Virginia Law

A. The Tax Commissioner shall determine the fiscal, economic and policy impact of each sales and use tax exemption set out in §§ 58.1-609.10 and 58.1-609.11 and report such findings to the Chairmen of the House Committee on Finance, the Senate Committee on Finance and Appropriations, and the House Committee on Appropriations no later than December 1 of each year. Subgroups of the exemptions shall be reviewed in periodic cycles and reports issued on a rotating basis in accordance with a schedule determined by the Tax Commissioner, excluding the sales and use tax exemptions for nonprofit entities provided by § 58.1-609.11, which shall be reviewed and reported on annually. When such reports have been completed for each subgroup of the sales and use tax exemptions, the Tax Commissioner shall repeat the process beginning with the subgroup of exemptions for which a report was made in 2007. No exemption shall be analyzed under the provisions of this section more frequently than once every five years, excluding the annual fiscal impact of the sales and use tax exemptions for nonprofit entities, which shall be studied each year.

B. When the Tax Commissioner investigates and analyzes the tax exemptions in § 58.1-609.10, the following information shall be considered and included in the report:

1. Estimate of foregone state and local revenues as a direct result of the exemption;

2. Beneficiaries of the exemption;

3. Direct or indirect local, state, or federal government assistance received by the persons or entities granted the exemption, to the extent such information is reasonably available;

4. The extent to which the comparable person, entity, property, service, or industry is exempt from the retail sales and use tax in other states, particularly states contiguous to the Commonwealth;

5. Any external statutory, constitutional, or judicial mandates supporting the exemption;

6. Other Virginia taxes to which the person, entity, property, service, or industry is subject;

7. Similar taxpayers who are not entitled to a retail sales and use tax exemption; and

8. Other criteria, facts or circumstances that may be relevant to the exemption.

C. When the Tax Commissioner investigates and analyzes the tax exemptions in § 58.1-609.11, he shall report on the extent to which the person, entity, property, service, or industry is exempt from the retail sales and use tax in other states, particularly states contiguous to the Commonwealth.

D. For purposes of this section, the Department of Taxation and the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services shall be allowed to share information when necessary to supplement the information required to be reported under this section.

2005, c. 853; 2006, c. 559; 2009, c. 24.