On October 29, 2007 the Citizen Commission for Performance Measurement of Tax Preferences adopted comments on the 2007 Preliminary Tax Review Reports. These comments have been transmitted to the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Committee, which will take action on the reports at its November 28, 2007 meeting.
On September 7, 2007 the Citizen Commission for Performance Measurement of Tax Preferences approved the 2008 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 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 10-year Tax Preference Review Schedule is divided into three lists:
10-Year Tax Preference Review Schedule (pdf, 1.7 MB)
Following requirements established in the EHB1069, JLARC staff have developed a proposed Scope & Objectives for both Full and Expedited Tax Preference Reviews.
Role of the Citizen Commission (presentation handouts)
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.