By: Carona S.B. No. 1533
(Ratliff)
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to municipal sales and use tax remittances by certain
retailers.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subdivision (3), Subsection (a), Section
321.002, Tax Code, is amended to read as follows:
(3)(A) [(3)] "Place of business of the retailer" means
an established outlet, office, or location operated by the retailer
or the retailer's agent or employee for the purpose of receiving
orders for taxable items and includes any location at which three or
more orders are received by the retailer during a calendar year. A
warehouse, storage yard, or manufacturing plant is not a "place of
business of the retailer" unless at least three orders are received
by the retailer during the calendar year at the warehouse, storage
yard, or manufacturing plant.
(B) An outlet, office, facility, or any location
that contracts with a retail or commercial business to process for
that business invoices, purchase orders, bills of lading, or other
equivalent records onto which sales tax is added, including an
office operated for the purpose of buying and selling taxable goods
to be used or consumed by the retail or commercial business, is not
a "place of business of the retailer" if the comptroller determines
that the outlet, office, facility, or location functions or exists
to avoid the tax legally due under [imposed by] this chapter or
exists solely to rebate a portion of the tax imposed by this chapter
to the contracting business. An outlet, office, facility, or
location does not exist to avoid the tax legally due under this
chapter or solely to rebate a portion of the tax imposed by this
chapter if the outlet, office, facility, or location provides
significant business services, beyond processing invoices, to the
contracting business, including logistics management, purchasing,
inventory control, or other vital business services.
(C) Notwithstanding any other provision of this
subdivision, a kiosk is not a "place of business of the retailer."
In this subdivision, "kiosk" means a small stand-alone area or
structure that:
(i) [(A)] is used solely to display
merchandise or to submit orders for taxable items from a data entry
device, or both;
(ii) [(B)] is located entirely within a
location that is a place of business of another retailer, such as a
department store or shopping mall; and
(iii) [(C)] at which taxable items are not
available for immediate delivery to a customer.
SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act does not
affect tax liability accruing before the effective date of this
Act. That liability continues in effect as if this Act had not been
enacted, and the former law is continued in effect for the
collection of taxes due and for civil and criminal enforcement of
the liability for those taxes.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2013.