House Bill 3547

    Florida House of Representatives - 1998                HB 3547

        By Representative Littlefield






  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to homestead tax exemptions;

  3         amending s. 196.011, F.S.; deleting

  4         requirements for social security numbers to be

  5         included on applications for homestead

  6         exemptions; providing an effective date.

  7

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

  9

10         Section 1.  Subsections (1), (11), and (12) of section

11  196.011, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:

12         196.011  Annual application required for exemption.--

13         (1)(a)  Every person or organization who, on January 1,

14  has the legal title to real or personal property, except

15  inventory, which is entitled by law to exemption from taxation

16  as a result of its ownership and use shall, on or before March

17  1 of each year, file an application for exemption with the

18  county property appraiser, listing and describing the property

19  for which exemption is claimed and certifying its ownership

20  and use. The Department of Revenue shall prescribe the forms

21  upon which the application is made. Failure to make

22  application, when required, on or before March 1 of any year

23  shall constitute a waiver of the exemption privilege for that

24  year, except as provided in subsection (7) or subsection (8).

25         (b)  The form to apply for an exemption under s.

26  196.031, s. 196.081, s. 196.091, s. 196.101, or s. 196.202

27  must include a space for the applicant to list the social

28  security number of the applicant and of the applicant's

29  spouse, if any. If an applicant files a timely and otherwise

30  complete application, and omits the required social security

31  numbers, the application is incomplete. In that event, the

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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    Florida House of Representatives - 1998                HB 3547

    517-146-98






  1  property appraiser shall contact the applicant, who may refile

  2  a complete application by April 1. Failure to file a complete

  3  application by that date constitutes a waiver of the exemption

  4  privilege for that year, except as provided in subsection (7)

  5  or subsection (8).

  6         (11)  For exemptions enumerated in paragraph (1)(b),

  7  granted for the 2000 tax year and thereafter, social security

  8  numbers of the applicant and the applicant's spouse, if any,

  9  are required and must be submitted to the department.

10  Applications filed pursuant to subsection (5) or subsection

11  (6) may be required to include social security numbers of the

12  applicant and the applicant's spouse, if any, and shall

13  include such information if filed for the 2000 tax year or

14  thereafter. For counties where the annual application

15  requirement has been waived, property appraisers may require

16  refiling of an application to obtain such information.

17         (11)(12)  Notwithstanding subsection (1), when the

18  owner of property otherwise entitled to a religious exemption

19  from ad valorem taxation fails to timely file an application

20  for exemption, and because of a misidentification of property

21  ownership on the property tax roll the owner is not properly

22  notified of the tax obligation by the property appraiser and

23  the tax collector, the owner of the property may file an

24  application for exemption with the property appraiser. The

25  property appraiser must consider the application, and if he or

26  she determines the owner of the property would have been

27  entitled to the exemption had the property owner timely

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

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

30  paid, refunded. Any tax certificates outstanding on such

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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    Florida House of Representatives - 1998                HB 3547

    517-146-98






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

  2  197.432(10).

  3         Section 2.  This act shall take effect July 1, 1998.

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  6                          SENATE SUMMARY

  7    Deletes a requirement that an applicant for homestead tax
      exemption must provide his or her social security number.
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