,i #aafth ,,congress #ast ,session ,h4 ,r4 #dcaa ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,september #ab1 #bjai,mr4 ,cohen 7for himself and ,mr4 ,chabot7 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 #bjai4 #b4 ,findings2 ,purpose 7a7 ,findings ,congress finds the following3 7#a7 ,congress has prohibited economic protectionism by ,state and local governments that unduly burden or discriminate against interstate commerce and transportation under the authority granted by the ,commerce ,clause of the ,constitution by enacting laws such as the ,railroad ,revitalization and ,regulatory ,reform ,act of #aigf1 the ,motor ,carrier ,act of #aihj1 the ,bus ,regulatory ,reform ,act of #aihb1 and the ,airport and ,airway ,improvement ,act of #aihb4 7#b7 ,in ,gibbons v4 ,ogden1 #bb ,u4,s4 #a 7#ahbd71 a case challenging the exclusive right of navigating the waters of ,new ,york granted by that ,state1 the ,supreme ,court affirmed that it is the sole right of ,congress to regulate commerce between the ,states under what ,chief ,justice ,john ,marshall recognized as the dormant ,commerce ,clause4 7#c7 ,since #aiij1 over #ajj discriminatory taxes have been imposed by ,state and local governments on motor vehicle rentals in violation of the dormant ,commerce ,clause4 7b7 ,purpose ,the purpose of this ,act is to prohibit prospectively1 and provide a remedy for1 tax discrimination by a ,state or ,locality against the rental of motor vehicles4 #c4 ,prohibition on discrimination 7a7 ,in general ,chapter #hje of title #di1 ,united ,states ,code1 is amended by adding at the end the following3 #hjeje4 ,tax discrimination against motor vehicle rental property 7a7 ,definitions ,in this section3 7#a7 ,assessment and assessment jurisdiction 7,a7 ,assessment ,the term assessment has the meaning given that term in section #aaeja7;a77#a74 7,b7 ,assessment jurisdiction ,the term assessment jurisdiction has the meaning given that term in section #aaeja7;a77#b74 7#b7 ,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 which is devoted to a commercial or industrial use4 7#c7 ,commercial and industrial taxpayers ,the term other commercial and industrial taxpayers means persons of entities who are engaged in a trade or business1 other than the trade or business of renting motor vehicles1 within a ,state or ,locality4 7#d7 ,covered person ,the term covered person means a person who-- 7,a7 rents motor vehicles to another person2 7,b7 is engaged in the business of renting motor vehicles2 7,c7 owns motor vehicle rental property2 7,d7 rents a motor vehicle from another person2 or 7,e7 purchases motor vehicle rental property4 7#e7 ,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-- 7i7 the rental of motor vehicles but the tax is not a generally applicable tax on1 or with respect to1 more than #ea percent of the rentals of other tangible personal property within the ,state or ,locality2 or 7ii7 the rental of motor vehicles at a tax rate that exceeds the generally applicable tax rate on 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-- 7i7 the business of renting motor vehicles but the tax is not a generally applicable tax on1 or with respect to1 more than #ea percent of the businesses of other commercial and industrial taxpayers within the ,state or ,locality2 or 7ii7 the business of renting motor vehicles at a tax rate that exceeds the generally applicable tax rate on at least #ea percent of the business of 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-- 7i7 assesses motor vehicle rental property at a value that has a higher ratio to the true market value of the property than the ratio of the assessed value to the true market value applicable to commercial and industrial property in the same assessment jurisdiction2 7ii7 levies or collects a tax on an assessment that may not be made under clause 7i72 or 7iii7 levies or collects an ad valorem property tax on motor vehicle rental property at a generally applicable tax rate that exceeds the tax rate applicable to commercial and industrial property in the same assessment jurisdiction4 7#f7 ,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 with the authority to impose1 levy1 or collect taxes4 7#g7 ,motor vehicle ,the term motor vehicle has the meaning given that term in section #acajb7af74 7#h7 ,motor vehicle rental property ,the term motor vehicle rental property means property owned or used by a person engaged in the business of renting motor vehicles and used to provide rentals of motor vehicles4 7#i7 ,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 #acajb7bb74 7#aj7 ,rental of other tangible or personal property ,the term rental of other tangible or personal property means any rental of tangible or personal property1 other than the rental of motor vehicles4 7#aa7 ,state ,the term ,state means any of the several ,states1 the ,district of ,columbia1 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 levy1 or collect taxes4 7#ab7 ,tax ,except as otherwise specifically provided below1 the term tax means any type of charge required by statute1 regulation1 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;d771 or the registration1 licensing1 or inspection of motor vehicles1 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 7#ac7 ,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 7#ad7 ,generally applicable tax ,the term generally applicable tax may be determined by-- 7,a7 the gross receipts of rentals of other tangible personal property or other commercial and industrial taxpayers within the ,state or ,locality to which the tax is imposed by the ,state or ,locality compared to the gross receipts of rentals of other tangible personal property or other commercial and industrial taxpayers within the ,state or ,locality2 or 7,b7 another method used to determine whether more than #ea percent of rentals of other tangible personal property or other commercial and industrial taxpayers is subject to the tax4 7b7 ,unreasonable burdens and discrimination against interstate commerce 7#a7 ,in general ,the following acts unreasonably burden and discriminate against interstate commerce1 and a ,state or ,locality may not do any of them3 7,a7 ,levy or collect a discriminatory tax on the rental of motor vehicles4 7,b7 ,levy or collect a discriminatory tax on the business of renting motor vehicles4 7,c7 ,levy or collect a discriminatory tax on motor vehicle rental property4 7#b7 ,exclusion ,discriminatory taxes are not prohibited under this section if the tax is imposed as of the date of the enactment of this section1 does not lapse1 the tax rate does not increase1 and the tax base for such tax does not change4 7c7 ,remedies 7#a7 ,in general ,notwithstanding section #acda of title #bh1 a covered person aggrieved of a violation of subsection 7b7 may bring a civil action in a district court of the ,united ,states seeking damages1 injunctive relief1 other legal or equitable relief1 or declaratory relief4 7#b7 ,relief ,in granting relief against a tax levied or collected in violation of subsection 7b71 if the tax is a discriminatory tax the court shall strike only the discriminatory or excessive portion of the tax4 7#c7 ,burden of proof 7,a7 ,in general ,except as provided in subparagraph 7,b71 a covered person shall have the burden of proving1 by a preponderance of the evidence1 that the levying or collecting of a tax violates subsection 7b74 7,b7 ,equivalent of other taxes ,if the court determines that the levying or collecting of a tax violates subsection 7b71 the ,state or ,locality shall have the burden of proving1 by a preponderance of the evidence1 that the tax is the equivalent of a tax imposed on other commercial and industrial taxpayers under paragraph 7#b74 7#d7 ,other remedies ,nothing in this subsection shall limit any cause of action or remedy available under any other provision of ,federal or ,state law4 7d7 ,limitations ,this section shall not be construed to constitute the consent of ,congress to ,state or ,local taxation that would be prohibited in the absence of this section4 4 7b7 ,clerical amendment ,the table of sections for chapter #hje of title #di1 ,united ,states ,code1 is amended by inserting after the item relating to section #hjejd the following3 #hjeje4 ,tax discrimination against motor vehicle rental property4 4