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SB138 • 2026

TAXATION: VEHICLE RENTALS, SUBPOENAS

An Act relating to vehicle rental taxes; relating to the issuance of subpoenas related to tax records; and providing for an effective date.

Housing Taxes
Passed Legislature

This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.

Sponsor
SENATOR CLAMAN
Last action
2025-05-02
Official status
(S) FIN
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The official text states the act takes effect immediately but does not provide a specific calendar date.

Alaska Vehicle Rental Tax and Subpoena Changes

This law lowers the tax rate on passenger vehicle rentals, requires large online rental platforms to collect taxes if they have over 200 transactions a year, and updates rules for enforcing subpoenas.

What This Bill Does

  • Lowers the state tax rate on renting passenger vehicles from 10 percent to 9 percent.
  • Requires vehicle rental platforms with more than 200 transactions in Alaska last year to collect and pay taxes directly to the Department of Revenue.
  • Allows these large platforms to avoid paying back taxes if they tried reasonably hard but could not get correct information from a car owner.
  • Changes court rules so that only superior courts can force people to obey tax subpoenas, removing references to other jurisdictions' courts.
  • Stops the Department of Revenue from collecting past-due rental platform taxes for transactions before this law takes effect.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Companies that run websites or apps used to arrange vehicle rentals between owners and renters.
  • Individuals who rent out their passenger vehicles through these platforms.
  • The Alaska Department of Revenue, which collects taxes and issues subpoenas.
  • Superior courts in Alaska regarding enforcement of tax record requests.

Terms To Know

Vehicle rental platform
An app, website, or booking service that helps arrange rentals between car owners and renters who do not own the same company.
Subpoena
A legal order requiring a person to provide tax records or appear in court.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The law does not specify an exact calendar date for when it becomes effective, only that it takes effect immediately upon passage.
  • It is unclear how the Department of Revenue will define 'reasonable effort' if a platform claims they could not get correct information from a car owner.

Bill History

  1. 2025-05-02 Min

    (S) Minutes (SFIN)

  2. 2025-05-02 Text

    (S) Heard & Held

  3. 2025-05-02 Text

    (S) FINANCE at 09:00 AM SENATE FINANCE 532

  4. 2025-04-11 781

    (S) REFERRED TO FINANCE

  5. 2025-04-11 781

    (S) FN1: INDETERMINATE(REV)

  6. 2025-04-11 781

    (S) NR: BJORKMAN, SHOWER, TOBIN, STEDMAN

  7. 2025-04-11 781

    (S) TRA RPT CS 4NR SAME TITLE

  8. 2025-04-10 Min

    (S) Minutes (STRA)

  9. 2025-04-10 Text

    (S) Moved CSSB 138(TRA) Out of Committee

  10. 2025-04-10 Text

    (S) TRANSPORTATION at 01:30 PM BUTROVICH 205

  11. 2025-04-03 Min

    (S) Minutes (STRA)

  12. 2025-04-03 Text

    (S) Heard & Held

  13. 2025-04-03 Text

    (S) TRANSPORTATION at 01:30 PM BUTROVICH 205

  14. 2025-03-19 564

    (S) TRA, FIN

  15. 2025-03-19 564

    (S) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS

Official Summary Text

TAXATION: VEHICLE RENTALS, SUBPOENAS
An Act relating to vehicle rental taxes; relating to the issuance of subpoenas related to tax records; and providing for an effective date.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
SB0138B -1- CSSB 138(TRA)
New Text Underlined [DELETED TEXT BRACKETED]

34-LS0749\N

CS FOR SENATE BILL NO. 138(TRA)

