S3180

An Act imposing a tax on the collection of certain consumer data and supplementing Title 54 of the Revised Statutes.

Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1. As used in P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill):

“Collect” means the act of obtaining or acquiring the consumer data of a consumer, not including the retention, maintenance, use, processing, sale, or other disclosure of such consumer data following the date of initial acquisition by the commercial data collector.

“Commercial data collector” means any individual or business entity that collects, maintains, uses, processes, sells, or shares consumer data, other than consumer contact information, in support of its business activities.

“Consumer” means a person who purchases goods or services from a commercial data collector or who uses the services of a commercial data collector. A consumer shall be deemed to use the services of a commercial data collector regardless of whether the consumer is charged for the use of such services.

“Consumer contact information” means the email address, telephone number, telefax number, home address, mailing address, or credit card information of a consumer that is used to engage in a sales transaction.

“Consumer data” means any information that identifies, describes, relates to, is associated with, or could reasonably be linked to, a consumer, regardless of whether such data is directly submitted to a commercial data collector by the consumer or derived from any other source through electronic or non-electronic means.

“Director” means the Director of the Division of Taxation in the Department of the Treasury.

“New Jersey consumer” means a consumer whose primary residence is located in the State of New Jersey.

2. a. A taxpayer that is a commercial data collector shall be subject to a tax based on the number of New Jersey consumers whose consumer data is collected by the taxpayer during each month. The amount of tax imposed shall be determined in accordance with the following schedule:

(1) for a taxpayer that collects consumer data on 1 million or more New Jersey consumers, but less than 2 million New Jersey consumers, during the month, the rate of tax shall be $0.05 for each New Jersey consumer whose consumer data is collected by the taxpayer;

(2) for a taxpayer that collects consumer data on 2 million or more New Jersey consumers, but less than 3 million New Jersey consumers, during the month, the tax shall be $50,000, plus $0.10 for each New Jersey consumer whose consumer data is collected by the taxpayer;

(3) for a taxpayer that collects consumer data on 3 million or more New Jersey consumers, but less than 4 million New Jersey consumers, during the month, the tax shall be $150,000, plus $0.15 for each New Jersey consumer whose consumer data is collected by the taxpayer;

(4) for a taxpayer that collects consumer data on 4 million or more New Jersey consumers, but less than 5 million New Jersey consumers, during the month, the tax shall be $300,000, plus $0.20 for each New Jersey consumer whose consumer data is collected by the taxpayer;

(5) for a taxpayer that collects consumer data on 5 million or more New Jersey consumers, but less than 6 million New Jersey consumers, during the month, the tax shall be $500,000, plus $0.25 for each New Jersey consumer whose consumer data is collected by the taxpayer;

(6) for a taxpayer that collects consumer data on 6 million or more New Jersey consumers, but less than 7 million New Jersey consumers, during the month, the tax shall be $750,000, plus $0.30 for each New Jersey consumer whose consumer data is collected by the taxpayer;

(7) for a taxpayer that collects consumer data on 7 million or more New Jersey consumers, but less than 8 million New Jersey consumers, during the month, the tax shall be $1,050,000, plus $0.35 for each New Jersey consumer whose consumer data is collected by the taxpayer;

(8) for a taxpayer that collects consumer data on 8 million or more New Jersey consumers, but less than 9 million New Jersey consumers, during the month, the tax shall be $1,400,000, plus $0.40 for each New Jersey consumer whose consumer data is collected by the taxpayer;

(9) for a taxpayer that collects consumer data on 9 million or more New Jersey consumers, but less than 10 million New Jersey consumers, during the month, the tax shall be $1,800,000, plus $0.45 for each New Jersey consumer whose consumer data is collected by the taxpayer; and

(10) for a taxpayer that collects consumer data on 10 million or more New Jersey consumers, during the month, the tax shall be $2,250,000, plus $0.50 for each New Jersey consumer whose consumer data is collected by the taxpayer.

b. If the consumer data of a consumer, as on record with or available to a taxpayer, indicates that the consumer has a New Jersey home address, a New Jersey mailing address, or an Internet protocol address connected with a New Jersey location, the consumer shall be presumed to be a New Jersey consumer for purposes of this section. This presumption may be rebutted upon the submission of satisfactory evidence to the director that a consumer is not a New Jersey consumer.

c. The tax imposed by this section shall be filed and paid on a monthly basis in a manner prescribed by the director and shall be governed by the provisions of the State Uniform Tax Procedure Law, R.S.54:48-1 et seq.

