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HB 1960

Washington County; extend the repeal date on the Washington County Convention and Visitors Committee and on tourism tax.

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Willie Bailey and 1 co-sponsor

Shifts ad valorem tax ownership to lessees for leases over 30 days, making lessees pay taxes; clarifies the $2,500 sales/use tax cap applies to total periodic payments.

Died In Committee
#localandprivatelegislation
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Bill Summary · HB 1960

Summary — HB 1960

Status: Died in Committee (per user metadata).
Introduced: January 22, 2025.
Classification: Local and Private legislation.
Primary sponsors shown in the document: Rep. Wardlaw; Sen. Stone (cosponsor); Rep. Tony M. McCombie listed in an unrelated insertion.

Note: The provided document contains mixed materials from more than one jurisdiction. The main bill text is an Arkansas draft (engrossed S4/9/25) amending state tax and vehicle-assessment law. The file also contains an unrelated Illinois HB1960 appropriation excerpt. This summary treats the Arkansas bill text as the subject.

Main purpose / intent

To (1) make the lessee (rather than the lessor) of a leased motor vehicle the “owner” for purposes of personal property assessment and payment, and (2) clarify how local sales and use tax limitations apply to sales or leases of high-value tangible personal property (motor vehicles, aircraft, watercraft, modular/manufactured/mobile homes) that are paid in periodic installments.

Key provisions and changes

  • Clarifies “owner”/“vehicle owner” definitions for leased vehicles:

    • Amends multiple Arkansas Code sections (e.g., § 26-26-706; § 26-26-903; § 26-26-1408(a)(1); § 27-14-1015(a)) to define that when a vehicle is leased for more than 30 days, the lessee is the “owner” for listing, assessment, and payment of ad valorem (property) taxes.
    • Explicitly includes leased motor vehicles among a taxpayer’s tangible personal property for annual assessment (Jan 1–May 31).

  • Modifies application of local sales & use tax caps for certain tangible property:

    • Reinforces the existing rule that municipal/county sales or use taxes apply only to the first $2,500 of gross receipts on sales of specified items (motor vehicles, aircraft, watercraft, modular/manufactured/mobile homes).
    • Adds rules for transactions involving periodic payments (leases or sales financed by installments):
    • For determining whether the $2,500 cap applies, the tax base is the aggregate of all periodic payments.
    • Provides options for collection: collect the tax on the first periodic payment or distribute and collect evenly across each periodic payment.

  • Adds parallel language to several statutory caps and county/municipal capital-improvement tax provisions (multiple § 26-74-xxx sections) to ensure consistent treatment of periodic-payment transactions.

Who is affected

  • Lessees of leased motor vehicles (contracts over 30 days): would become responsible for property tax listing, assessment, and payment.
  • Lessors (leasing companies) would be relieved of owner-centered property tax responsibility for such vehicles.
  • Dealers, lessors, county tax assessors, and local tax collectors: administrative practices for listing, billing, and collecting property and sales/use taxes on leases would change.
  • Local governments and taxing authorities: potential distribution/timing differences in sales/use tax collections on installment transactions (timing shift depending on collection method chosen).

Procedural / timeline aspects

  • The document contains an Arkansas engrossed version dated S4/9/25 and an amendment (S1) adding Senator Stone as cosponsor.
  • User-provided status: Died In Committee. (Because the source file contains inconsistent legislative-action entries spanning different documents and jurisdictions, please verify current status with the appropriate state legislative clerk or database before relying on this for official purposes.)

Notes / discrepancies

  • The title provided by the user ("Washington County; extend the repeal date on the Washington County Convention and Visitors Committee and on tourism tax") does not match the substantive text in the document (which addresses vehicle leasing and tax treatment).
  • The file also includes an unrelated Illinois HB1960 appropriation ($2 to the Department on Aging, effective July 1, 2025). These are separate bills with the same number in different states and are not part of the Arkansas provisions summarized above.

If you want, I can:
- Produce a clean, clause-by-clause comparison showing exactly which Arkansas Code sections would be changed; or
- Verify and summarize the Washington County tourism-related bill if you provide that text.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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