,i #aacth ,,congress #ast ,session ,h4 ,r4 #bedc ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,june #bg1 #bjac ,mr4 ,cohen 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,graves of ,missouri1 ,ms4 ,lofgren1 ,ms4 ,moore1 and ,mr4 ,israel7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on the ,judiciary ,a ,,bill ,to protect consumers from discriminatory ,state taxes on motor vehicle rentals4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,end ,discriminatory ,state ,taxes for ,automobile ,renters ,act of #bjac4 #b4 ,purpose ,the purpose of this ,act is to prohibit prospectively1 and provide a remedy for tax discrimination by a ,state or ,locality against the rental of motor vehicles4 #c4 ,definitions 7a7 ,assessment and assessment jurisdiction ,the term assessment means valuation for a property tax levied by a taxing district4 ,the term assessment jurisdiction means a geographical area in a ,state or ,locality used in determining the assessed value of property for ad valorem taxation4 7b7 ,commercial and industrial property ,the term commercial and industrial property means property1 other than motor vehicle rental property and land used primarily for agricultural purposes or timber growing1 devoted to a commercial or industrial use1 and subject to a property tax levy4 7c7 ,discriminatory tax ,the term discriminatory tax includes the following3 7#a7 ,a tax discriminates against the rental of motor vehicles if a ,state or ,locality imposes the tax on1 or with respect to-- 7,a7 the rental of motor vehicles but not on1 or with respect to1 the rental of more than #ea percent of the rentals of other tangible personal property rented within the ,state or ,locality1 or 7,b7 the rental of motor vehicles at a tax rate that exceeds the tax rate generally applicable to at least #ea percent of the rentals of other tangible personal property within the same ,state or ,locality4 7#b7 ,a tax discriminates against the business of renting motor vehicles if a ,state or ,locality imposes the tax on1 or with respect to-- 7,a7 the business of renting motor vehicles but not on1 or with respect to1 the business of more than #ea percent of the other commercial and industrial taxpayers within the ,state or ,locality1 on the same tax base as the ,state or ,locality employs with respect to the business of renting motor vehicles1 or 7,b7 the business of renting motor vehicles1 at a tax rate that exceeds the tax rate generally applicable to the business of more than #ea percent of the other commercial and industrial taxpayers within the ,state or ,local jurisdiction4 7#c7 ,a tax discriminates against motor vehicle rental property if a ,state or ,locality-- 7,a7 assesses motor vehicle rental property at a value that has a higher ratio to the true market value of the property than the ratio that the assessed value of other commercial and industrial property of the same type in the same assessment jurisdiction has to the true market value of the other commercial and industrial property1 7,b7 levies or collects a tax on an assessment that may not be made under subparagraph 7,a71 or 7,c7 levies or collects an ad valorem property tax on motor vehicle rental property at a tax rate that exceeds the tax rate applicable to commercial and industrial property in the same assessment jurisdiction4 7d7 ,local or locality ,the terms ,local and ,locality mean a political subdivision of any ,state1 or any governmental entity or person acting on behalf of such ,locality1 and with the authority to impose1 levy or collect taxes4 7e7 ,motor vehicle ,the term motor vehicle has the same meaning as in section #acajb7af7 of title #di of the ,united ,states ,code4 7f7 ,other commercial and industrial taxpayers ,the term other commercial and industrial taxpayers means persons or entities who are engaged in trade or business within a ,state or ,locality and who are subject to some form of taxation by a ,state or ,locality4 7g7 ,rental of motor vehicles ,the term rental of motor vehicles means the rental of a motor vehicle that is given by the owner of the motor vehicle for exclusive use to another for not longer than #ahj days for valuable consideration and only includes the rental of motor vehicles with a pre-arranged driver or motor vehicles without a driver1 but shall not include taxi cab service as defined by section #acajb7bj7 of title #di of the ,united ,states ,code4 7h7 ,state ,the term ,state means any of the several ,states1 the ,district of ,columbia or any territory or possession of the ,united ,states1 or any governmental entity or person acting on behalf of such ,state1 and with the authority to impose1 levy or collect taxes4 7i7 ,tax ,except as otherwise