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The Florida Senate

2010 Florida Statutes

SECTION 1083
Manufacturing and Spaceport Investment Incentive Program.
F.S. 288.1083
288.1083

Manufacturing and Spaceport Investment Incentive Program.

(1)

The Manufacturing and Spaceport Investment Incentive Program is created within the Office of Tourism, Trade, and Economic Development. The purpose of the program is to encourage capital investment and job creation in manufacturing and spaceport activities in this state.

(2)

As used in this section, the term:

(a)

“Base year purchases” means the total cost of eligible equipment purchased and placed into service in this state by an eligible entity in its tax year that began in 2008.

(b)

“Department” means the Department of Revenue.

(c)

“Eligible entity” means an entity that manufactures, processes, compounds, or produces items for sale of tangible personal property or engages in spaceport activities. The term also includes an entity that engages in phosphate or other solid minerals severance, mining, or processing operations. The term does not include electric utility companies, communications companies, oil or gas exploration or production operations, publishing firms that do not export at least 50 percent of their finished product out of the state, any firm subject to regulation by the Division of Hotels and Restaurants of the Department of Business and Professional Regulation, or any firm that does not manufacture, process, compound, or produce for sale items of tangible personal property or that does not use such machinery and equipment in spaceport activities.

(d)

“Eligible equipment” means tangible personal property or other property that has a depreciable life of 3 years or more and that is used as an integral part in the manufacturing, processing, compounding, or production of tangible personal property for sale or is exclusively used in spaceport activities, and that is located and placed into service in this state. A building and its structural components are not eligible equipment unless the building or structural component is so closely related to the industrial machinery and equipment that it houses or supports that the building or structural component can be expected to be replaced when the machinery and equipment are replaced. Heating and air-conditioning systems are not eligible equipment unless the sole justification for their installation is to meet the requirements of the production process, even though the system may provide incidental comfort to employees or serve, to an insubstantial degree, nonproduction activities. The term includes parts and accessories only to the extent that the exemption of such parts and accessories is consistent with the provisions of this paragraph.

(e)

“Eligible equipment purchases” means the cost of eligible equipment purchased and placed into service in this state in a given state fiscal year by an eligible entity in excess of the entity’s base year purchases.

(f)

“Office” means the Office of Tourism, Trade, and Economic Development.

(g)

“Refund” means a payment to an eligible entity for the amount of state sales and use tax actually paid on eligible equipment purchases.

(3)

Beginning July 1, 2010, and ending June 30, 2011, and beginning July 1, 2011, and ending June 30, 2012, sales and use tax paid in this state on eligible equipment purchases may qualify for a refund as provided in this section. The total amount of refunds that may be allocated by the office to all applicants during the period beginning July 1, 2010, and ending June 30, 2011, is $19 million. The total amount of tax refunds that may be allocated to all applicants during the period beginning July 1, 2011, and ending June 30, 2012, is $24 million. An applicant may not be allocated more than $50,000 in refunds under this section for a single year. Preliminary refund allocations that are revoked or voluntarily surrendered shall be immediately available for reallocation.

(4)

To receive a refund, a business entity must first apply to the office for a tax refund allocation. The entity shall provide such information in the application as reasonably required by the office. Further, the business entity shall provide such information as is required by the office to establish the cost incurred and actual sales and use tax paid to purchase eligible equipment located and placed into service in this state during its taxable year that began in 2008.

(a)

Within 30 days after the office receives an application for a refund, the office shall approve or disapprove the application.

(b)

Refund allocations made during the 2010-2011 fiscal year shall be awarded in the same order in which applications are received. Eligible entities may apply to the office beginning July 1, 2010, for refunds attributable to eligible equipment purchases made during the 2010-2011 fiscal year. For the 2010-2011 fiscal year, the office shall allocate the maximum amount of $50,000 per entity until the entire $19 million available for refund in state fiscal year 2010-2011 has been allocated. If the total amount available for allocation during the 2010-2011 fiscal year is allocated, the office shall continue taking applications. Each applicant shall be informed of its place in the queue and whether the applicant received an allocation of the eligible funds.

(c)

Refund allocations made during the 2011-2012 fiscal year shall first be given to any applicants remaining in the queue from the prior fiscal year. The office shall allocate the maximum amount of $50,000 per entity, first to those applicants that remained in the queue from 2010-2011 for eligible purchases in 2010-2011, then to applicants for 2011-2012 in the order applications are received for eligible purchases in 2011-2012. The office shall allocate the maximum amount of $50,000 per entity until the entire $24 million available to be allocated for refund in the 2011-2012 fiscal year is allocated. If the total amount available for refund in 2011-2012 has been allocated, the office shall continue to accept applications from eligible entities in the 2011-2012 fiscal year for refunds attributable to eligible equipment purchases made during the 2011-2012 fiscal year. Refund allocations made during the 2011-2012 fiscal year shall be awarded in the same order in which applications are received. Upon submitting an application, each applicant shall be informed of its place in the queue and whether the applicant has received an allocation of the eligible funds.

(5)

Upon completion of eligible equipment purchases, a business entity that received a refund allocation from the office must apply to the office for certification of a refund. For eligible equipment purchases made during the 2010-2011 fiscal year, the application for certification must be made no later than September 1, 2011. For eligible equipment purchases made during the 2011-2012 fiscal year, the application for certification must be made no later than September 1, 2012. The application shall provide such documentation as is reasonably required by the office to calculate the refund amount, including documentation necessary to confirm the cost of eligible equipment purchases supporting the claim of the sales and use tax paid thereon. Further, the business entity shall provide such documentation as required by the office to establish the entity’s base year purchases. If, upon reviewing the application, the office determines that eligible equipment purchases did not occur, that the amount of tax claimed to have been paid or remitted on the eligible equipment purchases is not supported by the documentation provided, or that the information provided to the office was otherwise inaccurate, the amount of the refund allocation not substantiated shall not be certified. Otherwise, the office shall determine and certify the amount of the refund to the eligible entity and to the department within 30 days after the office receives the application for certification.

(6)

Upon certification of a refund for an eligible entity, the entity shall apply to the department within 30 days for payment of the certified amount as a refund on a form prescribed by the department. The department may request documentation in support of the application and adopt emergency rules to administer the refund application process.

(7)

For each of the 2010-2011 and 2011-2012 fiscal years, if the amount certified is less than the amount allocated, additional applicants shall be eligible to receive refund allocations in the order that applications are received for that year.

(8)

An entity may receive refunds in each of the 2 years but only to the extent that the entity has eligible equipment purchases in each year. In no event may refunds for eligible equipment purchases made during 2010-11 result in more than $50,000 of refunds per entity.

(9)

The office shall adopt emergency rules governing applications for, issuance of, and procedures for allocation and certification and may establish guidelines as to the requisites for demonstrating base year purchases and eligible equipment purchases.

(10)

This section is repealed July 1, 2013.

History.

s. 21, ch. 2010-147.