GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 1999

H	1 

HOUSE BILL 1551

Short Title:  Tax Enforcement.	(Public)

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Sponsors: Representatives Miller, Allen, Gray, Hill, Jarrell, Luebke, Pope, and Tucker.

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Referred to:  Finance.

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May 17, 2000

A BILL TO BE ENTITLEDAN ACT TO MODIFY THE AUTHORITY OF DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENTS, TO ALLOW THE SECRETARY OF REVENUE TO ADMINISTER THE OATH OF OFFICE TO DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENTS, AND TO PROVIDE A CIVIL PENALTY FOR FILING A FRIVOLOUS INCOME TAX RETURN.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
Section 1.  G.S. 105-236.1(a) reads as rewritten:
"(a)	General. – The Secretary may appoint employees of the Criminal Investigations Division to serve as revenue law enforcement officers having the responsibility and subject-matter jurisdiction to enforce the felony and misdemeanor tax violations in G.S. 105-236, to enforce the misdemeanor tax violations in G.S. 105-449.117 and G.S. 105-449.120, and to enforce any of the following criminal offenses when they involve a tax imposed under Chapter 105 of the General Statutes: G.S. 14-91 (Embezzlement of State Property), G.S. 14-92 (Embezzlement of Funds), G.S. 14-100 (Obtaining Property By False Pretenses), G.S. 14-119 (Forgery), G.S. 14-120 (Uttering Forged Paper), and G.S. 14-401.18 (Sale of Certain Packages of Cigarettes).
The Secretary may appoint employees of the Unauthorized Substances Tax Division to serve as revenue law enforcement officers having the responsibility and subject-matter jurisdiction to enforce the excise tax on unauthorized substances imposed by Article 2D of this Chapter. To serve as a revenue law enforcement officer, an employee must be certified as a criminal justice officer under Chapter 17C of the General Statutes.
The Secretary may administer the oath of office to revenue law enforcement officers appointed pursuant to this section."
Section 2.  G.S. 105-236 is amended by adding a new subdivision to read:
"(10a)	Filing a Frivolous Return. – If a taxpayer files a frivolous return under Part 2 of Article 4 of this Chapter, the Secretary shall assess a penalty in the amount of five hundred dollars ($500.00).  A frivolous return is a return that meets both of the following requirements:a.	Fails to include information on which the substantial correctness of the return may be judged or contains information that indicates the return is substantially incorrect.
b.	Evidences a desire to delay or impede the revenue laws of this State or a reliance upon a position that is frivolous."
Section 3.  Section 2 of this act becomes effective October 1, 2000, and applies to returns filed on or after that date.  The remainder of this act is effective when it becomes law.