The Vermont Statutes Online

Title 32 : Taxation and Finance

Chapter 151 : Income Taxes

Subchapter 013 : Franchise Tax on Waste Facilities

• § 5952. Imposition of tax

  (a)(1) A tax is imposed for each calendar quarter or part thereof upon the franchise or privilege of doing business of every person required by 10 V.S.A. chapter 159 to obtain certification for a facility. The tax shall be imposed in the amount of $6.00 per ton of waste delivered for disposal or incineration at the facility, regardless of the amount charged by the operator to recoup its expenses of operation, including the expense of this tax.

  (2) The tax shall be similarly imposed on waste delivered to a transfer facility for shipment to an incinerator or other treatment facility or disposal facility that is located outside the State. However, if the transfer station is located within a district that is authorized by an interstate compact to enter into cooperative agreements with a district in another state, the tax shall only be imposed if the treatment or disposal facility is located outside the State and also outside the cooperating district in another state. For purposes of this determination, a treatment or disposal facility may be considered to be located within a district only if that district existed before July 1, 1987.

  (3) The tax shall be similarly imposed on waste shipped to an incinerator or other treatment facility or disposal facility that is located outside the State, without having been delivered to a transfer station located in this State. In this situation, the tax is imposed for each calendar quarter or part thereof upon the franchise or privilege of doing business of every person regulated under 10 V.S.A. § 6607a as a commercial hauler of solid waste. This tax shall not be imposed on waste exempt under subdivision (2) of this subsection.

  (b) The tax imposed by this section shall be in addition to any other taxes imposed on the taxpayer.

  (c) If a return required by this chapter is not filed or if a return, when filed, is incorrect or insufficient, the Commissioner shall determine the amount of tax due from any information available. If adequate information is not available to determine the tax otherwise due under this section, the Commissioner may assess a tax at the rate of $3.50 per year per person served by the facility. The number of persons served by a facility shall be determined by the Commissioner based upon any available information and with regard given to seasonal and recreational use.

  (d) Every person required to pay the tax imposed by this subchapter shall use a weight scale that accurately gauges the weight of the waste and shall keep accurate contemporaneous records of the volume or weight of all waste delivered for disposal; provided, however, that a landfill receiving less than 1,000 tons of municipal solid waste per year that does not have scales that accurately gauge the weight of the waste may compute weight indirectly from volume using accurate records of the volume of waste delivered for disposal and a conversion rate approved by the Commissioner. The taxpayer’s records relating to imposition of the tax imposed by this subchapter shall be available for inspection or examination at any time upon demand by the Commissioner of Taxes or the Secretary of Natural Resources, their duly authorized agents, or employees and shall be preserved for a period of three years. (Added 1987, No. 78, § 17; amended 1987, No. 246 (Adj. Sess.), § 5, eff. June 13, 1988; 1987, No. 278 (Adj. Sess.), §§ 7, 8, eff. June 21, 1988; 1989, No. 218 (Adj. Sess.), § 5; 1993, No. 81, § 6; 1995, No. 186 (Adj. Sess.), § 21; 2005, No. 94 (Adj. Sess.), § 6, eff. March 8, 2006.)