CT HB07312

Establishes permitting and regulatory requirements for tax preparers and facilitators of refund anticipation loans, effective October 1, 2018, with prohibitions on unfair practices and mandatory IRS preparer tax identification numbers.

Modifies sales and use tax administration including changes to hotel occupancy tax rates (15% for hotels, 11% for bed and breakfast establishments), new definitions for bed and breakfast establishments, and adjusted tax remittance schedules for delinquent taxpayers requiring weekly deposits into segregated accounts.

Creates a mental health community investment account allowing taxpayers to contribute portions of income tax refunds to support mental health services and programs in the state.

Extends municipal bond refunding authority to allow municipalities to issue refunding bonds maturing up to 30 years (instead of 20) for bonds issued between July 1, 2017 and July 1, 2022, with optional statutory lien on tax revenues.

Implements various tax compliance and collection improvements including data matching with financial institutions for delinquent taxpayers, new penalties for record production failures, and modifications to income tax withholding requirements for pension and annuity distributions.