First, taxes...

The House passed HB 557 this week, and the Senate is scheduled to vote on SB 125 this week.  Here is the key language from HB 557: "A taxpayer claiming a deduction [from the business profits tax] under this paragraph shall bear the burden of proving that at least one or more proprietors, partners, or members provided actual services to the business organization at any time during the taxable period. Once a taxpayer has satisfied this burden of proof, the amount claimed as a deduction shall be presumed to be reasonable, unless the commissioner proves by a preponderance of the evidence that the deduction claimed by the taxpayer is grossly excessive."   (HB 611, the third bill dealing with this subject, was sent to "study," likely because it is not needed anymore.)

HB 457:  lowering the interest rate on delinquent tax payments to either 6% or 9%, depending on the tax.  Despite a 15-1 committee vote to not pass this bill, the full House approved it last week.  It now moves on to the Senate.

HB 316: eliminating the requirement that property owners provide access to assessors in order to preserve the right to challenge tax assessments.  Instead, property owners would be required to fill out an inventory form, failing which they would pay a penalty of $10 - $50, depending on the value of the real estate.  This bill passed the House last week with an amendment preserving a taxpayer's right to contest taxes even if an inventory form is not filed.  Keep your fingers crossed as the bill makes its way through the senate.

Evictions....

HB 173: requiring commercial landlords to send eviction documents to tenants by certified mail to the tenant's last known address.   This bill helps commercial landlords by heading-off claims by tenants they were never made aware of an eviction.  The bill passed the House and is now in the Senate Commerce Committee. 

SB 44, requiring commercial and residential tenants to pay weekly rent into court while an eviction action is pending, with the court taking a 10% administrative fee.  This bill is still in the Senate Judiciary Committee, which held a heated hearing last week. 

SB 70: Shortening from 28 to 7 the number of days a landlord must store property left behind by a residential tenant.  The bill also eliminates the $1,000 minimum damage award should landlords violate the 7-day storage requirement.  This bill is still with the Senate Judiciary Committee.

And a bonus for condominium property managers...

HB 298:  Requiring property managers to disclosure referral fees from vendors and fees received from unit owners that are not specified by the management contract.

The bill also requires contractors who perform work on a unit to disclose referral fees passed through to the unit owner.  This bill passed the House last week and is now moves on to the Senate.