83R10657 DDT-D
By: Zedler H.B. No. 2343
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the waiver of penalties and interest on taxes unpaid due
to an act or omission of an agent of a governmental entity.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Sections 33.011(a) and (d), Tax Code, are
amended to read as follows:
(a) The governing body of a taxing unit:
(1) shall waive penalties and [may provide for the
waiver of] interest on a delinquent tax if an act or omission of an
officer, employee, or agent of a [the] taxing unit, [or the]
appraisal district, or other political subdivision or governmental
entity [in which the taxing unit participates] caused or resulted
in the taxpayer's failure to pay the tax before delinquency and if
the tax is paid not later than the 21st day after the date the
taxpayer knows or should know of the delinquency;
(2) may waive penalties and provide for the waiver of
interest on a delinquent tax if:
(A) the property for which the tax is owed is
acquired by a religious organization; and
(B) before the first anniversary of the date the
religious organization acquires the property, the organization
pays the tax and qualifies the property for an exemption under
Section 11.20 as evidenced by the approval of the exemption by the
chief appraiser under Section 11.45; and
(3) may waive penalties and provide for the waiver of
interest on a delinquent tax if the taxpayer submits evidence
showing that:
(A) the taxpayer attempted to pay the tax before
the delinquency date by mail;
(B) the taxpayer mailed the tax payment to an
incorrect address that in a prior tax year was the correct address
for payment of the taxpayer's tax;
(C) the payment was mailed to the incorrect
address within one year of the date that the former address ceased
to be the correct address for payment of the tax; and
(D) the taxpayer paid the tax not later than the
21st day after the date the taxpayer knew or should have known of
the delinquency.
(d) A request for a waiver of penalties and interest under
Subsection (a)(3) [(a)(1) or (3)], (b), or (h) must be made before
the 181st day after the delinquency date. A request for a waiver of
penalties and interest under Subsection (a)(2) must be made before
the first anniversary of the date the religious organization
acquires the property. To be valid, a waiver of penalties or
interest under this section must be requested in writing. If a
written request for a waiver is not timely made, the governing body
of a taxing unit may not waive any penalties or interest under this
section.
SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies only
to a penalty incurred or interest accrued on or after the effective
date of this Act. A penalty incurred or interest accrued before the
effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the
date the penalty was incurred or the interest was accrued, and that
law is continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2013.