specifically provided below1 the term tax means any type of charge required by statute1 regulation or agreement to be paid or furnished to a ,state or ,locality1 regardless of whether such charge is denominated as a tax1 a fee1 or any other type of exaction4 ,the term tax does not include any charge imposed by a ,state or ,locality with respect to a concession agreement at a federally assisted airport 7provided the agreement does not violate the revenue diversion provisions of section #djaaf7;d7 of title #di of the ,united ,states ,code1 or the registration1 licensing1 or inspection of motor vehicles71 if the charge is imposed generally with respect to motor vehicles1 without regard to whether such vehicles are used in the business of renting motor vehicles within the ,state or ,locality4 7j7 ,tax base ,the term tax base means the receipts1 income1 value1 weight1 or other measure of a tax to which the rate is applied4 ,the tax base of a tax imposed on a per unit basis is the unit4 7k7 ,tax rate generally applicable to other commercial and industrial taxpayers ,the term tax rate generally applicable to other commercial and industrial taxpayers means the lower of-- 7#a7 the tax rate imposed on the greatest number of other commercial and industrial taxpayers or their customers1 or 7#b7 the unweighted average rate at which the tax is imposed4 #d4 ,prohibited acts ,no ,state or ,locality may levy or collect a discriminatory tax on the rental of motor vehicles1 the business of renting motor vehicles1 or motor vehicle rental property4 #e4 ,remedies 7a7 ,jurisdiction ,notwithstanding any provision of section #acda of title #bh1 ,united ,states ,code1 or the constitution or laws of any ,state1 the district courts of the ,united ,states shall have jurisdiction1 without regard to amount in controversy or citizenship of the parties1 to grant such mandatory or prohibitive injunctive relief1 interim equitable relief1 and declaratory judgments as may be necessary to prevent1 restrain or terminate any acts in violation of this ,act1 except that such jurisdiction shall not be exclusive of the jurisdiction which any ,federal or ,state court may have in the absence of this section4 7b7 ,burden of proof ,the burden of proof in any proceeding brought under this ,act shall be upon the party seeking relief and shall be by a preponderance of the evidence on all issues of fact4 7c7 ,relief ,in granting relief against a tax which is imposed in violation of section #d1 the court shall strike the tax in its entirety1 unless the court finds the tax-- 7#a7 is the equivalent of a specific tax imposed on at least #ea percent of other commercial and industrial taxpayers1 and 7#b7 is not discriminatory in effect4 ,if such tax is discriminatory in effect with respect to tax rate or amount only1 the court shall strike only the discriminatory or excessive portion of the tax as determined by the court4 ,notwithstanding subsection 7b7 of this section1 the burden of proof on the issue of whether a tax is the equivalent of a tax imposed on other commercial and industrial taxpayers shall be on the ,state or ,locality that imposes the tax4 7d7 ,cause of action 7#a7 ,an action to enforce the provisions of this ,act may be brought only by a person who-- 7,a7 rents motor vehicles to another person1 7,b7 is engaged in the business of renting motor vehicles1 7,c7 owns motor vehicle rental property1 or 7,d7 rents a motor vehicle from another person4 7#b7 ,a person who rents a motor vehicle from another person and is seeking relief under this ,act may only bring a cause of action against the ,state or ,locality imposing the discriminatory tax as defined by this ,act4 #f4 ,limitations ,this ,act shall not be construed to constitute the consent of ,congress to ,state or ,local taxation that would be prohibited in the absence of this ,act4 #g4 ,effective date 7a7 ,effective date ,the provisions of this ,act shall become effective on the date of the enactment of this ,act4 7b7 ,exclusion ,discriminatory taxes as defined by this ,act are not prohibited under this ,act if-- 7#a7 ,state or ,local legislative authorization for a discriminatory tax that is in effect as of the date of the enactment of this ,act1 does not lapse1 the tax rate does not increase and the tax base for such tax does not change2 or 7#b7 a ,state enacts legislation by the date of the enactment of this ,act-- 7,a7 that specifically authorizes a ,locality to impose a discriminatory tax2 7,b7 the ,locality imposes the authorized tax within five years from the date the ,state enacted the authorization for the ,local tax2 and 7,c7 the tax rate imposed by the ,locality is not increased and the tax base for such tax does not change4