Tuesday, December 2, 2008
The General Assembly is not in session.
Tracking Virginia’s General Assembly
since 2007.
SB147: Retail Sales and Use Tax; absorption and payment by seller.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That § 58.1-626 of the Code of Virginia, as it is currently effective and as it shall become effective, is amended and reenacted as follows:
§ 58.1-626. (Effective until July 1, 2012) Absorption of tax prohibited.
No person shall advertise or hold out to the public,
directly or indirectly, that he will absorb all or any part of the sales or
use tax, or that he will relieve the purchaser, consumer, or lessee of the
payment of all or any part of such tax. The advertising or holding out to
the public that a person will provide a discount in an amount equal to the
sales or use tax shall not be deemed an advertisement or offer to absorb the
sales or use tax, provided that the advertisement or offer clearly states that the
sales or use tax shall be collected on the reduced price and remitted to the
Tax Commissioner. Any person who violates this section shall be guilty of a
Class 2 misdemeanor. The prohibitions contained in this section shall not apply
(i) during the time period set out in § 58.1-611.2 or subdivision 18 of §
58.1-609.1 or during the 14 days immediately preceding such time period for
advertisements relating to sales to be made during the time period set out in §
58.1-611.2 or subdivision 18 of § 58.1-609.1; and (ii) during the time period
set out in § 58.1-611.3 or during the 14 days immediately preceding such time
period for advertisements relating to sales to be made during the time period
set out in § 58.1-611.3.
§ 58.1-626. (Effective July 1, 2012) Absorption of tax prohibited.
No person shall advertise or hold out to the public,
directly or indirectly, that he will absorb all or any part of the sales or
use tax, or that he will relieve the purchaser, consumer, or lessee of the
payment of all or any part of such tax. The advertising or holding out to
the public that a person will provide a discount in an amount equal to the
sales or use tax shall not be deemed an advertisement or offer to absorb the
sales or use tax, provided that the advertisement or offer clearly states that
the sales or use tax shall be collected on the reduced price and remitted to
the Tax Commissioner. Any person who violates this section shall be guilty
of a Class 2 misdemeanor. The prohibitions contained in this section shall not
apply during the time period set out in § 58.1-611.2 or during the 14 days
immediately preceding such time period for advertisements relating to sales to
be made during the time period set out in § 58.1-611.2.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That § 58.1-625 of the Code of Virginia, as it is currently effective, is amended and reenacted as follows:
§ 58.1-625. (Effective until July 1, 2012) Collection of tax.
The tax levied by this chapter shall be paid by the dealer, but the dealer shall separately state the amount of the tax and add such tax to the sales price or charge. Thereafter, such tax shall be a debt from the purchaser, consumer, or lessee to the dealer until paid and shall be recoverable at law in the same manner as other debts. No action at law or suit in equity under this chapter may be maintained in this Commonwealth by any dealer who is not registered under § 58.1-613 or is delinquent in the payment of the taxes imposed under this chapter.
Notwithstanding any exemption from taxes which any dealer now or hereafter may enjoy under the Constitution or laws of this or any other state, or of the United States, such dealer shall collect such tax from the purchaser, consumer, or lessee and shall pay the same over to the Tax Commissioner as herein provided.
Any dealer collecting the sales or use tax on transactions exempt or not taxable under this chapter shall transmit to the Tax Commissioner such erroneously or illegally collected tax unless or until he can affirmatively show that the tax has since been refunded to the purchaser or credited to his account.
Any dealer who neglects, fails, or refuses to collect such tax upon every taxable sale, distribution, lease, or storage of tangible personal property made by him, his agents, or employees shall be liable for and pay the tax himself, and such dealer shall not thereafter be entitled to sue for or recover in this Commonwealth any part of the purchase price or rental from the purchaser until such tax is paid. Moreover, any dealer who neglects, fails, or refuses to pay or collect the tax herein provided, either by himself or through his agents or employees, shall be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.
All sums collected by a dealer as required by this chapter shall be deemed to be held in trust for the Commonwealth.
Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this section, any
dealer is authorized during the period
of time set forth in §§ 58.1-611.2 and 58.1-611.3 or subdivision 18 of §
58.1-609.1 not to collect the tax levied by this chapter or levied
under the authority granted in §§ 58.1-605 and 58.1-606 from the purchaser, and
to absorb such tax himself. A dealer electing to absorb such taxes shall be
liable for payment of such taxes to the Tax Commissioner in the same manner as
he is for tax collected from a purchaser pursuant to this section.
2. That § 58.1-625 of the Code of Virginia, as it shall become effective, and § 58.1-626 of the Code of Virginia, as it is currently effective and as it shall become effective, are repealed.
Additional Data
Explanation
This is the actual text of the bill — the legislation itself. Generally this is amending existing law, proposing the addition or removal of words from laws that are already on the books.
Words that are highlighted in yellow are
proposed additions, and words that are crossed out in
red are proposed removals.
The numbers with the § symbol before them are references to existing laws, and if you click on them they’ll take you to that part of the law on the state's website.