Bill Text: MS HB924 | 2014 | Regular Session | Introduced

Mississippi House Bill 924 (Prior Session Legislation)

Introduced

Bill Title: Money transmitters; require to collect fee for international money transactions.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Failed) 2014-02-04 - Died In Committee [HB924 Detail]

Download: Mississippi-2014-HB924-Introduced.html

MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE

2014 Regular Session

To: Banking and Financial Services

By: Representative Gipson

House Bill 924

AN ACT TO CREATE NEW SECTION 75-15-37, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REQUIRE LICENSEES AND AGENTS UNDER THE MISSISSIPPI MONEY TRANSMITTERS ACT TO COLLECT A FEE FOR EACH INTERNATIONAL MONEY TRANSACTION; TO REQUIRE THAT THE FEES BE REMITTED QUARTERLY TO THE DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE; TO PROVIDE THAT THE DEPARTMENT SHALL DEPOSIT THE FEES INTO THE DRUG COURT FUND; TO PROVIDE THAT IF A LICENSEE OR AN AGENT FAILS TO FILE THE FORMS OR REMIT THE FEE AS REQUIRED BY THIS ACT, THE DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE SHALL NOTIFY THE COMMISSIONER OF BANKING, WHO SHALL SUSPEND THE LICENSE OF THE LICENSEE OR SUSPEND THE AGENT FROM DOING BUSINESS AS AN AGENT; TO PROVIDE THAT THE LICENSEE'S LICENSE SHALL REMAIN SUSPENDED, OR THE AGENT MAY NOT DO BUSINESS AS AN AGENT, UNTIL ALL REQUIRED REPORTS HAVE BEEN FILED AND ALL REQUIRED FEE AMOUNTS HAVE BEEN REMITTED; TO AMEND SECTION 75-15-7, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO CONFORM TO THE PRECEDING PROVISIONS; TO CREATE NEW SECTION 27-7-22.38, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO CREATE AN INCOME TAX CREDIT IN THE AMOUNT OF THE FEE PAID BY A TAXPAYER UNDER THIS ACT FOR AN INTERNATIONAL MONEY TRANSACTION; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: SECTION 1. The following shall be codified as Section 75-15-37, Mississippi Code of 1972:

75-15-37. (1) Each licensee under this chapter and each agent appointed under Section 75-15-17 shall collect for each international money transaction a fee of Five Dollars ($5.00) on the amount of the transaction that does not exceed Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) and one percent (1%) of the amount of the transaction that exceeds Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00).

(2) Licensees and agents shall remit the fees imposed by subsection (1) of this section quarterly to the Department of Revenue on such forms as the department, with the assistance of the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics, may prescribe for that purpose. All required forms and remittances shall be filed with the Department of Revenue not later than the fifteenth day of the month following the close of each calendar quarter.

(3) The Department of Revenue shall deposit all revenues derived from the fees collected into the Drug Court Fund established by Section 9-23-51.

(4) Each licensee and its agents shall post a notice on a form prescribed by the Director of the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics that notifies customers that upon filing an individual income tax return with either a valid social security number or a valid taxpayer identification number, the customer shall be entitled to an income tax credit equal to the amount of the fee paid by the customer for the transaction.

     (5) The Department of Revenue is authorized to use all provisions of law regarding enforcement that are available to the department to enforce the provisions of this section. If a licensee or an agent fails to file the forms or fails to remit the fee as required by this section, the Department of Revenue shall notify the commissioner, who shall suspend the license of the licensee or suspend the agent from doing business as an agent. The commissioner shall send a notification of any suspensions to the Director of the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics. The licensee's license shall remain suspended, or the agent may not do business as an agent, until all required reports have been filed and all required fee amounts have been remitted.
     (6) Upon request from the Department of Revenue, the commissioner may make a claim against the surety bond of the licensee on behalf of the State of Mississippi.
     (7) The Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics and its attorneys may assist the Department of Revenue in conducting audits and the prosecution and/or seeking of legal remedies to ensure compliance with this section.

SECTION 2. Section 75-15-7, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

75-15-7. Nothing in this chapter shall apply to the sale or issuance or delivering of checks by:

(a) Any financial institution whose deposits are insured by any agency of the United States government or any trust company authorized to do business in this state;

(b) The government of the United States or any department or agent thereof;

(d) Agents of a licensee, as provided for in Section 75-15-17, provided that this exemption shall apply only to the agent's acts on behalf of the licensee and this exemption shall not exempt the agent from the provisions of this chapter where he conducts money transmissions for his own account, and agents are not exempt from the provisions of Section 75-15-37;

(e) Attorneys at law, as to checks issued in the regular course of the practice of law;

(f) Persons not carrying on the trade or business of money transmission, this exemption is intended to include persons who conduct money transmissions only as an incidental act to another trade or business regularly carried on by them and persons who only occasionally and infrequently conduct money transmissions for another person; or

(g) The Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry for mortgage brokers, mortgage lenders and mortgage loan originators.

SECTION 3. The following shall be codified as Section 27-7-22.38, Mississippi Code of 1972:

27-7-22.38. There shall be allowed as a credit against the tax imposed by this chapter an amount equal to the amount of the fee paid by a taxpayer under Section 75-15-37 for an international money transaction.

SECTION 4. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2014, except for Section 3, which shall take effect and be in force from and after January 1, 2014.