(1) The tax levied under this chapter is the obligation of the seller and the department may, at the department's option, enforce the obligation through an action of debt against the seller or the department may proceed in the manner prescribed for the foreclosure of mortgages. The department's use of one course of enforcement is not an election not to pursue the other.
(2) For purposes of this section and notwithstanding any other provisions of law, the seller is the parent corporation of a wholly owned subsidiary, when such subsidiary is the transferor to a third-party transferee and the subsidiary is dissolved before paying the tax imposed under this chapter.