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2015 SESSION

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Senate Committee on Finance

Co-Chair: Walter A. Stosch - Co-Chair: Charles J. Colgan

Clerk: Patty Lung
Staff: Lisa Wallmeyer, Nicole Brenner
Date of Meeting: January 21, 2015
Time and Place: 9:00 a.m. - Senate Room B
Updated to add SB 707

S.B. 678 Real property tax; notice of assessments.

Patron: Watkins

Real property tax; notice of assessments. Clarifies that the information required on the notice of assessment regarding assessments in the immediately prior two tax years refers to the immediately prior two tax years' final assessments.

S.B. 701 Individual income tax refunds; payment.

Patron: Barker

Individual income tax refunds; payment. Requires the Tax Commissioner and State Comptroller to implement procedures to allow an individual to elect to have his income tax refund paid by check mailed to his address. If the individual makes no election on his income tax return as to the method of payment of his refund, the refund would be paid by check mailed to the address provided on his return. The bill applies to individual income tax returns relating to taxable year 2015 and taxable years thereafter.

S.B. 707 Mandatory restitution; damage to Capitol Square or any building, monument, etc., in Capitol Square.

Patron: Carrico

Mandatory restitution; damage to Capitol Square or any building, monument, etc., in Capitol Square. Requires payment of restitution to the Commonwealth for any damage to Capitol Square or any building, monument, statuary, artwork, or other state property in Capitol Square when a person is convicted of damaging such public buildings or convicted of participating in a riot, remaining at the place of a riot or unlawful assembly, or conspiracy or incitement to produce a riot during which such damage was caused.

S.B. 759 Transient occupancy tax; all counties authorizes to impose a tax of up to five percent.

Patron: Lucas

Transient occupancy tax. Authorizes all counties to impose a transient occupancy tax of up to five percent. Current law limits the general transient occupancy tax to two percent. The bill also eliminates the requirement that certain localities currently authorized to impose a five percent transient occupancy tax dedicate any excess over two percent to tourism purposes.

S.B. 774 Admissions tax; all counties authorized to levy.

Patron: Lucas

Admissions tax in counties. Extends the authorization to levy a tax on admissions charged for attendance at any event to all counties and removes specific authorizations deemed unnecessary as a result of this bill.

S.B. 784 Cigarettes; all localities allowed to impose a tax.

Patron: Lucas

Local cigarette taxes. Allows all localities to impose a cigarette tax by removing the requirement that they had such authority prior to 1977. The bill sets a maximum rate on the cigarette tax imposed by counties of five cents per pack or the amount levied under state law, whichever is greater.

S.B. 807 Corporate income tax; lower rate for certain businesses.

Patron: Stanley

Corporate income tax; lower rate for certain businesses. Reduces the corporate income tax rate from six percent to three percent for the first three years after a business located outside Virginia opens a satellite office in a Virginia locality with a population of 200,000 or fewer or after a business located in a Virginia locality with a population exceeding 200,000 opens a satellite office or operation in a Virginia locality with a population of 200,000 or fewer, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2015. The capital investment made by the corporation must be $250,000 or more and the tax reduction may not exceed the amount of that capital investment.

S.B. 810 Income tax; changes credit for low-income taxpayers.

Patron: Edwards

Low-income tax credit; refundable. Changes the low-income tax credit to make any amount that exceeds the taxpayer's income tax liability refundable to the taxpayer beginning in tax year 2015.

S.B. 826 State appropriations; limitations

Patron: Martin

Limit on appropriations. Limits the growth in appropriations from state sources to the growth of Virginia's population plus the rate of inflation.

S.B. 872 Real property; explanation of increased assessment.

Patron: Cosgrove

Assessment of real property; explanation of increased assessment. Requires an assessing officer of a governing body to provide, upon taxpayer request, a written explanation of or justification for an increase in the assessed value of the taxpayer's property.

S.B. 886 Plastic bags; tax imposed in Chesapeake Bay Watershed.

Patron: Petersen

Plastic bag tax in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. Imposes a five-cent bag tax on plastic bags provided to customers by certain retailers in localities located wholly within the Chesapeake Bay Watershed and directs revenues to be used to support the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Implementation Plan. The bill also allows every retailer that collects the tax is allowed to retain one-cent of the five-cent tax.

S.B. 887 Real property; tax on commercial and industrial property in certain localities.

Patron: Petersen

Real property tax on commercial and industrial property. Requires counties to appropriate 30 percent of the revenue from the special tax on commercial and industrial property attributable to property located within any town that constructs and maintains its streets to such town, unless the county and town agree otherwise.

