06 LC 18
5458S/AP
House
Bill 1506 (AS PASSED HOUSE AND SENATE)
By:
Representatives Houston of the
170th,
Burkhalter of the
50th,
Ehrhart of the
36th,
Royal of the
171st,
Harbin of the
118th,
and others
A
BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
AN ACT
To
amend Part 1 of Article 1 of Chapter 8 of Title 48 of the Official Code of
Georgia Annotated, relating to general provisions regarding state sales and use
tax, so as to provide for increased criminal penalties with respect to
violations of said Article 1; to provide for increased penalties with respect to
filing false or fraudulent returns; to provide for increased criminal penalties
with respect to failure to furnish certain returns or records; to provide an
effective date; to provide for applicability; to repeal conflicting laws; and
for other purposes.
BE
IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION
1.
Part
1 of Article 1 of Chapter 8 of Title 48 of the Official Code of Georgia
Annotated, relating to general provisions regarding state sales and use tax, is
amended by striking Code Section 48-8-7, relating to violations of said Article
1, and inserting in its place a new Code Section 48-8-7 to read as
follows:
"48-8-7.
(a)
It shall be unlawful for any dealer to
knowingly and
willfully fail, neglect, or refuse to
collect the tax provided in this article, either by himself or through his
agents or employees.
(b)
In addition to the penalty of being liable for and paying the tax himself, any
person who violates subsection (a) of this Code section shall be guilty of a
misdemeanor
and, upon
conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine of not more than $100.00 or
imprisonment in the county jail for not more than three months, or
both
of a high and
aggravated nature and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine of
not more than $5,000.00 or imprisonment for not more than one year, or both.
Upon the second or subsequent conviction of a person who violates subsection (a)
of this Code section, the person shall be guilty of a felony and shall be
punished by a fine of not more than $10,000.00 or imprisonment for not more than
five years, or
both."
SECTION
2.
Said
part is further amended by striking Code Section 48-8-8, relating to filing
false or fraudulent sales and use tax returns, and inserting in its place a new
Code Section 48-8-8 to read as follows:
"48-8-8.
(a)
It shall be unlawful for any dealer required by this article to
knowingly and
willfully make, render, sign, or verify
any return to make a false or fraudulent return with intent to evade the tax
levied by this article.
(b)
Any person who violates subsection (a) of this Code section shall be guilty of a
misdemeanor
and, upon
conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine of not less than $100.00 nor
more than $300.00 or confinement in the county jail for not less than 30 days
nor more than three months, or both
of a high and
aggravated nature and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine of
not more than $5,000.00 or imprisonment for not more than one year, or both.
Upon the second or subsequent conviction of a person who violates subsection (a)
of this Code section, the person shall be guilty of a felony and shall be
punished by a fine of not more than $10,000.00 or imprisonment for not more than
five years, or
both."
SECTION
3.
Said
part is further amended by striking Code Section 48-8-9, relating to failure to
furnish sales and use tax returns, and inserting in its place a new Code Section
48-8-9 to read as follows:
"48-8-9.
(a)
It shall be unlawful for any dealer subject to this article to
knowingly and
willfully fail or refuse to furnish any
return required to be made by this article or to fail or refuse to furnish a
supplemental return or other data required by the commissioner.
(b)
Any person who violates subsection (a) of this Code section shall be guilty of a
misdemeanor of
a high and aggravated nature and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by
a fine of not more than $5,000.00 or imprisonment for not more than one year, or
both. Upon the second or subsequent conviction of a person who violates
subsection (a) of this Code section, the person shall be guilty of a felony and
shall be punished by a fine of not more than $10,000.00 or imprisonment for not
more than five years, or
both."
SECTION
4.
Said
part is further amended by striking Code Section 48-8-10, relating to failure to
keep or allow inspection of sales and use tax records, and inserting in its
place a new Code Section 48-8-10 to read as follows:
"48-8-10.
(a)
It shall be unlawful for any dealer subject to this article to
knowingly and
willfully fail to keep records or to fail
to open the records to inspection as required by law.
(b)
Any person who violates subsection (a) of this Code section shall be guilty of a
misdemeanor of
a high and aggravated nature and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by
a fine of not more than $5,000.00 or imprisonment for not more than one year, or
both. Upon the second or subsequent conviction of a person who violates
subsection (a) of this Code section, the person shall be guilty of a felony and
shall be punished by a fine of not more than $10,000.00 or imprisonment for not
more than five years, or
both."
SECTION
5.
This
Act shall not apply to any offense committed before July 1, 2006. Any such
offense shall be punishable as provided by the statute in effect at the time the
offense was committed.
SECTION
6.
This
Act shall become effective on July 1, 2006.
SECTION
7.
All
laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.