House Bill No. 377

Introduced By ryan, kitzenberg



A Bill for an Act entitled: "An Act requiring that a request for an exemption from paying the tax for a television district be subject to review and approval by the television district board of trustees; and amending section

7-13-2529, MCA."



Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Montana:



Section 1.  Section 7-13-2529, MCA, is amended to read:

"7-13-2529.   Exemption for nonbenefited taxpayers. (1) The following taxpayers in the television district, are exempt upon request and with the approval of the television district board of trustees, may be exempted from payment of the tax for the support of the television services of the television district upon the filing of an affidavit setting forth one of on the following grounds:

(a)  The the taxpayer does not cannot receive the signal of the television translator station.;

(b)  The the taxpayer receives direct reception from the television station from which the television translator repeats a signal.; or

(c)  The taxpayer does not receive the translator signal directly but receives service through the medium of a community antenna system and does not directly or indirectly use any signal repeated by the television district as its source.

(d)(c)  The the taxpayer receives the services through the medium of a community antenna system that has a written agreement with the district relating to the transmission of district signals.

(2)  The affidavit shall request for exemption must be filed before September 1 with the board of trustees, who shall which, upon the receipt of such affidavit the request and approval of the exemption, shall remove have the names name of such persons so the person exempted from the tax for television services stricken from the list of taxpayers certified to the board of county commissioners. The exempted persons shall person is not be liable for such the tax.

(3)  A similar exemption is available with respect to FM translator services. The procedure provided in subsection (1) shall must be utilized for the FM exemption.

(4)  Any A person or persons who shall make making a false or fraudulent claim for an exemption as provided for in this section shall be is guilty of a misdemeanor."

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