OSCPA priority bills introduced, scheduled for hearings

Several OSCPA-supported legislative priorities were recently introduced as House bills and are scheduled for hearings in the Ohio House Ways & Means Committee, covering late filing fees, muni net profits tax and more. 

Municipal Notices and Late Filing Fees.  State Rep. Jim Thomas (R-Jackson Twp.) provided sponsor testimony on House Bill 105 at its first hearing in the House Ways & Means Committee on March 21.  H.B. 105 would place limits on late filing penalties under R.C. 718.27.  In some cases, taxpayers currently can be charged up to $150 in late filing fees even if they owe no tax. The legislation: (1) limits the late filing penalty to $25, rather than the $150 cap in current law; (2) requires any late filing penalty assessed on a taxpayer’s first late filing to be refunded or abated once the taxpayer files the overdue return.  

Additionally, for taxpayers who have a filing extension, it will prohibit tax administrators from sending inquiries or notices prior to the taxpayer filing the return or prior to the extended due date, whichever comes first.  Further, if this prohibition is violated, tax administrators would be required to reimburse the taxpayer for any costs incurred to respond to that inquiry.  

H.B. 105 is a reintroduction of the House-passed version of H.B. 519 (134th GA) from the previous legislative session. The Ohio Society of CPAs will provide proponent testimony in support of H.B. 105 at the second hearing on March 28.  

Municipal Net Profits Tax Safe Harbor.  House Bill 121 allows businesses with remote and/or hybrid employees or owners to use a modified apportionment formula. It would provide the following: when an employee or owner works at a remote work location, the business may elect to apportion any property, payroll, or sales (gross receipts) attributable to that employee or owner to a designated location owned or controlled either by the business or one of its customers.  

H.B. 121 was introduced on March 21 by State Rep. Monica Robb Blasdel (R-Columbiana) and State Rep. Adam Mathews (R-Lebanon). 

Deduction of Bonus Depreciation and Expensing Allowances.  House Bill 116 seeks to amend R.C. 5747.01 to allow taxpayers to deduct in a single year the full bonus depreciation and enhanced expensing allowances the taxpayer deducts for federal income tax purposes. The bill creates an election allowing taxpayers to eliminate the addback and phase out subtraction.  

H.B. 116 is scheduled for its first hearing, sponsor testimony, in the House Ways & Means Committee on March 28.  The sponsors are State Rep. Bob Peterson (R-Washington Court House) and State Rep. Thad Claggett (R-Newark).