Disposed: Bills deleted from Watchlist
 Composite view with notes

Bills CommitteeLast actionDate
HB 579 - Bloxom - Transient occupancy tax; taxes on room rentals, etc., in state parks. (H) Committee on Finance

(S) Committee on Finance
(S) Passed by indefinitely in Finance (11-Y 3-N)02/21/18
notes: Summary as introduced:
Transient occupancy tax; state parks. Permits localities to impose transient occupancy taxes on transient room rentals and travel campgrounds in state parks.

ASSOCIATION POSITION: WATCH
HB 409 - Simon - Taxation; use of gender-neutral terms in Title 58.1. (H) Committee for Courts of Justice(H) Left in Courts of Justice02/15/18
notes: Summary as introduced:
Taxation; use of gender-neutral terms. Replaces the terms "husband" and "wife" as well as related terms with gender-neutral terms in Title 58.1 (Taxation) to comport with the United States Supreme Court decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, 576 U.S. ___ (June 26, 2015).

ASSOCIATION POSITION: WATCH
HB 786 - Keam - Taxes, local; taxpayer's application to court to correct erroneous assessments. (H) Committee on Finance

(S) Committee on Finance
(S) Continued to 2019 in Finance (15-Y 0-N)02/14/18
notes: SUMMARY AS INTRODUCED:
Local taxes; appeal to court. Provides that on an appeal to court for relief from local taxes, the taxpayer shall not be required to show that the assessment is a result of manifest error or disregard of controlling evidence, and on an appeal of the assessment of real or personal property that concerns an increase of more than 20 percent over the assessment for the same property for the prior tax year, except in cases of buildings constructed in the previous five years, the assessor shall have the burden of proving by a preponderance of the evidence that the assessment is correct. The bill also provides that an assessment constitutes manifest error if any one of three mistakes under current law was made. The bill contains technical amendments.

ASSOCIATION POSITION:WATCH
HB 787 - Keam - Real property taxes; appeals to boards of equalization. (H) Committee on Finance

(S) Committee on Finance
(S) Continued to 2019 in Finance (15-Y 0-N)02/14/18
notes: SUMMARY AS INTRODUCED:
Real property taxes; appeals to boards of equalization. Provides that (i) on appeal of a real property assessment to a board of equalization, the taxpayer shall not be required to show that the assessment is a result of manifest error or disregard of controlling evidence, and (ii) when the appeal involves an assessment of real property with an increase of more than 20 percent over the assessment for the same property for the prior tax year, except in cases of buildings constructed in the previous five years, the assessor shall have the burden of proving that the assessment is correct by a preponderance of the evidence.

ASSOCIATION POSITION:WATCH
HB 256 - Guzman - Income tax, state, and property tax; exemption for substantial-capacity solar equipment. (H) Committee on Finance(H) Left in Finance02/13/18
notes: Summary as introduced:

Individual income tax credit and property tax exemption for substantial-capacity solar equipment. Provides an individual income tax credit and a mandatory property tax exemption for substantial-capacity solar equipment. The bill defines "substantial-capacity solar equipment" and requires a taxpayer to obtain certification from his local building department that such equipment is eligible for exemption. Current law provides an exemption for a broader category of solar energy equipment, facilities, or devices; however, such exemption is permissive for localities and may be partial or full.

The bill provides that a person may claim an income tax credit for his costs associated with substantial-capacity solar equipment if he includes his certification with his tax return. The amount of the credit is the least of $10,000, 10 percent of the equipment's installed cost, or the person's tax liability. The bill provides that the Department of Taxation shall issue no more than $500,000 in credits per taxable year, and it does not allow taxpayers to carry unused credit forward. The credit sunsets after taxable year 2022.

ASSOCIATION POSITION:WATCH
HB 471 - Reid - Small businesses, new; state and local tax and regulatory exemptions. (H) Committee on Finance(H) Left in Finance02/13/18
notes: Summary as introduced:
State and local tax and regulatory exemptions for new small businesses. Exempts new small businesses from (i) payment of unemployment, sales and use, and local license taxes and (ii) certain registration and reporting requirements with the State Corporation Commission. The bill defines an eligible business as any business that has its principal place of business in the Commonwealth, has not been in existence for more than five years, and has fewer than six employees or has paid less than $5,000 for the purchase or lease of business personal property, including machinery and tools and merchants' capital, since its inception.

ASSOCIATION POSITION:WATCH
HB 526 - Brewer - Cigarette tax, local; refund of unused stamps. (H) Committee on Finance(H) Left in Finance02/13/18
notes: SUMMARY AS INTRODUCED:
Local cigarette tax; refund of unused stamps. Provides that, for localities that impose a local cigarette tax and require stamps as evidence of payment, such localities shall provide a refund for returned stamps only if such stamps are in an undamaged and usable condition. Current law is silent on the condition of returned stamps.

ASSOCIATION POSITION: WATCH
HB 1146 - Wilt - Real property tax; land use valuation. (H) Committee on Finance(H) Left in Finance02/13/18
notes: SUMMARY AS INTRODUCED:
Real property tax; land use valuation. Reduces from 20 to 15 acres the minimum number of acres for real property to qualify as devoted solely to forest use for the purpose of land use valuation for the special assessment for land preservation.

ASSOCIATION POSITION:WATCH
HB 1338 - Campbell - Cigarettes tax; counties authorized to hold referendum. (H) Committee on Finance(H) Left in Finance02/13/18
notes: SUMMARY AS INTRODUCED:

Cigarette tax; counties authorized to hold referendum. Authorizes the board of supervisors of any county to levy a tax on the sale or use of cigarettes if approved in a referendum. If approved, the tax shall not exceed five cents ($0.05) or the amount levied under state law, whichever is greater.

