Remittance of tax - GIS - vendor held harmless - requirements of GIS database - rules - legislative declaration - definitions

(1) As used in this section, GIS database means the geographic information system database that the department of revenue owns and maintains, that meets the defined scope of work set forth in the request for solicitation, and is provided to vendors to determine the jurisdictions to which tax is owed and to calculate appropriate sales and use tax rates for individual addresses.

(2) The department of revenue shall immediately notify vendors when the GIS database is online, tested, and verified by the department of revenue to be operational, supported, and available for use. Notification to vendors may be provided in any way that the department deems appropriate and must be accomplished within existing resources.

(3) Any vendor that collects and remits sales tax to the department of revenue as provided by law, including any local sales or use tax pursuant to part 2 of title 29, may use the GIS database. Any vendor that directly uses the data contained in the GIS database, or uses data from a third-party database that is verified to use the most recent information provided by the GIS database, to determine the jurisdictions to which tax is owed is held harmless for any tax, charge, or fee liability to any taxing jurisdiction that otherwise would be due solely as a result of an error or omission in the GIS database data.

(3.5) (a) The general assembly finds and declares that:

(I) The task force has overseen the implementation of an electronic sales and use tax simplification system, which is commonly known as SUTS and includes the GIS database, in furtherance of the general assembly's goal to address the complex and cumbersome nature of Colorado's unique state and local sales tax system, which is a matter of statewide concern;

(II) SUTS and the GIS database are designed, among other things, to assist businesses operating in multiple taxing jurisdictions in Colorado by providing them with a single, reliable source of sales and use tax information for the state and local taxing jurisdictions, including any county, city and county, or municipality governed by a home rule charter;

(III) While the sales and use tax bases and rates of the state and local taxing jurisdictions and the jurisdictional boundaries of such local taxing jurisdictions are subject to change over time, SUTS was specifically designed in anticipation of such changes pursuant to section 39-26-802.5 (1)(c)(IV) and (1)(c)(V);

(IV) It is a matter of statewide concern to ensure that SUTS, including the GIS database, continues to serve and evolve as an effective simplification tool upon which businesses can rely in navigating Colorado's unique and complex state and local sales tax system;

(V) Improving SUTS in this manner will decrease filing complexity, make audits of retailers more uniform for all state and local taxing jurisdictions, help streamline and reduce administrative burdens, and, consequently, encourage more businesses to begin or continue to operate across multiple taxing jurisdictions across this state; and

(VI) Any business that uses the data collected in SUTS, inclusive of data collected in the GIS database, to determine the local taxing jurisdictions to which tax is owed should be held harmless in an audit by the state or any local taxing jurisdiction, including any county, city and county, or municipality governed by a home rule charter for any tax, charge, or fee liability to any local taxing jurisdiction that would be due solely as a result of an error or omission in the SUTS or GIS database data.