ASSEMBLY, No. 697

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

214th LEGISLATURE

 

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2010 SESSION

 

 

Sponsored by:

Assemblyman  SAMUEL D. THOMPSON

District 13 (Middlesex and Monmouth)

 

Co-Sponsored by:

Assemblyman Greenwald

 

 

 

 

SYNOPSIS

     Requires the Director of the Division of Taxation to establish a gross income tax payment system by credit card or debit card.

 

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

     Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel

  

An Act requiring the Director of the Division of Taxation to establish a gross income tax payment system by credit card or debit card, amending P.L.1996, c.2.

 

     Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

 

     1.    Section 2 of P.L.1996, c.2 (C.54:48-4.3) is amended to read as follows:

     2.    Subject to the provisions of section 3 of P.L.1996, c.2  (C.54:48-4.4), the director shall establish a card payment system for payments of the gross income tax, provided that the transaction costs of the collection of tax through such system are not paid by the State, and may establish a card payment system or electronic funds transfer system for payments of other State taxes.

(cf:  P.L.1996, c.2. s.2)

 

     2.    This act shall take effect immediately and apply to liabilities arising for taxable years beginning on or after the January 1 next following enactment.

 

 

STATEMENT

 

     This bill requires the Director of the Division of Taxation in the Department of the Treasury  to establish a card payment system for the payment of gross income tax.

     A card payment system means a technical procedure by which tax obligations owed the State may be paid by credit card or by debit card. A credit card is a card or other authorization to pay through a third party's extension of credit; a debit card is a card or other authorization to pay through a debit on the cardholder's account with a third party.

     P.L.1996, c.2 (C.54:48-4.4) authorized the Director of the Division of Taxation to implement a card payment program, and the director initiated a pilot card payment program beginning in March of 1999 that has been expanded to allow individual and fiduciary taxpayers to pay gross income tax liabilities and make payments of estimated gross income taxes.  The program is available to all taxpayers who have filed in a previous year (and therefore have existing tax files).  As the existing system appears to meet the requirements of the bill, enactment of the bill would not require any changes and the bill allows some discretion for the continuation of what will be a mandatory program should the operating costs of the
transaction fees for card payments become fiscally disadvantageous to the State.