An Act To Exempt from the Use Tax $1,000 of Internet Purchases from Out-of-state Sellers

Sec. 1. 36 MRSA §1861-A,  as amended by PL 2007, c. 240, Pt. W, §1 and affected by §2, is further amended to read:

§ 1861-A. Reporting use tax on individual income tax returns

The assessor shall provide that individuals report use tax on items with a sale price of $5,000 or less on their Maine individual income tax returns. Taxpayers are required to attest to the amount of their use tax liability for the period of the tax return. Alternatively, they may elect to report an amount that is .08% of their Maine adjusted gross income. A taxpayer electing to satisfy a use tax liability by estimating it shall calculate the liability in accordance with the use tax table. The estimated liability is applicable only to purchases of any individual items each having a sale price no greater than $1,000. Notwithstanding section 1861, beginning October 1, 2013, the first $1,000 of aggregate Internet purchases from out-of-state sellers may be excluded annually from the estimated liability. For each taxable item with a sale price greater than $1,000 but no more than $5,000, the actual use tax liability for each purchase must be added to the amount of the estimated liability derived from the use tax table. Upon subsequent review, if use tax liability for the period of the return exceeds the amount of use tax paid with the return, a credit of that amount paid relative to the item or items being supplementarily assessed is allowed. Use tax on any item with a sale price of more than $5,000 must be reported in accordance with section 1951-A.

Sec. 2. Effective date. This Act takes effect October 1, 2013.

SUMMARY

This bill allows taxpayers to exclude from their estimated use tax liability $1,000 of annual Internet purchases from out-of-state sellers.