CONFERENCE COMMITTEE REP. NO. 176-12

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                 , 2012

 

RE:    S.B. No. 2947

       S.D. 2

       H.D. 2

       C.D. 1

 

 

 

Honorable Shan S. Tsutsui

President of the Senate

Twenty-Sixth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2012

State of Hawaii

 

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Sixth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2012

State of Hawaii

 

Sirs:

 

     Your Committee on Conference on the disagreeing vote of the Senate to the amendments proposed by the House of Representatives in S.B. No. 2947, S.D. 2, H.D. 2, entitled:

 

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO TAXATION,"

 

having met, and after full and free discussion, has agreed to recommend and does recommend to the respective Houses the final passage of this bill in an amended form.

 

     The purpose of this measure is to:

 

     (1)  Establish monetary awards for whistleblowers for certain actions that may result in a Department of Taxation administrative or judicial action;

 

     (2)  Authorize the Director of Taxation to appoint an administrative appeals officer;

 

     (3)  Prohibit certain penalties from being added to tax underpayments on which certain other penalties are already imposed; and

 

     (4)  Require all advertisements and solicitations for transient accommodations to display the registration identification number or the website address containing the registration identification number of the operator or plan manager.

 

     Your Committee on Conference finds that several of the provisions in this measure have been incorporated in other measures.  Your Committee on Conference has amended this measure accordingly, by deleting the provisions that:

 

     (1)  Establish monetary awards for whistleblowers;

 

     (2)  Prohibit certain penalties from being added to tax underpayments on which certain other penalties are already imposed; and

 

     (3)  Require all advertisements and solicitations for transient accommodations to display the registration identification number or the website address containing the registration identification number of the operator or plan manager.

 

     Your Committee on Conference has further amended this measure by:

 

     (1)  Inserting language to amend section 231-3.4, Hawaii Revised Statutes, to require the Department of Taxation to submit the reports listed in section 231-3.4(a)(3), Hawaii Revised Statutes, to the Legislature annually and to submit by December 31, 2012, a report to the Legislature on the resources and information needed to complete the reports, identification of the best means of providing information in an electronic format; and recommendations for additional information that may be required for inclusion in the reports as the Department upgrades its tax computer systems and associated enterprise resource planning implementation;

 

     (2)  Making the exploration and implementation by the Department of Taxation of all reasonable methods of covering the costs of distribution of the reports required in section 231-3.4, Hawaii Revised Statutes, discretionary rather than mandatory;

 

     (3)  Appropriating $104,505 for additional resources and staffing support for the Department of Taxation to complete the reports required under section 231-3.4, Hawaii Revised Statutes; and

 

     (4)  Inserting an effective date of July 1, 2012.

 

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the managers of your Committee on Conference that is attached to this report, your Committee on Conference is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2947, S.D. 2, H.D. 2, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Final Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2947, S.D. 2, H.D. 2, C.D. 1.

 

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the managers:

 

ON THE PART OF THE HOUSE

 

ON THE PART OF THE SENATE

 

____________________________

ANGUS L.K. MCKELVEY, Co-Chair

 

____________________________

CAROL FUKUNAGA, Chair

____________________________

GILBERT KEITH-AGARAN, Co-Chair

 

____________________________

MICHELLE N. KIDANI, Co-Chair

____________________________

ISAAC W. CHOY, Co-Chair