HOUSE BILL NO. 4834

A bill to amend 1893 PA 206, entitled

"The general property tax act,"

(MCL 211.1 to 211.155) by adding section 9p.

The people of the state of michigan enact:

Sec. 9p. (1) Beginning December 31, 2021 and each year thereafter, qualified heavy equipment rental personal property for which an exemption has been properly claimed under subsection (2) is exempt from the collection of taxes under this act.

(2) A qualified renter shall claim the exemption under this section by filing each year with the local assessing unit in which is located the qualified renter business location a statement that includes the form to claim the exemption under this section and a statement of all qualified heavy equipment rental personal property for which the exemption is claimed. All of the following apply to a claim of the exemption under this section:

(a) The statement must be filed in a form and manner prescribed by the department of treasury.

(b) The statement must list the addresses of the qualified renter and must identify each item of qualified heavy equipment rental personal property for which exemption is claimed.

(c) All information regarding the claim for the exemption must be considered taxpayer confidential information whether in the possession of the department of treasury or the local assessing unit and is not subject to disclosure under the freedom of information act, 1976 PA 442, MCL 15.231 to 15.246. This subdivision does not prohibit the department of treasury from sharing, as needed, information regarding a claim for the exemption under this section with local assessors.

(d) By not later than February 20, the statement prescribed in this section must be completed and delivered to the assessor of the township or city in which is located the qualified renter business location. However, if February 20 of a year is a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, the delivery deadline for that year is the next day that is not a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday. For purposes of a statement delivered by the United States Postal Service, the delivery is timely if the postmark date is on or before the delivery deadline prescribed in this subdivision. If the statement prescribed in this section is not timely delivered to the appropriate assessor, a late application may be filed directly with the March board of review before its final adjournment by submitting the statement prescribed in this section. The board of review shall not accept a filing after adjournment of its March meeting. An appeal of a denial by the March board of review may be made by filing a petition with the Michigan tax tribunal within 35 days of the denial notice.

(e) By not later than April 1, the assessor shall transmit to the department of treasury the information contained in the statement filed under this section and other parcel information required by the department of treasury in the form and manner prescribed by the department of treasury.

(f) An owner whose personal property is no longer qualified heavy equipment rental personal property shall file a rescission by December 31 of the year that the property is no longer eligible. The rescission must be filed on a form prescribed by the department of treasury. Upon receipt of a rescission form, the local assessor shall immediately remove the exemption. An owner who fails to file a rescission and whose property is later determined to be ineligible for the exemption will be subject to repayment of any additional taxes with interest as described in this subsection. Upon discovery that the property is no longer qualified heavy equipment rental personal property, the assessor shall remove the exemption of that personal property and, if the tax roll is in the local tax collecting unit's possession, amend the tax roll to reflect the removal of the exemption, and the local treasurer shall within 30 days of the date of the discovery issue a corrected tax bill for any additional taxes with interest at the rate of 1% per month or fraction of a month and penalties computed from the date the taxes were last payable without interest or penalty. If the tax roll is in the county treasurer's possession, the tax roll must be amended to reflect the removal of the exemption and the county treasurer shall within 30 days of the date of the removal prepare and submit a supplemental tax bill for any additional taxes, together with interest at the rate of 1% per month or fraction of a month and penalties computed from the date the taxes were last payable without interest or penalty. Interest on any tax set forth in a corrected or supplemental tax bill again begins to accrue 60 days after the date the corrected or supplemental tax bill is issued at the rate of 1% per month or fraction of a month. Taxes levied in a corrected or supplemental tax bill must be returned as delinquent on the March 1 in the year immediately succeeding the year in which the corrected or supplemental tax bill is issued.

(g) The assessor shall annually transmit every rescission filed, or the information contained in every rescission filed, under this section to the department of treasury in the form and in the manner prescribed by the department of treasury no later than April 1.

(3) Qualified heavy equipment rental personal property is exempt under this section from the collection of taxes under this act only if both of the following conditions are satisfied:

(a) The qualified heavy equipment rental personal property is located in this state on tax day.

