House Bill 2223

    Florida House of Representatives - 1999                HB 2223

        By Representative C. Green






  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, 1998 Supplement, are amended to

12  read:

13         196.011  Annual application required for exemption.--

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

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

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

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

18  1 of each year, file an application for exemption with the

19  county property appraiser, listing and describing the property

20  for which exemption is claimed and certifying its ownership

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

22  upon which the application is made. Failure to make

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

24  shall constitute a waiver of the exemption privilege for that

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

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

27  196.031, s. 196.081, s. 196.091, s. 196.101, or s. 196.202

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

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

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

31  complete application, and omits the required social security

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






    Florida House of Representatives - 1999                HB 2223

    705-114-99






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

  2  property appraiser shall contact the applicant, who may refile

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

  4  application by that date constitutes a waiver of the exemption

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

  6  or subsection (8).

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

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

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

10  are required and must be submitted to the department.

11  Applications filed pursuant to subsection (5) or subsection

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

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

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

15  thereafter. For counties where the annual application

16  requirement has been waived, property appraisers may require

17  refiling of an application to obtain such information.

18         (11)(12)  Notwithstanding subsection (1), when the

19  owner of property otherwise entitled to a religious exemption

20  from ad valorem taxation fails to timely file an application

21  for exemption, and because of a misidentification of property

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

23  notified of the tax obligation by the property appraiser and

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

25  application for exemption with the property appraiser. The

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

27  she determines the owner of the property would have been

28  entitled to the exemption had the property owner timely

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

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

31  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 - 1999                HB 2223

    705-114-99






  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, 1999.

  4

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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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