CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.House Bill 0117
Florida House of Representatives - 1997 HB 117
By Representative Culp
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to tax on sales, use, and other
3 transactions; amending s. 212.08, F.S.;
4 providing that certain charitable institutions
5 which received a temporary extension of their
6 consumer's certificate of exemption shall be
7 exempt from said tax; providing an effective
8 date.
9
10 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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12 Section 1. Paragraph (o) of subsection (7) of section
13 212.08, Florida Statutes, 1996 Supplement, is amended to read:
14 212.08 Sales, rental, use, consumption, distribution,
15 and storage tax; specified exemptions.--The sale at retail,
16 the rental, the use, the consumption, the distribution, and
17 the storage to be used or consumed in this state of the
18 following are hereby specifically exempt from the tax imposed
19 by this part.
20 (7) MISCELLANEOUS EXEMPTIONS.--
21 (o) Religious, charitable, scientific, educational,
22 and veterans' institutions and organizations.--
23 1. There are exempt from the tax imposed by this part
24 transactions involving:
25 a. Sales or leases directly to churches or sales or
26 leases of tangible personal property by churches;
27 b. Sales or leases to nonprofit religious, nonprofit
28 charitable, nonprofit scientific, or nonprofit educational
29 institutions when used in carrying on their customary
30 nonprofit religious, nonprofit charitable, nonprofit
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1 scientific, or nonprofit educational activities, including
2 church cemeteries; and
3 c. Sales or leases to the state headquarters of
4 qualified veterans' organizations and the state headquarters
5 of their auxiliaries when used in carrying on their customary
6 veterans' organization activities. If a qualified veterans'
7 organization or its auxiliary does not maintain a permanent
8 state headquarters, then transactions involving sales or
9 leases to such organization and used to maintain the office of
10 the highest ranking state official are exempt from the tax
11 imposed by this part.
12 2. The provisions of this section authorizing
13 exemptions from tax shall be strictly defined, limited, and
14 applied in each category as follows:
15 a. "Religious institutions" means churches,
16 synagogues, and established physical places for worship at
17 which nonprofit religious services and activities are
18 regularly conducted and carried on. The term "religious
19 institutions" includes nonprofit corporations the sole purpose
20 of which is to provide free transportation services to church
21 members, their families, and other church attendees. The term
22 "religious institutions" also includes state, district, or
23 other governing or administrative offices the function of
24 which is to assist or regulate the customary activities of
25 religious organizations or members. The term "religious
26 institutions" also includes any nonprofit corporation which is
27 qualified as nonprofit pursuant to s. 501(c)(3), United States
28 Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, which owns and
29 operates a Florida television station, at least 90 percent of
30 the programming of which station consists of programs of a
31 religious nature, and the financial support for which,
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Florida House of Representatives - 1997 HB 117
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1 exclusive of receipts for broadcasting from other nonprofit
2 organizations, is predominantly from contributions from the
3 general public. The term "religious institutions" also
4 includes any nonprofit corporation which is qualified as
5 nonprofit pursuant to s. 501(c)(3), United States Internal
6 Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, which provides regular
7 religious services to Florida state prisoners and which from
8 its own established physical place of worship, operates a
9 ministry providing worship and services of a charitable nature
10 to the community on a weekly basis.
11 b. "Charitable institutions" means only nonprofit
12 corporations qualified as nonprofit pursuant to s. 501(c)(3),
13 United States Internal Revenue Code of 1954, as amended, and
14 other nonprofit entities, the sole or primary function of
15 which is to provide, or to raise funds for organizations which
16 provide, one or more of the following services if a reasonable
17 percentage of such service is provided free of charge, or at a
18 substantially reduced cost, to persons, animals, or
19 organizations that are unable to pay for such service:
20 (I) Medical aid for the relief of disease, injury, or
21 disability;
22 (II) Regular provision of physical necessities such as
23 food, clothing, or shelter;
24 (III) Services for the prevention of or rehabilitation
25 of persons from alcoholism or drug abuse; the prevention of
26 suicide; or the alleviation of mental, physical, or sensory
27 health problems;
28 (IV) Social welfare services including adoption
29 placement, child care, community care for the elderly, and
30 other social welfare services which clearly and substantially
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1 benefit a client population which is disadvantaged or suffers
2 a hardship;
3 (V) Medical research for the relief of disease,
4 injury, or disability;
5 (VI) Legal services; or
6 (VII) Food, shelter, or medical care for animals or
7 adoption services, cruelty investigations, or education
8 programs concerning animals;
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10 and the term includes groups providing volunteer staff to
11 organizations designated as charitable institutions under this
12 sub-subparagraph; nonprofit organizations the sole or primary
13 purpose of which is to coordinate, network, or link other
14 institutions designated as charitable institutions under this
15 sub-subparagraph with those persons, animals, or organizations
16 in need of their services; and nonprofit national, state,
17 district, or other governing, coordinating, or administrative
18 organizations the sole or primary purpose of which is to
19 represent or regulate the customary activities of other
20 institutions designated as charitable institutions under this
21 sub-subparagraph. Notwithstanding any other requirement of
22 this section, any blood bank that relies solely upon volunteer
23 donations of blood and tissue, that is licensed under chapter
24 483, and that qualifies as tax exempt under s. 501(c)(3) of
25 the Internal Revenue Code constitutes a charitable institution
26 and is exempt from the tax imposed by this part.
27 Notwithstanding any other requirement of this paragraph, a
28 charitable institution which was facing revocation of its
29 consumer's certificate of exemption during the 1996 Florida
30 legislative session and which, through intervention of the
31 department's taxpayer rights advocate, received a temporary
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1 extension of its consumer's certificate of exemption to the
2 end of the 1996 Florida legislative session, including, but
3 not limited to, the Gasparilla Distance Classic Association,
4 Inc., shall be exempt from the tax imposed by this chapter.
5 c. "Scientific organizations" means scientific
6 organizations which hold current exemptions from federal
7 income tax under s. 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and
8 also means organizations the purpose of which is to protect
9 air and water quality or the purpose of which is to protect
10 wildlife and which hold current exemptions from the federal
11 income tax under s. 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.
12 d. "Educational institutions" means state
13 tax-supported or parochial, church and nonprofit private
14 schools, colleges, or universities which conduct regular
15 classes and courses of study required for accreditation by, or
16 membership in, the Southern Association of Colleges and
17 Schools, the Department of Education, the Florida Council of
18 Independent Schools, or the Florida Association of Christian
19 Colleges and Schools, Inc., or nonprofit private schools which
20 conduct regular classes and courses of study accepted for
21 continuing education credit by a Board of the Division of
22 Medical Quality Assurance of the Department of Business and
23 Professional Regulation or which conduct regular classes and
24 courses of study accepted for continuing education credit by
25 the American Medical Association. Nonprofit libraries, art
26 galleries, and museums open to the public are defined as
27 educational institutions and are eligible for exemption. The
28 term "educational institutions" includes private nonprofit
29 organizations the purpose of which is to raise funds for
30 schools teaching grades kindergarten through high school,
31 colleges, and universities. The term "educational
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1 institutions" includes any nonprofit newspaper of free or paid
2 circulation primarily on university or college campuses which
3 holds a current exemption from federal income tax under s.
4 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, and any educational
5 television or radio network or system established pursuant to
6 s. 229.805 or s. 229.8051 and any nonprofit television or
7 radio station which is a part of such network or system and
8 which holds a current exemption from federal income tax under
9 s. 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. The term
10 "educational institutions" also includes state, district, or
11 other governing or administrative offices the function of
12 which is to assist or regulate the customary activities of
13 educational organizations or members. The term "educational
14 institutions" also includes a nonprofit educational cable
15 consortium which holds a current exemption from federal income
16 tax under s. 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986,
17 as amended, whose primary purpose is the delivery of
18 educational and instructional cable television programming and
19 whose members are composed exclusively of educational
20 organizations which hold a valid consumer certificate of
21 exemption and which are either an educational institution as
22 defined in this sub-subparagraph, or qualified as a nonprofit
23 organization pursuant to s. 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue
24 Code of 1986, as amended.
25 e. "Veterans' organizations" means nationally
26 chartered or recognized veterans' organizations, including,
27 but not limited to, Florida chapters of the Paralyzed Veterans
28 of America, Catholic War Veterans of the U.S.A., Jewish War
29 Veterans of the U.S.A., and the Disabled American Veterans,
30 Department of Florida, Inc., which hold current exemptions
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1 from federal income tax under s. 501(c)(4) or (19) of the
2 Internal Revenue Code.
3 Section 2. This act shall take effect upon becoming a
4 law.
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7 HOUSE SUMMARY
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Provides that certain charitable institutions, including
9 the Gasparilla Distance Classic Association, Inc., which
received a temporary extension of their sales tax
10 exemption certificate to the end of the 1996 legislative
session, shall be exempt from said tax.
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