is required, under the provisions of this title, to be conspicuously displayed and whose address is in such municipality; (8) real estate conveyance tax return information or controlling interest transfer tax return information to the town clerk or an authorized representative of the chief executive officer of a Connecticut municipality to which the information relates; (9) estate tax returns and estate tax return information to the Probate Court Administrator or to the court of probate for the district within which a decedent resided at the date of the decedent's death, or within which the commissioner contends that a decedent resided at the date of the decedent's death or, if a decedent died a nonresident of this state, in the court of probate for the district within which real estate or tangible personal property of the decedent is situated, or within which the commissioner contends that real estate or tangible personal property of the decedent is situated; (10) returns or return information to the (A) Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management for purposes of subsection (b) of section 12-7a, and (B) Office of Fiscal Analysis for purposes of, and subject to the provisions of, subdivision (2) of subsection (f) of section 12-7b; (11) return information to the Jury Administrator, when the information disclosed is limited to the names, addresses, federal Social Security numbers and dates of birth, if available, of residents of this state, as defined in subdivision (1) of subsection (a) of section 12-701; (12) pursuant to regulations adopted by the commissioner, returns or return information to any person to the extent necessary in connection with the processing, storage, transmission or reproduction of such returns or return information, and the programming, maintenance, repair, testing or procurement of equipment, or the providing of other services, for purposes of tax administration; (13) without written request and unless the commissioner determines that disclosure would identify a confidential informant or seriously impair a civil or criminal tax investigation, returns and return information which may constitute evidence of a violation of any civil or criminal law of this state or the United States to the extent necessary to apprise the head of such agency or office charged with the responsibility of enforcing such law, in which event the head of such agency or office may disclose such return information to officers and employees of such agency or office to the extent necessary to enforce such law; (14) names and addresses of operators, as defined in section 12-407, to tourism districts, as defined in section 10-397; (15) names of each licensed dealer, as defined in section 12-285, and the location of the premises covered by the dealer's license; (16) to a tobacco product manufacturer that places funds into escrow pursuant to the provisions of subsection (a) of section 4-28i, return information of a distributor licensed under the provisions of chapter 214 or chapter 214a, provided the information disclosed is limited to information relating to such manufacturer's sales to consumers within this state, whether directly or through a distributor, dealer or similar intermediary or intermediaries, of cigarettes, as defined in section 4-28h, and further provided there is reasonable cause to believe that such manufacturer is not in compliance with section 4-28i; (17) returns, which shall not include a copy of the return filed with the commissioner, or return information for purposes of section 12-217z; (18) returns or return information to the State Elections Enforcement Commission, upon written request by said commission, when necessary to investigate suspected violations of state election laws; [and] (19) returns or return information for purposes of, and subject to the conditions of, subsection (e) of section 5-240; and (20) returns or return information to the Auditors of Public Accounts for purposes of, and subject to the conditions of, sections 2-90 and 4-61dd.
Sec. 2. Section 12-742 of the general statutes is amended by adding subsection (c) as follows (Effective October 1, 2014):
(NEW) (c) (1) In cases where any person or entity is due a refund of state income taxes and that same person has a delinquent patient account at The University of Connecticut Health Center, the president of The University of Connecticut Health Center shall notify the Commissioner of Administrative Services of such delinquent patient account. The Commissioner of Revenue Services, upon notification by the Commissioner of Administrative Services, shall withhold the payment of such refund to such person to the extent of such delinquent patient account, provided the Commissioner of Revenue Services shall notify such person with the delinquent patient account that he or she has the right to a hearing before an officer designated by the Commissioner of Administrative Services if he or she contests the validity or amount of the Commissioner of Administrative Services' claim. If the person with the delinquent patient account fails to apply in writing to the Commissioner of Administrative Services for a hearing not later than sixty days after the issuance of notice of withholding, the Commissioner of Revenue Services shall remit the amount of the withheld refund to the Commissioner of Administrative Services, who in turn shall remit the amount of such withheld refund to the president of The University of Connecticut Health Center. If the person with the delinquent patient account elects an administrative hearing within such time, the Commissioner of Revenue Services shall remit the amount of the withheld refund in accordance with any decisions of the hearing officer or the court upon an appeal of the hearing officer's decision. If a person with a delinquent patient account at The University of Connecticut Health Center also owes a debt or obligation described in subsection (a) of this section, the refund shall be applied first against the debt or obligation described in subsection (a) of this section before being credited against the delinquent patient account described in this subsection.
(2) The Commissioner of Revenue Services, the Commissioner of Administrative Services and the president of The University of Connecticut Health Center shall enter into an agreement for the crediting of income tax refunds against the amount a taxpayer owes pursuant to subdivision (1) of this subsection. The agreement shall include procedures for The University of Connecticut Health Center to (A) notify the Commissioner of Administrative Services of a delinquent patient account and the amount of such delinquency, and (B) reimburse the Department of Administrative Services and the Department of Revenue Services for any costs incurred by the departments in carrying out the provisions of this subsection.
Sec. 3. Subsections (b) and (c) of section 32-605 of the general statutes are repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2014):
(b) [In lieu of the audit required under section 1-122, the] The board of directors of the authority shall annually contract with a person, firm or corporation for a compliance audit of the authority's activities during the preceding authority fiscal year. The audit shall determine whether the authority has complied with its regulations concerning affirmative action, personnel practices, the purchase of goods and services and the use of surplus funds. The board shall submit the audit report to the Governor, the Auditors of Public Accounts and the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to finance, revenue and bonding.
(c) The board of directors of the authority shall annually contract with a firm of certified public accountants to undertake an independent financial audit of the authority in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards. The board shall submit the audit report to the Governor, the Auditors of Public Accounts and the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to finance, revenue and bonding. [The books and accounts of the authority shall be subject to annual audits by the state Auditors of Public Accounts.]
Sec. 4. Subsection (g) of section 32-657 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2014):
(g) The Stadium Facility Enterprise Fund, the revenue account, the operating expense account and any other account holding state moneys associated with the stadium facility shall be subject to the provisions of sections 3-112, 3-114, 4-32 and 4-33, except to the extent inconsistent with express provisions of this section, and shall be audited [on a comprehensive annual basis] as provided in section 1-122 by the Auditors of Public Accounts. [Such audits shall be conducted at the sole expense of the Auditors of Public Accounts and with advance notice to the secretary.]
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section 1 October 1, 2014 12-15(b)
Sec. 2 October 1, 2014 12-742
Sec. 3 October 1, 2014 32-605(b) and (c)
Sec. 4 October 1, 2014 32-657(g)
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section 1
October 1, 2014
12-15(b)
Sec. 2
October 1, 2014
12-742
Sec. 3
October 1, 2014
32-605(b) and (c)
Sec. 4
October 1, 2014
32-657(g)
Statement of Purpose:
To implement several of the recommendations in the Auditors of Public Accounts' 2013 Annual Report to the General Assembly, including (1) allowing access by the auditors to returns and return information for purposes of their audits and the whistleblower statutes, (2) allowing The University of Connecticut Health Center to be included in the tax intercept program, and (3) amending the audit requirements for the Capital Region Development Authority.
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not underlined.]