HOUSE BILL No. 6110

 

August 4, 2004, Introduced by Reps. Koetje, Vander Veen, Huizenga, Richardville, Palmer and Wenke and referred to the Committee on Tax Policy.

        

                                                                                

                                                                                

                                                                                

                                                                                

                                                                                

                                                                                

                                                                                

                                                                                

                                                                                

                                                                                

                                                                                

                                                                                

                                                                                

                                                                                

                                                                                

                                                                                

                                                                                

                                                                                

                                                                                

                                                                                

                                                                                

                                                                                

                                                                                

                                                                                 A bill to amend 1975 PA 228, entitled                                             

                                                                                

    "Single business tax act,"                                                  

                                                                                

    by amending section 4 (MCL 208.4), as amended by 2003 PA 240.               

                                                                                

                THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:                      

                                                                                

1       Sec. 4.  (1) "Casual transaction" means a transaction made                  

                                                                                

2   or engaged in other than in the ordinary course of repeated and             

                                                                                

3   successive transactions of a like character, except that a                  

                                                                                

4   transaction made or engaged in by a person that is incidental to            

                                                                                

5   that person's regular business activity is a business activity              

                                                                                

6   within the meaning of this act.                                             

                                                                                

7       (2) "Commissioner" means the department.                                    

                                                                                

8       (3) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (4),                         

                                                                                

9   "compensation" means all wages, salaries, fees, bonuses,                    

                                                                                

10  commissions, or other payments made in the taxable year on behalf           

                                                                                

11  of or for the benefit of employees, officers, or directors of the           

                                                                                


                                                                                

1   taxpayers.  Compensation includes, but is not limited to,                   

                                                                                

2   payments that are subject to or specifically exempt or excepted             

                                                                                

3   from withholding under sections 3401 to 3406 of the internal                

                                                                                

4   revenue code.  Compensation also includes, on a cash or accrual             

                                                                                

5   basis consistent with the taxpayer's method of accounting for               

                                                                                

6   federal income tax purposes, payments to state and federal                  

                                                                                

7   unemployment compensation funds, payments under the federal                 

                                                                                

8   insurance contribution act and similar social insurance programs,           

                                                                                

9   payments, including self-insurance, for worker's compensation               

                                                                                

10  insurance, payments to individuals not currently working,                   

                                                                                

11  payments to dependents and heirs of individuals because of                  

                                                                                

12  current or former labor services rendered by those individuals,             

                                                                                

13  payments to a pension, retirement, or profit sharing plan, and              

                                                                                

14  payments for insurance for which employees are the beneficiaries,           

                                                                                

15  including payments under health and welfare and noninsured                  

                                                                                

16  benefit plans and payments of fees for the administration of                

                                                                                

17  health and welfare and noninsured benefit plans.  Compensation              

                                                                                

18  does not include any of the following:                                      

                                                                                

19      (a) Discounts on the price of the taxpayer's merchandise or                 

                                                                                

20  services sold to the taxpayer's employees, officers, or directors           

                                                                                

21  that are not available to other customers.                                  

                                                                                

22      (b) Payments to an independent contractor.                                  

                                                                                

23      (c) For tax years beginning after December 31, 1994, payments               

                                                                                

24  to state and federal unemployment compensation funds.                       

                                                                                

25      (d) For tax years beginning after December 31, 1994, the                    

                                                                                

26  employer's portion of payments under the federal insurance                  

                                                                                

27  contributions act, chapter 21 of subtitle C of the internal                 


                                                                                

1   revenue code, 26 USC 3101 to 3128, the railroad retirement tax              

                                                                                

2   act, chapter 22 of subtitle C of the internal revenue code, 26              

                                                                                

3   USC 3201 to 3233, and similar social insurance programs.                    

                                                                                

4       (e) For tax years beginning after December 31, 1994,                        

                                                                                

5   payments, including self-insurance payments, for worker's                   

                                                                                

6   compensation insurance or federal employers' liability act                  

                                                                                

7   insurance pursuant to chapter 149, 35 Stat. 65, 45 USC 51 to 60.            

                                                                                

8       (f) For tax years beginning after December 31, 2003, the                    

                                                                                

9   following payments under health and welfare and noninsured                  

                                                                                

10  benefit plans for the benefit of persons who are residents of               

                                                                                

11  this state and payments of fees for the administration of health            

                                                                                

12  and welfare and noninsured benefit plans for the benefit of                 

                                                                                

13  persons who are residents of this state for the specified years:            

                                                                                

14                                                                               (i) For tax years that begin after December 31, 2003 and                            

                                                                                

15  before January 1, 2005, 5%.                                                 

                                                                                

16      (ii) For tax years that begin after December 31, 2004 and                    

                                                                                

17  before January 1, 2006, 20%.                                                

                                                                                

18      (iii) For tax years that begin after December 31, 2005 and                   

                                                                                

19  before January 1, 2007, 40%.                                                

                                                                                

20      (iv) For tax years that begin after December 31, 2006, the                   

                                                                                

21  percentage of payments as provided under section 4a.                        

                                                                                

22      (g) For tax years beginning after December 31, 2004,                        

                                                                                

23  compensation paid to employees by a taxpayer that has a contract            

                                                                                

24  of $2,000,000.00 or more with the federal department of defense             

                                                                                

25  or the federal homeland security department or a taxpayer that is           

                                                                                

26  a subcontractor of a taxpayer that has a contract of                        

                                                                                

27  $2,000,000.00 or more with the federal department of defense or             


                                                                                

1   the federal homeland security department that has a subcontract             

                                                                                

2   of $2,000,000.00 or more, for work or services by the taxpayer's            

                                                                                

3   employees that is directly related to the contract or                       

                                                                                

4   subcontract.                                                                

                                                                                

5       (4) For tax years that begin after December 31, 2003, for                   

                                                                                

6   purposes of determining compensation of a professional employer             

                                                                                

7   organization, compensation includes payments by the professional            

                                                                                

8   employer organization to the officers and employees of an entity            

                                                                                

9   whose employment operations are managed by the professional                 

                                                                                

10  employer organization.  Compensation of the entity whose                    

                                                                                

11  employment operations are managed by a professional employer                

                                                                                

12  organization does not include compensation paid by the                      

                                                                                

13  professional employer organization to the officers and employees            

                                                                                

14  of the entity whose employment operations are managed by the                

                                                                                

15  professional employer organization.  As used in this subsection,            

                                                                                

16  "professional employer organization" means an organization that             

                                                                                

17  provides the management and administration of the human resources           

                                                                                

18  and employer risk of another entity by contractually assuming               

                                                                                

19  substantial employer rights, responsibilities, and risk through a           

                                                                                

20  professional employer agreement that establishes an employer                

                                                                                

21  relationship with the leased officers or employees assigned to              

                                                                                

22  the other entity by doing all of the following:                             

                                                                                

23      (a) Maintaining the right of direction and control of                       

                                                                                

24  employees' work, although this responsibility may be shared with            

                                                                                

25  the other entity.                                                           

                                                                                

26      (b) Paying wages and employment taxes of the employees out of               

                                                                                

27  its own accounts.                                                           


                                                                                

1       (c) Reporting, collecting, and depositing state and federal                 

                                                                                

2   employment taxes for the employees.                                         

                                                                                

3       (d) Retaining the right to hire and fire employees.                         

                                                                                

4       (5) "Department" means the department of treasury.