Utah House approves monthly sales-tax remittance bill after multiple amendments

SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah House passed House Bill 338 on Feb. 17, 1992, a measure intended to reduce losses in sales-tax collections by requiring most businesses to remit collected sales taxes monthly and imposing some new administrative requirements for large collectors.

Representative Martin R. Stevens, sponsor, told the chamber the state had been "losing a great deal of money in the state of Utah by businesses collecting sales tax ... and then for various reasons not remitting those to the state," and said the bill would require monthly remittance for businesses that collect more than a threshold and would require electronic funds transfer for very large collectors. Stevens said the bill would affect about 5% of Utah businesses — roughly 2,200 firms — and left smaller collectors on a quarterly schedule.

On the floor the House adopted several significant amendments negotiated with…