Revenue & Tax - Senate

Mr chairman you're recognized utility yard. A seat in this is Senate bill five twenty eight members. Thank you Mr chairman members of. Senator Bill sample this report. we this bill also has an amendment to take and and I had sponsors and so. we have a motion to adopt the amendment I have a second all those in favor I. Those guys have it members adopted I'm going to place the bill five twenty eight is amended okay members this is this is a bill that we worked on for quite some time fortunately we got the F. ninety involved it's about the rebates at the that the Cities and counties have to taken rebate back for the use of the sales and use tax it's really a bill that is. No longer needed especially for counties such as growing who doesn't have a a millage rate per roads or anything else like that they depend entirely upon their. Sales and use tax To answer some of the questions I had about. How this bill the. Security of the of the information it goes out it is a Class saving misdemeanor to taken discloses for counties and cities employees and with that I will take questions. Thirty questions. Senator sample I think I told you that down at home we had a six hundred thousand tax credit from my Company that had done some remodeling paid sales tax and didn't. Turned out they didn't know it So what easy for the city to figure out who that was just because it was the only construction project of any size we were able to work out a payment plan for that but it was awkward for a while and the but. Flipside was the company didn't really want to buy notice they were getting the money or how that all works will center it's happened on numerous occasions there's been some counties is actually had to take work out a payment plan to taken in reply that and the and I will point out to the to the members that this does have an impact although it's kind of small it does have an impact and to develop the software to administer it and uh saying that I will not I assure vote right now but. If this if we will and rather than than taken testimony or and we can have testimony if you like but I do have several members of the Senate chambers of commerce as well as city and county officials that probably have signed up to take and speak against this bill our or for this bill and if you like to tell you can hear their testimony they're here they're they're all I have one two three four five. That are here for maybe we'll have to all five but we are here water to a okay so I got a brand Weldon first. Our mayor here. You're if you're in the I'm sorry you want to come up doctors rendered. We all decide all right if you if you would allow my city manager bill burst in my county judge there Mahoney to come up and and so I got. Will be brief on this. Thank. Hi guys I've been off for the rise to give you all each fifteen seconds the. if you'll tell us who you are and not who you represent you're recognized. Yes Sir chair in my name's bill borough and city manager for the city of hot springs. As chairman of their own in garland county judge. Welcome guys one Iago first richer everyone wants to. We have a been impacted by the rebate issue for quite some time it affected us last year of almost the ten percent of our revenue from our sales tax of about nine hundred twenty five thousand dollars worth and we haven't been able to forecast for budgets because we don't know where it's coming from with this bill will be able to look at it and see where construction or injured taking place so that we might go look at that site to say okay they've still got a long ways to go so we can expect this again next month or next year and it gives us an opportunity to forecast for budgets otherwise we it's a we don't have any idea what are anticipated revenues will be because the only way we find out about the rebate is when we do receive our revenue from the F. and nine it's been taken out. Earn up. I don't have I don't have much to add to that is Senator sample mention you know we we completely rely on sales tax to fund our general fund we don't have a millage in the city of hot springs and speak with other counterparts this this particular bill is a is a benefit to every city and county in the state of Arkansas that has a sales tax sales and use tax You know as we look back over the last couple of years just in our experience you know it's it's it accumulates and we had about eight hundred sixty thousand over the past couple years on each year that they were as rebates to that sales tax were not opposed to the rebates we actually use the rebates are self But we we do want to have the ability to to see what those are and be able to forecast what may happen in the future. Are there any questions good show could you just explain how shall use a rebate yourself what what. As we have purchases that meet that guideline we will submit for a rebate is anyone else would all right. Anybody else and this could be tomorrow it didn't mean that somebody else was talking K. I just All right no questions we appreciate guys thank you. Senator sample. Yes Sir Mr I would like to see a way that they to both the city and county sure or this cities and counties could use or rebate five this but saying that. I'm closed. All right then so Given that you will talk all. So this it's fair to say that there is a hundred. Under forty thousand are estimated cost to develop and forty eight thousand yearly to maintain to do system to keep up with that right. Anybody else any other yes ma'am. I'm on a. Committee. You just barely got in. When the fuel is introduce yourself yes my name is. My name is Brenda well then I'm the mayor of the city of Mount Vernon. And I'm I am for it because I'm also I do not have a millage for my city and I do have a cent to cents sales tax and rebates at times have been up to ten percent of my income also but there's also some of the problems with transparency. And there's some things that happened to me that's just not right for cities there's no way you can project your revenues or run your CD of certain things that happen where we had to give a refund back to the company didn't know who it was they would not tell me after talking to about ten people to attorneys and finally the assistant director of the FNA they still timing we can't tell you who it is well I have to pay back two hundred sixty three thousand dollars when my budget is five and a half million for the year that is devastating I mean that could even cost me to have to lay people off they were nice enough to do a payment plan I was able to get paid back to me here and I have and thank goodness I had a truck stop open in the city to. Overcome that that deficit. So that's a problem because if I come in one day and so you have to pay this back what I did do a payment plan I appreciate that the other thing that is not that I ran into is. I actually got a call from our sunny city being I mean we're ten thousand people and I mean my my budget five and half million a year in my general