Under the bill, the penalties are increased as follows:

1. A person who unlawfully possesses no more than 200 cigarettes may be fined not more than $200 or imprisoned for not more than six months, or both.

2. A person who unlawfully possesses more than 200 cigarettes but no more than 3,000 cigarettes may be fined not more than $1,000 or imprisoned for not more than one year, or both.

3. A person who unlawfully possesses more than 3,000 cigarettes but no more than 5,000 cigarettes is guilty of a Class I felony.

4. A person who unlawfully possesses more than 5,000 cigarettes but no more than 10,000 cigarettes is guilty of a Class H felony.

5. A person who unlawfully possesses more than 10,000 cigarettes is guilty of a Class F felony.

The bill also amends the definition of “racketeering activity” for purposes of the Wisconsin Organized Crime Control Act to include the attempt, conspiracy to commit, or commission of the felonies created under the bill related to evading excise taxes and unlawful possession of cigarettes.

Alcohol beverage permit reapplication

The bill provides that, if DOR revokes an alcohol beverages permit, the permit holder may not reapply to DOR for the permit for a period of six months.

Notice of change filed by alcohol beverage licensee or permittee

Under current law, within ten days of any change in a fact set out in an application for a license or permit to sell alcohol beverages, the licensee or permittee must file with the issuing municipality or DOR, as applicable, a written description of the changed fact. This bill extends the deadline for this filing from ten days to 30 days.

Sales suppression devices and phantomware

Under the bill, any person who creates, designs, manufactures, sells, purchases, leases, installs, updates, repairs, services, transfers, uses, or possesses in this state or accesses from this state phantomware or an automated sales suppression device, unless for a legitimate purpose, is guilty of a Class D felony. The bill also authorizes DOR to revoke any permit, license, or certificate issued by DOR for up to 10 years for violating this prohibition.

Under the bill, an “automated sales suppression device” is a software program that falsifies the electronic records of electronic cash registers and other point-of-sale systems. The bill defines “phantomware” as a programming option embedded in the operating system of an electronic cash register, or hardwired into an electronic cash register, that can be used to create a virtual second electronic cash register or eliminate or manipulate transaction records. Automated sales suppression devices and phantomware are typically used to evade the payment of taxes.

For further information see the state fiscal estimate, which will be printed as an appendix to this bill.

SB268,,4 The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do enact as follows:

SB268,1 Section 1. 40.02 (48) (am) 19. of the statutes is amended to read:

SB268,,6 40.02 (48) (am) 19. An excise tax investigator A special agent employed by the department of revenue who is authorized to act under s. 73.031.

SB268,2 Section 2. 40.02 (48) (c) of the statutes is amended to read:

SB268,,8 40.02 (48) (c) In s. 40.65, “protective occupation participant” means a participating employee who is a police officer, fire fighter, an individual determined by a participating employer under par. (a) or (bm) to be a protective occupation participant, county undersheriff, deputy sheriff, state probation and parole officer, county traffic police officer, conservation warden, state forest ranger, field conservation employee of the department of natural resources who is subject to call for forest fire control or warden duty, member of the state traffic patrol, state motor vehicle inspector, University of Wisconsin System full-time police officer, guard or any other employee whose principal duties are supervision and discipline of inmates at a state penal institution, excise tax investigator special agent employed by the department of revenue who is authorized to act under s. 73.031, person employed under s. 60.553 (1), 61.66 (1), or 62.13 (2e) (a), or special criminal investigation agent employed by the department of justice.

SB268,3 Section 3. 71.78 (1) of the statutes is amended to read:

SB268,,10 71.78 (1) Divulging information. Except as provided in subs. (1g), (4), (4m), (10), and (11), no person may divulge or circulate or offer to obtain, divulge, or circulate any information derived from an income, franchise, withholding, fiduciary, partnership, or limited liability company tax return or tax credit claim, including information which may be furnished by the department as provided in this section. This subsection does not prohibit publication by any newspaper of information lawfully derived from such returns or claims for purposes of argument or prohibit any public speaker from referring to such information in any address. This subsection does not prohibit the department from publishing statistics classified so as not to disclose the identity of particular returns, or claims or reports and the items thereof. This subsection does not prohibit employees or agents of the department of revenue from offering or submitting any return, including joint returns of a spouse or former spouse, separate returns of a spouse, individual returns of a spouse or former spouse, and combined individual income tax returns, or from offering or submitting any claim, schedule, exhibit, writing, or audit report or a copy of, and any information derived from, any of those documents as evidence into the record of any contested matter involving the department in proceedings or litigation on state tax matters if, in the department’s judgment, that evidence has reasonable probative value.

SB268,4 Section 4. 71.78 (1g) of the statutes is created to read:

SB268,,12 71.78 (1g) Permissible disclosure by department employees. An employee of the department may, in connection with the employee’s official duties, disclose information derived from a return or claim specified in sub. (1) to the extent that the disclosure is necessary to obtain information for the enforcement of the tax laws of this state. The information that may be disclosed under this subsection shall be strictly limited to, and used solely for the purposes of, obtaining information necessary for an audit, collection, inspection, or investigation by the employee.

SB268,5 Section 5. 71.78 (4) (b) of the statutes is amended to read:

SB268,,14 71.78 (4) (b) The attorney general and department of justice employees. A department of justice employee may, in connection with the employee’s official duties, disclose information, other than copies of information, examined under this paragraph to a law enforcement investigator participating in a department of justice investigation of suspected criminal conduct. The information that may be disclosed under this paragraph shall be strictly limited to, and used solely for the purposes of, obtaining information necessary for a department of justice investigation.

SB268,6 Section 6. 71.78 (4) (v) of the statutes is created to read: