Iowa Admin. Code r. 701—304.2(422D) — Emergency medical services income surtax

Effective July 1, 1992, a county board of supervisors may offer for voter approval a local option income surtax, an ad valorem property tax, or a combination of the two taxes to generate revenues for emergency medical services. However, this rule pertains only to the local option income surtax for emergency medical services. If a majority of those voting in the election approve the emergency medical services income surtax, the income surtax will be imposed for tax years beginning on or after January 1 of the fiscal year in which the election is held. Thus, if an election is held in the 2007-2008 fiscal year (July 1, 2007, through June 30, 2008) and the income surtax is approved in the election, the income surtax will be imposed on 2008 returns for individuals filing on a calendar-year basis. In the case of individuals filing on a fiscal-year basis, the income surtax will be imposed on returns for tax years beginning in the 2008 fiscal year. If an emergency medical services income surtax is imposed for a county, it can be imposed only for a maximum period of five years. When the emergency medical income surtax is repealed because the five-year imposition has expired, the income surtax is repealed as of December 31 for tax years beginning on or after that date. 304.2(1) The rate of the income surtax imposed for emergency medical services. After the income surtax is approved by an election of county voters, the board of supervisors will set the rate of tax to be imposed, which can be expressed in tenths of 1 percent or hundredths of 1 percent but cannot exceed 1 percent. In addition, because the cumulative total of the percents of income surtax imposed on any taxpayer in the county cannot exceed 20 percent, the rate of an emergency medical services income surtax may be limited, if a school district income surtax has been approved previously by a school district in the county and the surtax rate exceeds 19 percent. Therefore, assuming that a school district in the county had previously approved an income surtax rate of 19.4 percent, the medical emergency income surtax rate would be limited to six-tenths of 1 percent. If a school district income surtax and emergency medical income surtax are approved on or about the same date and the cumulative total of the income surtaxes is greater than 20 percent, the income surtax approved on the earlier of the two dates will be allowed at the rate approved and the second income surtax approved will be limited accordingly so that the cumulative rate will not exceed 20 percent. If a school district income surtax and an emergency medical income surtax Revenue are approved on the same date with a proposed cumulative rate that exceeds 20 percent, each of the surtaxes will be reduced equally so that the cumulative surtax rate will not exceed 20 percent. Assuming that a school district in a particular county approves an income surtax of 20 percent on November 4, 2008, and an emergency medical income surtax of 1 percent is approved on the same date, both surtaxes will be reduced by five-tenths of 1 percent so that the cumulative rate of the two income surtaxes does not exceed 20 percent. The department of management can provide information about any income surtaxes that have been approved for the school districts in the county. 304.2(2) Imposing the emergency medical income surtax. The emergency medical income surtax will be imposed on the state income tax liability on each individual residing in the county at the end of the individual’s tax year, whether the individual’s tax year ends at the end of the calendar year or fiscal year. For purposes of the emergency medical income surtax, an individual’s income tax liability is the aggregate of the state income taxes determined in Iowa Code section 422.5 less the nonrefundable credits against computed income tax which are authorized in Iowa Code chapter 422, division II. 304.2(3) Administering the emergency medical income surtax. The director of revenue shall administer the emergency medical income surtax in the same way as other state individual tax laws are administered. All powers and requirements related to administering the state income tax law apply to the administration of the emergency medical income surtax including, but not limited to, the provisions of Iowa Code sections 422.4, 422.20 to 422.31 , 422.68, 422.70, and 422.72 to 422.75 . The county board of supervisors and county officials shall confer with the director for assistance in drafting the ordinance imposing the emergency medical income surtax. Certified copies of the ordinance shall be filed with the department of revenue and the department of management within 30 days after the emergency medical income surtax is approved. 304.2(4) Accounting for the emergency medical income surtax and paying the surtax. The department shall account for the emergency medical income surtax and any interest and penalties on the surtax so that there is a separate accounting for each county where the income surtax is imposed. The accounting shall be applicable to those individual income tax returns filed on or before November 1 of the calendar year following the tax year for which the tax is imposed. The emergency medical income surtax and any penalties and interest should be credited to a “local income surtax fund” established in the office of the state treasurer. On or before December 15 of the year after the tax year, the director of revenue shall certify to the state treasurer the income surtax and any interest and penalties collected from returns filed on or before November 1.