(b) The qualified heavy equipment rental personal property is permanently labeled with the name of the owner. This labeling requirement does not apply to attachments or ancillary equipment otherwise labeled in a way that identifies its owner, including, but not limited to, attachments or ancillary equipment labeled with a unique identification number.

(4) If the assessor of the township or city believes that personal property for which the form claiming an exemption is timely filed under subsection (2)(d) is not qualified heavy equipment rental personal property or the form filed was incomplete, the assessor may deny that claim for exemption by notifying the person that filed the form in writing of the reason for the denial and advising the person that the denial must be appealed to the board of review under section 30 by filing a statement as prescribed under subsection (2). If the denial is issued after the first meeting of the March board of review that follows the organizational meeting, the appeal of the denial is either to the March board of review or the Michigan tax tribunal by filing a petition and a statement as prescribed under subsection (2) within 35 days of the denial notice. If the assessor denies a claim for exemption, the assessor shall remove the exemption of that personal property and amend the tax roll to reflect the denial and the local treasurer shall within 30 days of the date of the denial issue a corrected tax bill for any additional taxes.

(5) A person claiming an exemption for qualified heavy equipment rental personal property exempt under this section shall maintain books and records and shall provide access to those books and records as provided in section 22.

(6) If a person fraudulently claims an exemption for personal property under this section, that person is subject to the penalties provided for in section 21(2).

(7) As used in this section:

(a) "Affiliate" means a person that directly or indirectly owns or controls, is owned or controlled by, or is under common ownership or control with, another person.

(b) "Attachments or ancillary equipment" means items that can be attached to, or used in conjunction with, heavy equipment, including, but not limited to, fittings, hoses, cabling, ducts, wiring, chains, hoists, portable power or air equipment, monitoring equipment, fluid containers, buckets, demolition hammers, grapple forks, trenchers, planers, and augers.

(c) "Control" means direct or indirect possession of the power to direct or cause the direction of the management and policies of a person, whether through the ownership of voting securities, by contract, or otherwise.

(d) "Own" or "ownership" means to have ownership of an equity interest, or the equivalent, of 10% or more in a person.

(e) "Person" means an individual, corporation, limited liability company, partnership, association, or any other legal entity.

(f) "Qualified heavy equipment rental personal property" means any construction, earthmoving, or industrial equipment that is mobile and rented to customers by a qualified renter, including attachments or other ancillary equipment for that equipment. Qualified heavy equipment rental personal property does not include handheld tools or equipment solely designed for industry-specific uses in oil and gas exploration, mining, or forestry. For purposes of this subdivision, equipment is mobile if it is not intended to be permanently affixed to real property for its intended use and can be moved among worksites. Qualified heavy equipment rental personal property includes, but is not limited to, any of the following:

(i) A self-propelled vehicle that is not designed to be driven on the highway.

(ii) Industrial electrical generation equipment.

(iii) Industrial lift equipment.

(iv) Industrial material handling equipment.

(v) Industrial portable heating, ventilation, and air conditioning equipment.

(vi) Industrial compressors, generators, or pumps.

(vii) Equipment used in shoring, shielding, and ground trenching.

(viii) Equipment or vehicles not subject to titling under the Michigan vehicle code, 1949 PA 300, MCL 257.1 to 257.923.

(g) "Qualified renter" means a person that meets all of the following:

(i) Is engaged in a line of business described in Code 532412 or 532310 of the North American Industry Classification System published by the United States Census Bureau, 2017 edition.

(ii) Maintains in this state a qualified renter business location.

(iii) Receives more than 50% of its annual gross receipts from the rental of qualified heavy equipment rental personal property to the public or has an affiliate that receives more than 50% of the affiliate's annual gross receipts from the rental of qualified heavy equipment rental personal property to the public.

(h) "Qualified renter business location" means the location within a local assessing unit where the qualified heavy equipment rental personal property for which an exemption is claimed under this section is kept when it is not rented to a customer.

(i) "Rent" or "rental" means entering into an agreement for the use of property in exchange for consideration for a term of less than 365 consecutive days, or under an open-ended contract.

Enacting section 1. This amendatory act does not take effect unless Senate Bill No. ____ or House Bill No. 4833 (request no. 01234'21) of the 101st Legislature is enacted into law.