IN THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA

THIRTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE - FIRST SESSION

BY THE SENATE TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE

Offered: 4/11/25
Referred: Finance

Sponsor(s): SENATOR CLAMAN
A BILL

FOR AN ACT ENTITLED

"An Act relating to vehicle rental taxes; relating to the issua nce of subpoenas related to 1
tax records; and providing for an effective date." 2
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 3
* Section 1. AS 43.05.040(c) is amended to read: 4
(c) If a person who is subpoenaed neglects or refuses to obey the subpoena 5
issued as provided in this secti on, the department may report t he fact to the superior 6
court [OR THE APPROPRIATE COURT OF ANOTHER JURISDICTION], and m ay 7
seek an order from the court compelling obedience to the subpoe na. The court, to the 8
maximum extent permitted by law, may compel obedience to the su bpoena [TO THE 9
SAME EXTENT AS WITNESSES MAY BE COMPELLED TO OBEY THE 10
SUBPOENAS OF THE COURT]. 11
* Sec. 2. AS 43.52.020 is amended to read: 12
Sec. 43.52.020. Rate of passenger vehicle rental tax. The rate of the tax 13
levied in AS 43.52.010 is nine [10] percent of the total fees and costs charged for the 14
34-LS0749\N
CSSB 138(TRA) -2- SB0138B
New Text Underlined [DELETED TEXT BRACKETED]

lease or rental of a [THE] passenger vehicle. 1
* Sec. 3. AS 43.52.050(a) is amended to read: 2
(a) The taxes imposed by AS 43.52.010 - 43.52.099 shall be col lected and 3
paid to the department 4
(1) by the person who provides the leased or rented vehicle unless the 5
lease or rental was arranged or executed through a vehicle rent al platform under 6
(c) of this section; and 7
(2) in the manner and at the times required by the department by 8
regulation except that a vehicle rental platform collecting and paying the tax 9
under (c) of this section shall pay the tax quarterly. 10
* Sec. 4. AS 43.52.050 is amended by adding new subsections to read: 11
(c) A vehicle rental platform that arranged or executed more t han 200 12
transactions in the state in the preceding calendar year shall collect and pay to the 13
department the taxes imposed under AS 43.52.010 - 43.52.099 and provide the 14
department with any books, papers, or records related to the tax. 15
(d) If a vehicle rental platform company fails to collect or p ay the tax under 16
this section because incorrect or insufficient information was provided by a person 17
providing a leased or rented vehic le, the vehicle rental platfo rm company is not liable 18
for the collection or payment of the tax if the vehicle rental platform company 19
demonstrates that the company made a reasonable effort to obtai n the correct or 20
sufficient information from the person. 21
(e) In this section, 22
(1) "motor vehicle" means a vehicle that is self-propelled exc ept a 23
vehicle moved by human or animal power; 24
(2) "vehicle rental platform" means an application, website, o ffline 25
booking service, or other system, whether online or offline, of fered or used by a 26
vehicle rental platform company that enables the prearrangement of motor vehicle 27
rentals with motor vehicle owners that are not related by commo n ownership or 28
control with the vehicle rental platform; 29
(3) "vehicle rental platform company" means a company whose 30
primary business is arranging or executing the rental of vehicl es through a vehicle 31
34-LS0749\N
SB0138B -3- CSSB 138(TRA)
New Text Underlined [DELETED TEXT BRACKETED]

rental platform. 1
* Sec. 5. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 2
read: 3
ASSESSMENT AND COLLECTION LIMITATION. Notwithstanding AS 43.05. 260 4
and 43.05.270, the Department of Re venue may not, on or after t he effective date of this Act, 5
assess or collect taxes under AS 43.52.010 - 43.52.099 that wer e imposed before the effective 6
date of this Act on a transaction arranged or executed through a vehicle rental platform. If the 7
tax is not assessed or collected before the effective date of t his Act, proceedings may not be 8
instituted in court for the assessment or collection of the tax . In this section, "vehicle rental 9
platform" has the meaning given in AS 43.52.050(e), enacted by sec. 4 of this Act. 10
* Sec. 6. This Act takes effect immediately under AS 01.10.070(c). 11