House Bill 0029e1

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                                         CS/HB 29, First Engrossed



  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to ad valorem tax exemption;

  3         amending s. 196.011, F.S.; authorizing the

  4         granting of exemption to property entitled to a

  5         charitable exemption for the 1994 tax year for

  6         which application was not timely filed under

  7         certain circumstances; providing for

  8         cancellation of taxes assessed and outstanding

  9         tax certificates; providing for expiration;

10         amending s. 196.195, F.S.; specifying that

11         certain nonprofit corporations are nonprofit

12         for purposes of determining eligibility for the

13         religious, literary, scientific, or charitable

14         ad valorem tax exemption and providing

15         requirements for establishing such status;

16         amending s. 196.196, F.S.; providing an

17         additional criterion for use in determining

18         whether property is being used for a

19         charitable, religious, scientific, or literary

20         purpose; providing an effective date.

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22  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

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24         Section 1.  Subsection (13) is added to section

25  196.011, Florida Statutes, to read:

26         196.011  Annual application required for exemption.--

27         (13)  Notwithstanding subsection (1), when a property

28  owner that qualifies as a charitable organization under s.

29  501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code is otherwise entitled

30  to a charitable exemption from ad valorem taxation for the

31  1994 tax year and fails to timely file an application for


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                                         CS/HB 29, First Engrossed



  1  exemption due to an inadvertent error, the property owner may

  2  file an application for exemption with the property appraiser.

  3  The property appraiser must consider the application and, if

  4  he or she determines the owner of the property would have been

  5  entitled to the exemption had the property owner timely

  6  applied, the property appraiser must grant the exemption. Any

  7  taxes assessed on such property shall be canceled and, if

  8  paid, refunded. Any tax certificates outstanding on such

  9  property shall be canceled and refund made pursuant to s.

10  197.432(10).  This subsection shall expire 1 year after the

11  date it takes effect.

12         Section 2.  Effective January 1, 1998, section 196.195,

13  Florida Statutes, is amended to read:

14         196.195  Determining profit or nonprofit status of

15  applicant.--

16         (1)  Applicants requesting exemption shall supply such

17  fiscal and other records showing in reasonable detail the

18  financial condition, record of operation, and exempt and

19  nonexempt uses of the property, where appropriate, for the

20  immediately preceding fiscal year as are requested by the

21  property appraiser or the value adjustment board.

22         (2)  In determining whether an applicant for a

23  religious, literary, scientific, or charitable exemption under

24  this chapter is a nonprofit or profitmaking venture or whether

25  the property is used for a profitmaking purpose, the following

26  criteria shall be applied:

27         (a)  The reasonableness of any advances or payment

28  directly or indirectly by way of salary, fee, loan, gift,

29  bonus, gratuity, drawing account, commission, or otherwise

30  (except for reimbursements of advances for reasonable

31  out-of-pocket expenses incurred on behalf of the applicant) to


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                                         CS/HB 29, First Engrossed



  1  any person, company, or other entity directly or indirectly

  2  controlled by the applicant or any officer, director, trustee,

  3  member, or stockholder of the applicant;

  4         (b)  The reasonableness of any guaranty of a loan to,

  5  or an obligation of, any officer, director, trustee, member,

  6  or stockholder of the applicant or any entity directly or

  7  indirectly controlled by such person, or which pays any

  8  compensation to its officers, directors, trustees, members, or

  9  stockholders for services rendered to or on behalf of the

10  applicant;

11         (c)  The reasonableness of any contractual arrangement

12  by the applicant or any officer, director, trustee, member, or

13  stockholder of the applicant regarding rendition of services,

14  the provision of goods or supplies, the management of the

15  applicant, the construction or renovation of the property of

16  the applicant, the procurement of the real, personal, or

17  intangible property of the applicant, or other similar

18  financial interest in the affairs of the applicant;

19         (d)  The reasonableness of payments made for salaries

20  for the operation of the applicant or for services, supplies

21  and materials used by the applicant, reserves for repair,

22  replacement, and depreciation of the property of the

23  applicant, payment of mortgages, liens, and encumbrances upon

24  the property of the applicant, or other purposes; and

25         (e)  The reasonableness of charges made by the

26  applicant for any services rendered by it in relation to the

27  value of those services, and, if such charges exceed the value

28  of the services rendered, whether the excess is used to pay

29  maintenance and operational expenses in furthering its exempt

30  purpose or to provide services to persons unable to pay for

31  the services.


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                                         CS/HB 29, First Engrossed



  1         (3)  Each applicant must affirmatively show that no

  2  part of the subject property, or the proceeds of the sale,

  3  lease, or other disposition thereof, will inure to the benefit

  4  of its members, directors, or officers or any person or firm

  5  operating for profit or for a nonexempt purpose.

  6         (4)  Notwithstanding the provisions of subsections (2)

  7  and (3), a corporation organized as nonprofit under chapter

  8  617 which has a valid consumer certificate of exemption

  9  pursuant to s. 212.08(7)(o) and which has a valid exemption

10  from federal income tax under s. 501(c)(3) of the Internal

11  Revenue Code is nonprofit.  Proof provided by a corporation of

12  its status as described in this subsection shall be sufficient

13  to establish the organization's nonprofit status and any

14  corporation providing such proof is not required to provide

15  any other information in order to establish its nonprofit

16  status.

17         (5)(4)  No application for exemption may be granted for

18  religious, literary, scientific, or charitable use of property

19  until the applicant has been found by the property appraiser

20  or, upon appeal, by the value adjustment board to be nonprofit

21  as defined in this section.

22         Section 3.  Effective January 1, 1998, Paragraph (c) is

23  added to subsection (1) of section 196.196, Florida Statutes,

24  to read:

25         196.196  Determining whether property is entitled to

26  charitable, religious, scientific, or literary exemption.--

27         (1)  In the determination of whether an applicant is

28  actually using all or a portion of its property predominantly

29  for a charitable, religious, scientific, or literary purpose,

30  the following criteria shall be applied:

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                                         CS/HB 29, First Engrossed



  1         (c)  The extent to which the property is used to

  2  conduct activities which cause a corporation to qualify for a

  3  consumer certificate of exemption under s. 212.08(7)(o).  Such

  4  activities shall be considered as part of the exempt purposes

  5  of the applicant.

  6         Section 4.  Except as otherwise provided herein, this

  7  act shall take effect upon becoming a law.

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