(a) Notwithstanding Section 40-29-20, or any other law to the contrary, a private auditing or collecting firm may not recover any of the following costs from a taxpayer:
(1) Professional service fees to include, but not be limited to, attorney fees and charges for accountant services.
(2) Travel costs.
(3) Salary or personnel-related expenses of the firm.
(4) Auditing or collecting related costs.
(b) For purposes of this section, a private auditing or collecting firm has the same definition as provided in Section 40-2A-3.