Vehicle registration-shell businesses.

2016
State of Wyoming
16LSO-0123
ENGROSSED
2.1

SENATE FILE

NO.

SF0033

Vehicle registration-shell businesses.

Sponsored by:
Joint Transportation, Highways & Military Affairs Interim Committee

A BILL

for

AN ACT relating to motor vehicles; creating a rebuttable presumption relating to vehicles registered under the laws of another jurisdiction for purposes of titling, registration and ownership; providing a penalty; creating a definition; amending vehicle registration exemptions; and providing for effective dates.

Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Wyoming:

Section 1
.

W.S. 31
‑
1
‑
101(
a) by creati
ng a new
paragraph
(xxxiv),
31
‑
2
‑
201 by creating
new subsection
s
(o)
through (
q
)
and 31
‑
2
‑
224(a)(v)
(intro)
are amended to read:

31
‑
1
‑
101
.

Definitions.

(a)

Except as otherwise provided, as used in this act:

(xxxiv)

"
Shell business
" means any
partnership, limited liability company, limited liability partnership
,
corporation or other legal entity
organized under the laws of another
jurisdiction

which
owns or holds title to a vehicle to avoid proper registration of the
vehicle in this state
.
Factors which may indicate a
legal entity is a
shell business
include but are not limited to the following:

(A)

The primary business activity or purpose of the legal entity is the avoidance of paying Wyoming taxes and fees;

(
B)

Failure
to maintain a physical location in the foreign jurisdiction

for at least one (1) year
. Under no circumstances shall a registered agent be deemed to provide the legal entity with a physical location
;

(
C
)

Failure
to employ individual persons and provide those persons with internal revenue service form W
‑
2 wage and tax statements; or

(D)

Failure
to file
or pay
federal tax returns
or fail
ure
to file
or pay
a required state tax return in the foreign jurisdiction
;

(E)

The business entity has not deducted vehicle depreciation or expenses in a federal income tax return.

31
‑
2
‑
201
.

Registration required; timelines.

(o)

If
the department, in consultation with the department of revenue
, a county
treasurer
or a Wyoming peace officer,
determines a
resident
is
in control of a vehicle owned by
a shell business, it shall b
e rebuttably presumed
the resident is the
actual owner of the vehicle
and
the resident
shall be required to obtain a Wyoming certificate of title, to register the vehicle and to pay any sales or use taxes due on the purchase of the vehicle

in accordance with
W.S. 39
‑
15
‑
107(b)(i) or

39
‑
16
‑
107(b)(ii)
.
The department shall promulgate rules and regulations
to determine if a resident is in control of a vehicle
owned
by a shell business which
may
include
consideration of
the following factors:

(i
)

The
resident
was the i
nitial purchaser of the vehicle;

(
ii
)

The
resident
operated or stored the vehicle in
Wyoming
for any period of time;

(
iii
)

The
resident is a partner, member
or shareholder of the
shell business

that purports to be the owner of the vehicl
e; or

(iv
)

The

resident
is insured to drive the vehicle.

(
p
)

If the
department
, in consultation with the department of revenue
, a county
treasurer
or a Wyoming peace officer,

determine
s
that
a resident

is the presumed owner of
a vehicle under
subsection (o) of this section
, the department

shall notify the

resident
in writing
,

that
the resident is required to obtain a
Wyoming
certificate of title,
to register the
vehicle
and to pay any

sales or use taxes due
on the purchase of the vehicle

in accordance with

W.S. 39
‑
15
‑
107(b)(i) or
39
‑
16
‑
107(b)(ii)

within
thirty
(30)
days from the date of the notice.

The department

shall
promulgate rules and regulations in accordance with the Wyoming Administrative Procedure Act
necessary
to implement
this section, including
rules and regulations
to
provide
the
resident an opportunity for a hearing and appeal
. Following a final determination in the appeal in favor of the department
,
the resident shall owe the taxes
and fees determined to be due.

(
q
)

If a

person
found to be in control
of a vehicle owned by a shell business
under
subsection (o) of this section
fails to pay
registration fees or
applicable sales or use taxes due
within thirty (30) days from the date of the notice required under subsection (p)
of this section
or within thirty (30) days following a final determination in favor of the department
under subsection (p) of this section
, the person
shall
be charged a civil penalty in
an amount n
ot more than
seventy
‑
five percent
(75%)
of
the
unpaid
registration
fee
s
.

31
‑
2
‑
224
.

Registration exemptions.

(a)

The following vehicles are exempt from the provisions of this article:

(v)

Except as
otherwise
provided in W.S. 31
‑
2
‑
101(o), v
ehicles owned by a nonresident, validly registered in another state or country, displaying registration numbers or plates in accordance with the laws of that state or country and:

Section
2
.

The department of transportation shall
promulgate
rules and regulations necessary to implement this act on or before July 1, 2016.

Section
3
.

(a)

Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, th
is act is effective July 1, 2017
.

(b)

Section 2 of this act is effective immediately upon completion of all acts necessary for a bill to become law as provided by Article 4, Section 8 of the Wyoming Constitution.

(END)

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SF0033