Income withholding; first payment of prize money; racing

# (1)

"Initial recipient" means a person or entity to whom prize money is paid by a payor.

# (2)

"Payor" means a promoter, sanctioning body, or designee of the promoter or sanctioning body that first pays prize money to a race team or any other person or entity. The term does not include a subsequent person or entity who pays or distributes any part of the prize money.

# (3)

"Prize money" with respect to a racing event at a qualified motorsports facility means any purse or other amounts earned for placement or participation in a race or part of a race, including qualification. The term does not include amounts earned based on placement or participation in more than one (1) race unless the races are conducted at a qualified motorsports facility.

# (4)

"Qualified motorsports facility" has the meaning set forth in IC 5-1-17.5-14.

# (5)

"Race team" has the meaning set forth in IC 6-3-2-3.2(a).

# (6)

"Ultimate recipient" means the person or entity to whom any tax withheld under this section is to be credited for purposes of this article or IC 6-5.5. The term may apply to an initial recipient.

(b) Whenever a payor pays prize money to an initial recipient, the payor shall deduct and retain from the prize money the applicable amount prescribed in the withholding instructions described in section 8 of this chapter. The following provisions apply to a payor and the money required to be deducted and retained by the payor under this section:

(1) Money deducted and retained by a payor under this section immediately becomes the money of the state and every payor who deducts and retains money under this section holds the money in trust for the state.

(2) The provisions of IC 6-8.1 relating to additions to tax in case of delinquency and penalties apply to a payor under this section. For these purposes, the payor shall be considered the taxpayer and any amount required to be remitted to the department under this section shall be considered to be the tax of the payor.

(3) The payor is liable to the state for the payment of the tax required to be deducted and retained under this section. The payor is not liable to any initial recipient or ultimate recipient for the amount deducted from the payment of prize money and paid to the department in compliance, or intended compliance, with this section.

(c) A payor shall remit to the department the amount required to be deducted and retained under subsection (b) not later than thirty (30) days after the end of the month in which the prize money is paid. At the time of the remittance, the payor shall provide to the department a list of all initial recipients and the amount withheld on behalf of each initial recipient on forms prescribed by the department.

(d) Not later than thirty (30) days after the end of the calendar year for which tax is withheld under this section, an initial recipient shall provide a statement to each ultimate recipient and to the department listing the amounts withheld under subsection (b) on behalf of the ultimate recipients. The statement must be made in the manner prescribed by the department. A statement from the initial recipient to the ultimate recipient is evidence of tax withheld by the payor in favor of the ultimate recipient unless the statement from the initial recipient is determined to be erroneous or fraudulent.

(e) This section does not impose a duty to withhold amounts from prize money on an entity other than a payor. However, an initial recipient or ultimate recipient may otherwise have a duty to withhold amounts from prize money under sections 8, 12, 13, or 15 of this chapter.
As added by P.L.146-2020, SEC.26.