SF 423 - Salvage vehicle registration fees
HF 615 – Rural Improvement Zones
HF 621 – Streamlined sales tax update
FLOOR ACTION:
HF 621 is the annual bill to update Iowa’s sales tax law to maintain compliance with the 24-member state streamlined sales tax coalition. Membership in this coalition allows Iowa to collect a portion of the sales tax owed by online retailers for sales to Iowa residents. The bill updates the state sales tax law to clarify that prepared but uncooked foods (e.g., take-and-bake pizzas) are not subject to the sales tax. This codifies Iowa’s current practice, so there is no change in the taxation of these products. The bill also provides a limited liability protection to online retailers for unpaid sales tax if they relied on advice of the Department of Revenue to determine if they should collect sales tax on certain purchases. [4/20: 48-0 (Bertrand, Johnson absent)]
COMMITTEE ACTION:
SF 423, as amended in committee, provides that a vehicle titled under a salvage certificate of title is exempt from the fee for new registration until the vehicle is repaired and a regular certificate of title is applied for. If the owner of the vehicle is not licensed as a motor vehicle dealer, the fee for new registration is equal to 5 percent of the purchase price of the vehicle. If the salvage title vehicle is resold, the fee for new registration will be 3.25 percent of the purchase price. Another portion of the bill would require all certificates of title, salvage or otherwise to contain a provision stating that under-reporting the purchase price of a vehicle may be punishable by a prison sentence, a fine or both. This is meant to discourage consumers from filing a false bill of sale in an attempt to reduce their fee for new registration. [4/22: short form]
HF 615 updates the Rural Improvement Zone (RIZ) law, which allows for the creation of benefitted lake districts in certain rural counties. The bill is a compromise between county boards of supervisors and RIZ districts. Changes include:
- Clarifying that the county board of supervisors has the option to approve the establishment of an RIZ, and requiring the submission of a professional engineers report with findings on 13 criteria thresholds. Current law only states that the board of supervisors shall approve a petition for the creation of an RIZ.
- Allowing for water quality as an approved expenditure by the RIZ for improvements associated with the district.
- Extending the timeline for a public hearing from 30 days to 60 days from the filing of a petition.
- Requiring a financial report of an RIZ and allowing for their extension for another 20 years.
- Providing for the allocation of the increment revenue from the district between the RIZ and the county. For an RIZ district established prior to July 1, 2014, the base will be protected at a minimum of 60 percent. This means the RIZ district cannot have more than 40 percent of the total valuation allocated. For an RIZ established after July 1, 2004, their base value is less than 40 percent of the value of the total zone used to calculate the assessed value. Thus, these RIZs will receive not more than 60 percent of the value of the total zone for the first 10 years. Once the district has existed for 10 years, the base will be protected at a higher level of 50 percent. This means the RIZ district cannot constitute more than 50 percent of the value of the total zone, and they are limited to that amount from that point forward. [4/22: short form]