fund and every penny counts and I I look at every penny well I got a call from sonic in the bookkeeper tell me miss Weldon is something happens said you know I'm I got a letter from the F. and I says I'm no longer in the city of Malvern. So had she not call me I would quit getting that sales tax and didn't have any recourse to what's going on because what happened was apparently they did some sort of audit and they show GIS show that sonic property was in the county it's never been in the county what might have been thirty years ago so if she had not let me known they were going to just take her sales tax away from me and not even give me the opportunity to do the research to find out why so I had to go to the assessor's office get the records show that they were in the city of Melbourne I tried to submit those to myself but she had to submit those instead of me but we got it straight I found two more properties that were done that way also so the transparency that that's just not right I mean just to take my sales tax and they were they were wrong what they did was wrong because the city. SO. There's a lot of. That's not. Renishaw keen to hear that our friend to death and I could make a mistake or be A little bit of you know that not only are we have got a problem with rebates but re funds but it's the transparency of the whole thing I mean just to if sonic the lady from sonic had not call me I would have not known except I would have had a reduction in my sales tax because it is a big business in my small CD and then I would have known what you know how to do I do request report every six months of everyone that actually the sales tax the city amount. The records run around thirty eight thirty nine hundred. Well you can go through there and compare every one every six months to see if there's been any changes but this is the problem for instance on that report it'll have the corporation nine so for instance my CD came back is really top of bail but it doesn't topple bill anywhere so if I didn't know that I would need to know that let's talk about you so I'm spending many many hours of research just trying to double check we're there's more transparency if there was a major change whether it be re by re fines or changing of whether you're in a city or not if that somehow could be related to the cities that would be very helpful for us because we're all just trying to run our cities with with with infrastructure that is extremely old with problems with our streets were having run placed apartments fire department's water departments and this has got to be a problem because how can we project our revenues I mean a year if I had to pay that two hundred sixty three thousand dollars back that one year I mean I'm talking I budget ninety percent of my revenues I had at that year I haven't a difference I mean I am a positive of fifty thousand dollars. Had to pay that two hundred sixty three back at one time I would have had like people I appreciate your I'm I think we all understand your issue well thank you some issues thank you for yes ma'am to me. Anybody else. Senator Hickey. So your bill is written is that correct I am for that I'm running thing to make a transparent okay in just one thing that I think it's important to say is there is a there is a clause in here were you all or any the cities counties have to have to keep that confidential yes in a course that is for the taxpayer's and you know it we would have a under other code I believe is a misdemeanor so I think that's important that we can get that message out there that everybody understands that all's well to be honest in my city I'm the only one to use any of those reports I'm not gonna say I wouldn't with my department heads but I don't think that would be a problem at all but I think in any situation like I just said if there was more transparency then I could see that being a I mean I I can see that being a problem but I don't see foresee that being a problem with any matter that I know I mean just to have some transparency would mean everything to us that's more comment for across the state because like I say that everybody needs to realize that that although you may be getting such information that you're also under an obligation to send confidential at whatever this bill passed its treatment mayors are around by a lot of things that are misdemeanors also center stand just important note thank you Richard thank you. Thank you senator Hickey. Supersampling close all right we're not going to hear this bill because it has a cost your any other business to come before us. Senator Rapert. Well just. The only thing that I would have to say is whenever whenever we had written that you know are rules that we passed not as joint rules with the house and the Senate they're identical you know basically we said that they'd be like and non controversial of course and and I believe that our thought was is there wouldn't be any comments for against on those type of bills so that would be my only thing is just to stay consistent. With that Senator. I'm actually not aware of any opposition on or has an fiscal impact so we just want to get it on the table to here it is all we want to do Senator we know that it's not going to have action taken on I've just if if someone's going to speak for the if somebody see here to speak for I just heard you made that comment back continue I don't mean to do it that way I can present solo if we want to do that I mean but I'm just saying I know there's people here that that would be for her. That's up to you. I can I can take it up and bring in a whole group and and but again we just want to hear it it's not a big deal it's not about that it was about the the way that we structure rules again that basically if anything was totally non controversial we would just you know you can sit in the table we'd hear it have only yesterday up yes wrote down but if we have a people that are going to start speaking for it you know it kind of goes over that we've kind of discussed that whatever we try to develop these code rule well no less late this session so I'm dated some of my committee but it's only if the will of the pleasure of the Committee but if you have an objection to the center would be glad to come back on next week I have no objection if you're just going to sit there at the end of the table and do it I guess I would have an objection if we're going to start having people for them at that point I think it needs to go on the agenda to just make sure there was nothing else out there and I have no idea what your bill but it's a ballot so if it is just a and that's the relevant again as well so that we don't put to committee through two different presentations what we just come back senator put it on the agenda and that way we can have all law enforcement agencies or for bill to come and speak on and what will adjourn agenda four PM Monday morning would do that thank you thank you know break you to send right from what is that saying or the