36 M.R.S. § 2015 — Rental vehicle excise tax reimbursement

1.
Report.
Annually, on or before September 1st, a vehicle owner or rental company engaged in the business of renting automobiles for a period of less than one year, in order to claim an excise tax reimbursement, shall file a report with the State Tax Assessor. The report must include the information required by the State Tax Assessor to determine the taxpayer's excise tax reimbursement entitlement. The State Tax Assessor may extend the September 1st filing deadline for a period not to exceed one year for good cause.
2.
Reimbursement.
The State Tax Assessor shall determine the reimbursement to be paid to a taxpayer filing a return pursuant to subsection 1 . The reimbursement is the amount that is the smaller of:
A.
The amount determined by computing the total excise tax credit entitlement during the most recently completed period from July 1st to June 30th for which a taxpayer has filed a return pursuant to subsection 1 . An excise tax credit accrues for each vehicle excise tax paid in the prior completed period for which the associated Maine registration was surrendered prior to the expiration of the associated 12-month excise tax period, unless the excise tax was credited to another registration, in which case the 12-month period continues to run in association with the replacement registration. The amount of the credit is equal to the amount of the excise tax paid in order to register the original vehicle multiplied by a fraction, the numerator of which is the number of complete months short of 12 months during which the registration was surrendered and the denominator is 12; or
B.
Three-tenths of the amount of tax paid to the State by the taxpayer resulting from the tax on the rental of automobiles for a period of less than one year during the most recently completed period from July 1st to June 30th.
3.
Treasurer of State; notification.
Upon the determination of the reimbursement amount to be paid to a vehicle owner or rental company, the State Tax Assessor shall inform the Treasurer of State of the determination and the Treasurer of State shall make the reimbursement. These reimbursements must be accounted for and paid as sales and use tax refunds. Unless the reimbursement is paid before November 1st of the year in which the report required in subsection 1 is filed or within 60 days of the filing of that report, whichever is later, interest at the rate provided in section 186 must be paid for the period of time that transpires after the deadline before payment is made.