Bill Text: NJ S183 | 2010-2011 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires State to prepare gross income tax return forms for certain taxpayers.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2010-01-12 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee [S183 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2010-S183-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
214th LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2010 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Senator NICHOLAS P. SCUTARI
District 22 (Middlesex, Somerset and Union)
SYNOPSIS
Requires State to prepare gross income tax return forms for certain taxpayers.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel
An Act requiring the State to prepare gross income tax returns for certain taxpayers, supplementing Chapter 8 of Title 54A of the New Jersey Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. The director shall provide a personal income tax return form that is filled out with the taxpayer's personal, wage and other information from the taxpayer's gross income tax withholding information, as well as the taxpayer's calculated deduction and tax liability information for a taxpayer who is required to file an income tax return under N.J.S.54A:8-3.1 and who meets the following conditions:
a. The taxpayer is not self-employed for any part of the taxable year and prior taxable year for which the taxpayer receives a pre-filled personal income tax return form pursuant to this section;
b. The taxpayer is employed at a business location in this State during the taxable year and prior taxable year for which the taxpayer receives a pre-filled personal income tax return form pursuant to this section;
c. The taxpayer's annual income is less than $75,000 and the taxpayer is a resident of New Jersey for the entire taxable year and the entire prior taxable year for which the taxpayer receives a pre-filled personal income tax return form pursuant to this section;
d. The taxpayer filed a New Jersey tax return as a resident taxpayer pursuant to subsection b. of N.J.S.54A:2-1 with no dependants in the taxable year prior to the taxable year for which the taxpayer receives a pre-filled personal income tax return form pursuant to this section, and the taxpayer's dependant or filing status does not change during the taxable year for which the taxpayer receives a pre-filled personal income tax return form pursuant to this section; and
e. The taxpayer's income for the taxable year prior to the taxable year for which the taxpayer receives a pre-filled personal income tax return form pursuant to this section came only from wages found on the taxpayer's federal Internal Revenue Service W-2 form provided by the taxpayer's employer.
2. The pre-filled personal income tax return form shall be administered as follows:
a. If the taxpayer receives a pre-filled personal income tax return form pursuant to section 1 of P.L. , c. (C. )(pending before the Legislature as this bill), but has income from a pension, profit-sharing or stock bonus plan qualified or deemed qualified under subsection (a) of section 401 of the federal Internal Revenue Code (26U.S.C. s.401), the taxpayer shall correct the return or prepare and file an appropriate tax return;
b. If the taxpayer receives a pre-filled personal income tax return form pursuant to section 1 of P.L. , c. (C. )(pending before the Legislature as this bill), but has income other than from a pension, profit-sharing or stock bonus plan qualified or deemed qualified under subsection (a) of section 401 of the federal Internal Revenue Code (26U.S.C. s.401), the taxpayer shall not use the pre-filled form, but rather prepare and file an appropriate tax return;
c. The taxpayer may for any reason choose not to use the pre-filled personal income tax return form and prepare an appropriate tax return instead with no penalty, but choosing not to use the pre-filled form shall not exempt the taxpayer from any tax liability;
d. The taxpayer shall be responsible for verifying information on the pre-filled personal income tax return form before signing and returning the pre-filled form and, if information on the pre-filled form is inaccurate, the taxpayer shall correct the information on the pre-filled form, pursuant to instructions the director shall provide with the pre-filled form;
e. If the taxpayer fails to file a pre-filled personal income tax return form or files an incorrect pre-filled personal income tax return form, the taxpayer shall be liable for any applicable penalties under N.J.S.54A:9-6; and
f. The director shall establish a website and telephone hotline so that taxpayers may access and file the pre-filled form via the internet or telephone;
g. The director shall mail these forms to taxpayers by March 15 of the year immediately following the close of the applicable taxable year;
h. The completed and signed tax return shall be due in accordance with N.J.S.54A:8-1; and
i. The director shall provide the information contained in this section to the taxpayer in at least ten point font on instructions accompanying the pre-filled form.
3. The director is authorized to promulgate other regulations and procedures prescribing the form and content of the pre-filled personal income tax return form.
4. This act shall take effect immediately and shall apply to taxable years beginning after enactment.
STATEMENT
This bill requires the State to prepare personal gross income tax return forms for certain taxpayers. The "pre-filled" tax returns will contain all the gross income tax information contained in a taxpayer's W-2 form.
Taxpayers who qualify to receive the forms are "wage only" earners, meaning that most of the information they supply on their New Jersey income tax returns comes solely from their employer W-2 forms. They must be "wage only" earners in the previous taxable year. However for the applicable taxable year, the bill allows taxpayers who have income from one additional type of source during the taxable year, retirement plans, to use the form by correcting the pre-filled information on the form. To receive the forms, taxpayers must also meet the following criteria for the applicable and previous tax year: not self-employed, employed in New Jersey, reside in New Jersey all year, earn less than $75,000, have no dependants and use a single or "married, filing separate" filing status on their New Jersey tax returns. The allowance for retirement income means that more taxpayers can use the forms. However, with the income limit, only taxpayers in the lowest four tax brackets are eligible to receive the form.
The bill lists requirements for information provided on the forms, including notice of voluntary use of the forms by taxpayers and instructions for corrections to the form by taxpayers. The bill also allows taxpayers to submit the pre-filled returns via mail, telephone or internet. The bill requires the Director of the Division of Taxation to mail the forms to qualified taxpayers after the Division receives New Jersey employee taxpayer withholding information.
The bill aids taxpayers and the State. The bill makes filing tax returns with the State more convenient for these taxpayers, as they may avoid the cost of private tax preparers and the burden of completing complicated forms. Due to the filing ease, taxpayers will likely return the completed forms back to the State well before the filing deadline. And, the forms will help ensure the correct tax is paid by taxpayers. If the State receives these correctly completed returns earlier, it will have a better idea about annual gross income tax revenues and may be able to forecast its annual budget in a more concrete manner.
California has successfully implemented a pilot program of such pre-completed tax returns. In addition, other countries, such as Great Britain and Germany, have used similar forms for years. This bill will make New Jersey's tax collection process more streamlined and predictable, like these other jurisdictions.
