NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
 
BILL NUMBER: A8344
SPONSOR: Cunningham
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the tax law, in relation to requiring a sales tax educa-
tion course for new businesses and lowering the statute of limitations
for sales tax liability to ten years
 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
Requires new businesses to take a sales tax education course and lowers
the statute of limitations for sales tax liability to ten years
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 adds section 1149 to the tax law to require the commissioner
to create a course to educate new businesses on the process of imposing
and collecting sales tax
Section 2 amends section 174-b of the tax law to adjust the sales tax
liability enforcement window
Section 3 sets the effective date for April 1, 2024 and allows for the
addition, amendment, or repeal of any rules or regulations necessary to
implement this by the effective date
 
JUSTIFICATION:
Taxes are unavoidable many times and are convoluted in how their respec-
tive processes work. We can create more transparency and support small
businesses by requiring a course be made available to them that goes
over the sales tax law and its interaction with their business. The hope
is that there will be more businesses who know the benefits of this tax
and how they can best work in the established parameters.
This bill would also adjust the liability enforcement window of time for
sales tax. In many cases, by the time the sales tax liability reaches 15
years there is no way for the business to pay this back because the
business has dissolved and is no longer operating. By lowering the limit
to 10 years, it is more likely that the business will still be an entity
that can be collected from. The hope is that by the time the limit is
being reached that the accounts liable have a higher likelihood of still
existing.
 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New bill.
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
None.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
April 1, 2024
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
8344
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
December 13, 2023
___________
Introduced by M. of A. CUNNINGHAM -- read once and referred to the
Committee on Ways and Means
AN ACT to amend the tax law, in relation to requiring a sales tax educa-
tion course for new businesses and lowering the statute of limitations
for sales tax liability to ten years
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The tax law is amended by adding a new section 1149 to read
2 as follows:
3 § 1149. Sales tax education course. The commissioner shall create an
4 online course to educate new businesses on the process of imposing and
5 collecting sales tax. Such online course shall include an examination.
6 Upon completion of such online course, new businesses shall receive a
7 certification in a form and manner to be determined by the commissioner.
8 Upon the first payment of sales tax to the state, each new business
9 shall be required to provide proof of such certification.
10 § 2. Section 174-b of the tax law is amended by adding a new subdivi-
11 sion 1-a to read as follows:
12 1-a. Notwithstanding subdivision one of this section, beginning April
13 first, two thousand twenty-four:
14 (a) A sales tax liability shall not be enforceable and every such tax
15 liability shall be extinguished after ten years from the first date a
16 warrant could be filed by the commissioner, if the warrant for such tax
17 liability was filed by the commissioner after April first, two thousand
18 fourteen.
19 (b) A sales tax liability shall not be enforceable and every such tax
20 liability shall be extinguished after fifteen years from the first date
21 a warrant could be filed by the commissioner, if the warrant for such
22 tax liability was filed by the commissioner after April first, two thou-
23 sand nine and on or before April first, two thousand fourteen.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD13465-01-3
A. 8344 2
1 (c) A sales tax liability shall not be enforceable and every such
2 sales tax liability shall be extinguished on April first, two thousand
3 twenty-four, if the warrant for such tax liability was filed by the
4 commissioner on or before April first, two thousand nine.
5 § 3. This act shall take effect on April 1, 2024. Effective immediate-
6 ly, the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation
7 necessary for the implementation of this act on its effective date are
8 authorized to be made on or before such effective date.