3. A taxpayer shall be allowed a credit against the tax imposed pursuant to section 2 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) for taxes paid to another state that imposes an identical tax on the collection of the consumer data. The credit shall be in an amount equal to the tax paid to that state for each New Jersey consumer whose consumer data is subject to the identical tax.

4. There shall be credited to a special account within the General Fund, to be known as the “9-8-8 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline Trust Fund Account,” an amount equal to the first $60,000,000 of revenue annually derived from the tax imposed pursuant to section 2 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill). The monies in the account shall be dedicated and annually appropriated to the Department of Human Services to support costs associated with the provision and maintenance of crisis intervention services and crisis care coordination for individuals accessing the 9-8-8 suicide prevention and behavioral health crisis hotline operated pursuant to section 2 of P.L.2022, c.35 (C.26:2MM-6).

5. The director shall, in accordance with the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), adopt rules and regulations as necessary to implement the provisions of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).

6. This act shall take effect immediately, except that section 2 of this act shall not take effect until the first day of the third month following the adoption of rules and regulations pursuant to section 5 of this act.

STATEMENT

This bill imposes a tax on certain commercial data collectors based on the number of New Jersey consumers for whom consumer data is collected each month.

Specifically, the tax would be imposed on a taxpayer that is a commercial data collector that collects consumer data on 1 million or more New Jersey consumers in a month. The amount of tax due by a commercial data collector would be based on the number of New Jersey consumers for whom consumer data is collected by the commercial data collector during each month. The term “collect” is defined under the bill as the act of obtaining or acquiring consumer data, not including the retention, maintenance, use, processing, sale, or other disclosure of such consumer data following the date of initial acquisition by the commercial data collector.

The amount of tax due would be determined according to the following schedule:

Number of New Jersey Consumers	Amount of Tax Due
1 million or more, but less than 2 million	$0.05 per consumer
2 million or more, but less than 3 million	$50,000, plus $0.10 per consumer
3 million or more, but less than 4 million	$150,000, plus $0.15 per consumer
4 million or more, but less than 5 million	$300,000, plus $0.20 per consumer
5 million or more, but less than 6 million	$500,000, plus $0.25 per consumer
6 million or more, but less than 7 million	$750,000, plus $0.30 per consumer
7 million or more, but less than 8 million	$1,050,000, plus $0.35 per consumer
8 million or more, but less than 9 million	$1,400,000, plus $0.40 per consumer
9 million or more, but less than 10 million	$1,800,000, plus $0.45 per consumer
10 million or more	$2,250,000, plus $0.50 per consumer

The bill provides that a New Jersey consumer includes any consumer whose primary residence is in the State. If the consumer data available to a taxpayer indicates that the consumer has a New Jersey home address, a New Jersey mailing address, or an Internet protocol address connected with a New Jersey location, the bill provides that the consumer would be presumed to be a New Jersey consumer. However, the bill allows a commercial data collector to rebut this presumption upon the submission of satisfactory evidence to the Director of the Division of Taxation in the Department of the Treasury that the consumer is not a New Jersey consumer.

The bill also allows a commercial data collector to claim a credit against the tax for any taxes paid to another state that imposes a tax on the collection of consumer data identical to the one established under the bill. The credit would be in an amount equal to the tax paid to that state for each New Jersey consumer whose consumer data is subject to that identical tax.

A “commercial data collector” is defined under the bill to mean any individual or business entity that collects, maintains, uses, processes, sells or shares consumer data, other than consumer contact information, in support of its business activities. “Consumer data” is defined as any information that identifies, describes, relates to, is associated with, or could reasonably be linked to, a consumer, regardless of whether such data is directly submitted to a commercial data collector by the consumer or derived from any other source through electronic or non-electronic means.

The bill dedicates the first $60 million in revenue annually generated from the tax to support the State’s 9-8-8 Suicide and Crisis Hotline. Specifically, the bill requires these monies to be credited to a special account within the General Fund, to be known as the “9-8-8 Suicide and Crisis Hotline Trust Fund Account,” and annually appropriated to the Department of Human Services to support the costs associated with the provision and maintenance of crisis intervention services and crisis care coordination for individuals accessing the hotline. The 988 hotline is the nationwide three-digit dialing code for individuals experiencing mental health-related distress, thoughts of suicide, or a substance use crisis.