2191D592CC094E2B872583A600747C38 Hearing Summary

Senator Woodward, bill sponsor, described Senate Bill 19-131.  The bill would exempt small business owners from some of new destination sales tax sourcing rules.  Senator Woodward distributed a handout of endorsements (Attachment A), the Colorado Sales/Use Tax Rules (Attachment B), a handout from the coalition to Simplify Colorado Sales Tax (Attachment C), a selection of news stories (Attachment D), and a selection of constituent communications (Attachment E).

Senator Woodward described Amendment L.001 (Attachment F) and Amendment L.002 (Attachment G).

Tony Gagliardi, National Federation of Independent Business, testified in support of the bill.  Mr. Gagliardi responded to questions from the committee regarding the complexity of Colorado's tax code and taxing jurisdictions.

Dale Ross, representing himself as a small business owner, testified in support of the bill.

Paul Baron, representing himself as a small business owner, testified in support of the bill.  Mr. Baron responded to a question from the committee about tax compliance.

Rachelle Baron, representing herself as a small business owner, testified in support of the bill.  Mrs. Baron responded to questions from the committee related to tax compliance with other states.

Robert Golden, South Metro Denver Chamber and Douglas County Business Alliance, testified in support of the bill.

Paul Witter, representing himself as a small business owner, testified in support in the bill.

Jesse Van Kempen, representing himself as a small business owner, testified in support of the bill.

Amy Hamrick, representing herself as a small business owner, testified in support of the bill.

Rachel Beck, Colorado Springs Chamber and EDC, testified in support of the bill.  Ms. Beck responded to questions from the committee about the exemption threshold in the bill, consequences for small business owners, and the timeline for compliance with current rules.

Kevin Bommer, Colorado Municipal League, testified in support of the bill.  Mr. Bommer responded to a question from the committee regarding the scope of the bill.

Nicholas Colglazier, Colorado Competitive Council, testified in support of the bill.

Brendon Reese, Colorado Department of Revenue, testified against the bill.  Mr. Reese responded to questions from the committee regarding proposed amendments, taxing jurisdictions, and state-collected tax distributions.

Josh Pens, Colorado Department of Revenue, testified against the bill.  Mr. Pens and Mr. Reese responded to questions from the committee regarding sales in other states, amendments to the bill, the origin of current department rules, and the scope of the bill.

Senator Woodward distributed a handout (Attachment H) and made closing comments on the bill.

Committee members made comments on the bill.