The Citizens Commission adopted comments on JLARC's 2009 tax preference reviews on October 16, 2009. There have now been three years of tax preference reviews completed by JLARC at the Legislature's direction. The Commission distributed a summary of the JLARC recommendations and the Commission comments to the Legislature for all three years,and it urged the Legislature to take action on the issues identified in these reviews.
Letter from the Chair of the Commission to the Legislature (pdf)
JLARC Summary of Tax Preference Review Recommendations (pdf)
On October 16, 2009, the Citizen Commission for Performance Measurement of Tax Preferences approved the 2010 10-Year Tax Preference Review Schedule. According to the schedule approved by the Commission, the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Committee (JLARC) will conduct the performance reviews of tax preferences to assess whether they are effectively meeting their intended objectives. For each tax preference on the regular Expedited and Full Review lists, JLARC is to provide recommendations to continue, modify, add an expiration date and conduct another review prior to the expiration date, or terminate the preference. JLARC may also recommend accountability standards for future reviews of tax preferences.
The 2010 10-year Tax Preference Review Schedule is divided into four lists:
10-Year Tax Preference Review Schedule (pdf)
Following requirements established in the EHB1069, JLARC staff have developed Scope & Objectives for Full, Expedited, and "Expedited Light" Tax Preference Reviews.
Role of the Citizen Commission (presentation handouts)
Commission Bylaws
Commission Meeting Attendance by Communication Equipment
Conflict of Interest
Delegated Authority to Adjust Level of Reviews
A "tax preference" means an exemption, exclusion, or deduction from the base of a state tax; a credit against a state tax, a deferral of a state tax, or a preferential state tax rate.
The Joint Legislative Audit and Review Committee shall review tax preferences according to the schedule developed by the Citizen Commission for the Performance Measurement of Tax Preferences (the Commission).
For each tax preference, the committee shall provide a recommendation as to whether the tax preference should be continued without modification, modified, scheduled for sunset review at a future date, or terminated immediately. The committee may recommend accountability standards for the future review of a tax preference.
The commission shall omit from the schedule tax preferences that are required by constitutional law, sales and use tax exemptions for machinery and equipment for manufacturing, research and development, or testing, the small business credit for the business and occupation tax, sales and use tax exemptions for food and prescription drugs, property tax relief for retired persons, and property tax valuations based on current use, and may omit any tax preference that the commission determines is a critical part of the structure of the tax system.