HB 248: "An Act requiring the electronic submission of a tax return or report with the Department of Revenue; relating to the excise tax on alcoholic beverages; and providing for an effective date."
00 HOUSE BILL NO. 248 01 "An Act requiring the electronic submission of a tax return or report with the 02 Department of Revenue; relating to the excise tax on alcoholic beverages; and providing 03 for an effective date." 04 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 05 * Section 1. AS 43.05.220 is amended to add a new subsection to read: 06 (f) A penalty of $25 or one percent of the total tax before any payment, 07 whichever is greater, shall be assessed against a taxpayer that fails to electronically 08 submit a return or report under AS 43.05.222, unless the taxpayer has received an 09 exemption under AS 43.05.222 or can show reasonable cause. 10 * Sec. 2. AS 43.05 is amended by adding a new section to read: 11 Sec. 43.05.222. Electronic submission of return or report. (a) A taxpayer 12 required to submit a return or report for a tax levied under AS 43 or any other tax 13 administered by the department shall submit the return or report electronically in a 14 format prescribed by the department. Unless the taxpayer has received an exemption
01 under (b) of this section or can show reasonable cause, a return or report not submitted 02 electronically is subject to a civil penalty under AS 43.05.220. 03 (b) A taxpayer may request an exemption from the requirement that a return or 04 report be submitted electronically. The taxpayer or taxpayer's representative shall 05 contact the department and request the exemption before the return or report is due 06 and shall submit evidence that the taxpayer does not have the capability to submit the 07 return or report electronically. An exemption granted under this subsection is valid for 08 two years after the first tax filing due date after the exemption is granted; after the two 09 year period, the taxpayer may apply for another exemption. 10 * Sec. 3. AS 43.60.010(a) is amended to read: 11 (a) Except as provided in (c) of this section, every brewer, distiller, bottler, 12 jobber, retailer, wholesaler, or manufacturer who sells alcoholic beverages in the state 13 or who consigns shipments of alcoholic beverages into the state, whether or not the 14 alcoholic beverages are brewed, distilled, bottled, or manufactured in the state, shall 15 pay on all malt beverages (alcoholic content of one percent or more by volume), 16 wines, and hard or distilled alcoholic beverages, the following taxes: 17 (1) malt beverages at the rate of $2.14 [$1.07] a gallon or fraction of a 18 gallon; 19 (2) cider with at least 0.5 percent alcohol by volume but not more than 20 seven percent alcohol by volume, at the rate of $2.14 [$1.07] a gallon or fraction of a 21 gallon; 22 (3) wine or other beverages, other than beverages described in (1) or 23 (2) of this subsection, of 21 percent alcohol by volume or less, at the rate of $5 [$2.50] 24 a gallon or fraction of a gallon; and 25 (4) other beverages having a content of more than 21 percent alcohol 26 by volume at the rate of $25.60 [$12.80] a gallon. 27 * Sec. 4. AS 43.60.010(c) is amended to read: 28 (c) A brewer shall pay a tax at the rate of 70 [35] cents a gallon on sales of the 29 first 60,000 barrels of beer sold in the state each fiscal year beginning July 1, 2001, for 30 beer produced in the United States if the producing brewery meets the qualifications of 31 26 U.S.C. 5051(a)(2). To qualify for the tax rate under this subsection, the brewer
01 must file with the department a copy of an Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade 02 Bureau acknowledged copy of the brewer's notice of intent to pay reduced rate of tax 03 required under 27 C.F.R. 25.167 for the calendar year in which the fiscal year begins 04 for which the partial exemption is sought. If proof of eligibility is not received by the 05 department before June 1, the tax rate under this subsection does not apply until the 06 first day of the second month after the month the notice is received by the department. 07 For purposes of applying this subsection, a barrel of beer may contain not more than 08 31 gallons. 09 * Sec. 5. AS 43.60.020(a) is amended to read: 10 (a) Each brewer, distiller, bottler, jobber, wholesaler, manufacturer, or other 11 consignor shall submit [SEND] a statement [BY AIRMAIL, POSTAGE PREPAID,] 12 to the department on or before the last day of each calendar month. The statement 13 must be submitted in a format prescribed by the department. The statement must 14 contain an account of the alcoholic beverages sold or consigned to buyers or 15 consignees in the state during the preceding month, setting out 16 (1) the total number of gallons, including fractional gallons sold or 17 consigned; 18 (2) the names and Alaska address of each buyer and consignee; and 19 (3) the gallonage of each kind of beverage sold or consigned to the 20 respective buyers or consignees. 21 * Sec. 6. AS 43.60.040(a) is amended to read: 22 (a) Each brewer, distiller, bottler, jobber, wholesaler, or manufacturer is 23 primarily liable for the payment of the excise taxes on alcoholic beverages sold, and 24 shall furnish a good and sufficient surety bond in an amount as determined by [OF 25 $25,000 PAYABLE TO] the department and approved by the Department of Law. If a 26 licensee [WHOLESALER] fails to pay the tax to the state the licensee 27 [WHOLESALER] forfeits the bond and the licensee's [WHOLESALER'S] license 28 shall be revoked. The department, in its discretion, may issue permits in place of 29 bonds to resident holders of wholesale, malt beverage, and wine licenses doing 30 business wholly in the state who pay the tax before shipment. 31 * Sec. 7. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to
01 read: 02 APPLICABILITY. (a) AS 43.60.010(a), as amended by sec. 3 of this Act, and 03 AS 43.60.010(c), as amended by sec. 4 of this Act, apply to alcoholic beverages sold on or 04 after the effective date of this Act. 05 (b) AS 43.60.020(a), as amended by sec. 5 of this Act, applies to the first monthly 06 statement submitted after the first full month after the effective date of this Act. 07 * Sec. 8. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 08 read: 09 TRANSITION: REGULATIONS. The Department of Revenue may adopt regulations 10 necessary to implement the changes made by this Act. The regulations take effect under 11 AS 44.62 (Administrative Procedure Act), but not before the effective date of the law 12 implemented by the regulation. 13 * Sec. 9. Section 8 of this Act takes effect immediately under AS 01.10.070(c). 14 * Sec. 10. Except as provided in sec. 9 of this Act, this Act takes effect July 1, 2016.