S.B. 905 Educational Improvement Scholarships Tax; norm-referenced tests to be Board approved.

Patron: Howell

Educational Improvement Scholarships Tax; eligible schools; requirements. Requires that any national norm-referenced achievement test used by a nonpublic school that is not accredited by the Virginia Council for Private Education be approved by the Board of Education in order to receive funds derived from the Education Improvement Scholarships Tax Credit. Current law does not require such norm-referenced tests to be Board approved.

S.B. 933 Individual income tax subtraction; discharge of student loan.

Patron: Howell

Individual income tax subtraction; discharge of student loan. Establishes beginning January 1, 2015, an individual income tax subtraction for income attributable to the discharge of a student loan solely by reason of the student's death or total and permanent disability.

S.B. 1004 Electronic cigarettes and other vapor products; state tax created, localities authorized to impose.

Patron: Ebbin

Taxes on electronic cigarettes and other vapor products. Creates a state tax on electronic cigarettes, electronic cigars, electronic cigarillos, and similar products and devices (vapor products) and authorizes cities and towns and certain counties to impose a tax on vapor products. The state tax would be imposed at a rate $0.18 per milliliter of nicotine liquid solution or other material containing nicotine that is depleted as the vapor product is used. All revenues from the state tax on vapor products would be deposited into the Virginia Health Care Fund, into which all revenues from the state tax on cigarettes are currently deposited.

Counties, cities, and towns that are currently authorized to tax cigarettes would be authorized to also tax vapor products at rates determined by the local governing bodies. The bill requires a local governing body imposing the tax to base the tax upon the per milliliter content of nicotine liquid solution or other material containing nicotine that is depleted as the vapor product is used. The bill authorizes Arlington and Fairfax Counties to impose a vapor products tax, but at a rate that does not exceed the state tax on vapor products created under the bill. Under current law, Arlington and Fairfax Counties may impose a tax on cigarettes at a rate that does not exceed the state cigarette tax.

The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2016.

S.B. 1005 Income tax, state; refund payments.

Patrons: Ebbin, Vogel

Individual income tax refunds; payment. Requires the Tax Commissioner and State Comptroller to implement procedures to allow an individual to elect to have his income tax refund paid by check mailed to his address. If the individual makes no election on his income tax return as to the method of payment of his refund, the refund would be paid by check mailed to the address provided on his return. The bill prohibits the usage of prepaid debit cards as a means for the payment of individual income tax refunds. The bill applies to individual income tax returns relating to taxable year 2015 and taxable years thereafter.

S.B. 1010 Taxation, Department of; disclosure of information.

Patron: Howell

Disclosure of information. Authorizes the Department of Taxation to disclose (i) whether a person, firm, or corporation is registered as a retail sales and use tax dealer and whether a certificate of registration number for such tax is valid, (ii) to the developer or the economic development authority of a tourism project tax information facilitating the repayment of gap financing, and (iii) tax information relating to sellers and purchasers of cigarettes or other tobacco products. The Attorney General also would be authorized to disclose tax information relating to sellers and purchasers of cigarettes or other tobacco products.

S.B. 1031 Real property tax exemption; certain leasehold interests.

Patron: Watkins

Real property tax exemption; certain leasehold interests. Authorizes localities to exempt from real property tax the leasehold interest in property in which the lessor is exempt from real property tax and the lessee is entitled to federal rehabilitation tax credits related to the property and uses the property for charitable, literary, scientific, cultural, or educational purposes.

S.B. 1040 License tax; businesses ceasing operations.

Patron: Hanger

License tax; businesses ceasing operations. Allows a person, firm, or corporation that ceases business in one year, but attempts to settle existing, outstanding accounts in the next year, to pay a license tax based on the estimate of the current year's gross receipts instead of the previous year's gross receipts. At the time all accounts are closed, the amount paid shall be adjusted for actual gross receipts. Penalties would apply if the person, firm, or corporation provides an unreasonable estimate, or if the person, firm, or corporation engages in any new business during such a year.

S.B. 1044 Commonwealth's tax code; conformity with federal law; emergency.

Patrons: Stosch, Colgan

Commonwealth's tax code; conformity with federal law; emergency. Advances conformity with the federal tax code from January 2, 2013, to December 31, 2014. The bill contains an emergency clause.

EMERGENCY

S.B. 1051 Biennial appropriation act; changing biennial appropriations.

Patron: McDougle

Biennial appropriation act. Provides that the Commonwealth's biennial appropriations will start on July 1 of odd-numbered years beginning with the biennial appropriation act for the period July 1, 2017, through June 30, 2019. The bill requires that the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2016, would not be a part of any biennial appropriation act (i.e., it would be a single-year transitional budget).