ASSOCIATION POSITION: WATCH
HB 1448 - Guzman - Land preservation; special assessment, agricultural use. (H) Committee on Finance(H) Left in Finance02/13/18
notes: SUMMARY AS INTRODUCED:

Special assessment for land preservation; agricultural use. Provides that the standards adopted by the Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services for the designation of real estate as devoted to agricultural use shall not require that the real estate have been devoted to agricultural production for any amount of time prior to such designation.

ASSOCIATION POSITION:WATCH
SB 26 - Spruill - Nominating party candidates; certain incumbents to determine method. (S) Committee on Privileges and Elections(S) Defeated by Senate (19-Y 21-N)02/12/18
notes: Summary as introduced:
Method of nominating party candidates; certain incumbents to determine method. Provides that incumbent constitutional officers shall have the right to determine the method of making party nominations for that constitutional office. If the incumbent constitutional officer does not designate a method or if no incumbent offers as a candidate for reelection to the office, the political party shall determine the method of nomination for that office. Currently, only incumbent General Assembly members have the right to designate the method of nomination.

ASSOCIATION POSITION:WATCH
HB 1356 - Reid - Transient occupancy tax; expands tax in Northern Virginia statewide. (H) Committee on Rules(H) Stricken from docket by Rules (16-Y 0-N)02/08/18
notes: SUMMARY AS INTRODUCED:
State transient occupancy tax. Expands the 2% regional transient occupancy tax in Northern Virginia statewide. Thirty-five percent of the revenue generated from the tax shall be used to fund the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, and the remaining amount shall be used to fund transit and transportation projects throughout the Commonwealth.

ASSOCIATION POSITION: WATCH
HB 1557 - Pillion - Intangible personal property; personal property used in manufacturing. (H) Committee on Finance(H) Continued to 2019 in Finance02/07/18
notes: SUMMARY AS INTRODUCED:

Intangible personal property; personal property used in manufacturing. Clarifies that personal property used directly in manufacturing in the locality in which the tax is assessed is classified as intangible personal property. Current law does not require that the property be used directly in manufacturing in order to be considered intangible, nor does it require that the property be in the locality in which manufacturing actually occurs.

ASSOCIATION POSITION:WATCH
SB 390 - Marsden - Taxation; makes numerous changes to the Commonwealth's tax structure. (S) Committee on Finance(S) Passed by indefinitely in Finance with letter (15-Y 0-N)01/31/18
notes: SUMMARY AS INTRODUCED:
Taxation in the Commonwealth. Makes numerous changes to the Commonwealth's tax structure. The bill creates two new income brackets for the calculation of individual income taxes and lowers the corporate income tax rate. The tax credit for low-income taxpayers would become refundable, and taxpayers would be prohibited from using the same donation to both receive certain tax credits and take a charitable deduction. The bill reinstates the estate tax. The state sales tax on food would be eliminated, and sales tax would be imposed on certain services and digital products. The transient occupancy tax would be imposed on the entire cost of the use or possession of the room. The tobacco tax would be raised.

ASSOCIATION POSITION:WATCH
SB 879 - Chafin - Intangible personal property; personal property used in manufacturing. (S) Committee on Finance(S) Continued to 2019 in Finance (14-Y 0-N)01/30/18
notes: SUMMARY AS INTRODUCED:

Intangible personal property; personal property used in manufacturing. Clarifies that personal property used directly in manufacturing in the locality in which the tax is assessed is classified as intangible personal property. Current law does not require that the property be used directly in manufacturing in order to be considered intangible, nor does it require that the property be in the locality in which manufacturing actually occurs.

ASSOCIATION POSITION:WATCH
SB 255 - Dance - License taxes; interest rate for certain refunds. (S) Committee on Finance(S) Continued to 2019 in Finance (16-Y 0-N)01/23/18
notes: SUMMARY AS INTRODUCED:
License taxes; interest rate for certain refunds. Authorizes a locality to establish the interest rate for a tax refund due to a taxpayer's overstatement of gross receipts for purposes of determining the amount due for a business license tax at a rate lower than that required for interest on delinquent taxes. Current law requires that the interest rate for a refund of any local tax be at the same rate as set for interest on delinquent taxes.

ASSOCIATION POSITION: WATCH
SB 115 - Locke - County food and beverage tax; increases maximum tax that any county is authorized to impose. (S) Committee on Finance(S) Failed to report (defeated) in Finance (4-Y 9-N)01/17/18
notes: SUMMARY AS INTRODUCED:
County food and beverage tax. Increases from four percent to eight percent the maximum tax that any county is authorized to impose on food and beverages sold by a restaurant, commonly referred to as the meals tax. The bill also removes the requirement that a county hold a referendum before imposing a meals tax

ASSOCIATION POSITION:WATCH
SB 527 - Mason - County food and beverage tax; increases maximum tax that any county is authorized to impose. (S) Committee on Finance(S) Incorporated by Finance (SB115-Locke) (12-Y 1-N)01/17/18
notes: SUMMARY AS INTRODUCED:
County food and beverage tax. Increases from four percent to eight percent the maximum tax that any county is authorized to impose on food and beverages sold by a restaurant, commonly referred to as the meals tax. The bill also removes the requirement that a county hold a referendum before imposing a meals tax.

ASSOCIATION POSITION:WATCH