S.B. 1119 Retail Sales and Use Tax; gross proceeds.

Patron: Norment

Sales and use tax; gross proceeds. Provides that "gross proceeds," as it relates to the collection of sales and use tax on the lease or rental of tangible personal property, does not include finance, interest, or other similar charges.

S.B. 1127 Tangible personal property; miscellaneous and incidental property.

Patron: Hanger

Tangible personal property; miscellaneous and incidental property. Declares miscellaneous and incidental property with an original cost of less than $250 as a separate classification of tangible personal property. The bill clarifies that when reporting such property, a taxpayer may provide an aggregate estimate of the total value of such property instead of an itemized list. The bill also authorizes a locality to tax such property at a separate rate of taxation not to exceed the rate imposed on general tangible personal property.

S.B. 1135 Adoption leave; creates new classification for state employee.

Patron: Garrett

Adoption leave benefit. Creates a new classification of paid leave for a state employee who adopts an infant. The amount of leave would be equivalent to the amount of paid leave awarded to an employee pursuant to short-term disability for a birth without medical complications. The Department of Human Resource Management is directed to develop guidelines and policies for implementing the adoption leave benefit.

S.B. 1175 Rental property tax; localities permitted to impose a short-term tax on bicycles.

Patron: Carrico

Short-term rental property tax. Permits localities to impose a short-term rental property tax on bicycles at the rate of $1 per rental or at the rate permitted under current law, which is a rate not to exceed one and one-half percent of the price of the rental.

S.B. 1177 Commissioners of the revenue; production of documents related to tax liability by taxpayer.

Patron: Norment

Commissioners of the revenue; production of documents by taxpayer. Authorizes a commissioner of the revenue to require a taxpayer to produce documents related to his tax liability. Current law authorizes a treasurer to summon a taxpayer and require the production of documents, but authorizes a commissioner of the revenue only to summon a taxpayer.

S.B. 1185 Admissions tax; extends expiration of tax in Stafford County.

Patron: Stuart

Admissions tax in Stafford County; expiration. Extends the expiration of the admissions tax in Stafford County from July 1, 2015, to July 1, 2019.

S.B. 1212 Watercraft sales and use tax.

Patron: Ebbin

Watercraft sales and use tax. Raises the rate of the watercraft sales and use tax, currently 2%, to 4.15%, which is the rate that will be applied to the motor vehicle sales and use tax effective July 1, 2016. The bill removes the current cap of $2,000 on the amount of watercraft sales and use tax that can be levied. The bill maintains the same amount of revenue to the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries.

S.B. 1219 Tangible personal property tax relief; autocycles.

Patron: Reeves

Tangible personal property tax relief; autocycles. Adds autocycles to those motor vehicles that qualify for tangible personal property tax relief. Beginning in 2016, certain localities would be required to apply tangible personal property tax relief to autocycles used for nonbusiness purposes.

S.B. 1229 Real estate with delinquent taxes or liens; special commissioner; City of Fredericksburg.

Patron: Reeves

Real estate with delinquent taxes or liens; appointment of special commissioner; City of Fredericksburg. Adds Fredericksburg to the list of cities with heightened requirements for the appointment of a special commissioner to execute the necessary deed to convey property with delinquent taxes or liens to the locality in lieu of a sale at public auction.

S.B. 1240 Transient occupancy tax; Bland County.

Patron: Chafin

Transient occupancy tax; Bland County. Adds Bland County to the list of counties authorized to impose a transient occupancy tax of up to five percent, with any excess over two percent to be designated solely for tourism purposes.

S.B. 1243 Tangible personal property; miscellaneous and incidental property.

Patron: Deeds

Tangible personal property; miscellaneous and incidental property. Declares miscellaneous and incidental property with an original cost of less than $250 as a separate classification of tangible personal property. The bill clarifies that when reporting such property, a taxpayer may provide an aggregate estimate of the total value of such property instead of an itemized list. The bill also authorizes a locality to tax such property at a separate rate of taxation not to exceed the rate imposed on general tangible personal property.

S.B. 1285 Reduction of the corporate income tax.

Patron: Martin

Reduction of the corporate income tax. Reduces the corporate income tax rate by one percent for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2016, and continues to reduce the corporate income tax rate each taxable year contingent upon general fund revenues exceeding the forecast by one percent for the previous fiscal year.

S.B. 1308 Gas severance tax.

Patron: Chafin

Gas severance tax.