Senate Bill 0318e1

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    CS for SB 318                                  First Engrossed



  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to intangible property taxes;

  3         amending s. 199.023, F.S.; changing the term

  4         "affiliated group of corporations" to the term

  5         "affiliated group" and including limited

  6         liability companies within its meaning;

  7         amending s. 199.052, F.S.; providing that

  8         limited liability companies may elect to file a

  9         consolidated intangibles tax return; amending

10         s. 199.032, F.S.; reducing the rate of such

11         taxes; amending s. 199.185, F.S.; prescribing

12         the amount of accounts receivable subject to

13         the tax as of January 1, 2000; providing that

14         an exemption applies to the last 0.5 mill of

15         the annual tax; providing an effective date.

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

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19         Section 1.  Subsection (8) of section 199.023, Florida

20  Statutes, 1998 Supplement, is amended to read:

21         199.023  Definitions.--As used in this chapter:

22         (8)  "Affiliated group of corporations" means one or

23  more chains of corporations or limited liability companies

24  connected through stock ownership or membership interest in a

25  limited liability company with a common parent corporation or

26  limited liability company, for which providing that:

27         (a)  Stock or membership interest in a limited

28  liability company possessing at least 80 percent of the voting

29  power of all classes of stock or membership interest in a

30  limited liability company and at least 80 percent of each

31  class of the nonvoting stock or membership interest in a


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    CS for SB 318                                  First Engrossed



  1  limited liability company of each corporation or limited

  2  liability company, except for the common parent corporation or

  3  limited liability company, is owned directly by one or more of

  4  the other corporations; and

  5         (b)  The common parent corporation or limited liability

  6  company directly owns stock or membership interest in a

  7  limited liability company possessing at least 80 percent of

  8  the voting power of all classes of stock or membership

  9  interest in a limited liability company and at least 80

10  percent of each class of the nonvoting stock or membership

11  interest in a limited liability company of at least one of the

12  other corporations or limited liability companies.

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14  As used in this subsection, the terms term "nonvoting stock"

15  and "membership interest in a limited liability company" do

16  does not include nonvoting stock or membership interest in a

17  limited liability company which is limited and preferred as to

18  dividends. For purposes of this chapter, a common parent may

19  be a corporation or a limited liability company.

20         Section 2.  Subsection (10) of section 199.052, Florida

21  Statutes, 1998 Supplement, is amended to read:

22         199.052  Annual tax returns; payment of annual tax.--

23         (10)  An affiliated group of corporations may elect to

24  make a consolidated return for any year.  The election shall

25  be made by timely filing a consolidated return. Once made, an

26  election may not be revoked, and it is binding for the tax

27  year.  The mere making of a consolidated return shall not in

28  itself provide a business situs in this state for intangible

29  personal property held by a corporation.  The fact that

30  members of an affiliated group own stock in corporations or

31  membership interest in limited liability companies which do


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    CS for SB 318                                  First Engrossed



  1  not qualify under the stock ownership or membership interest

  2  in a limited liability company requirements as members of an

  3  affiliated group shall not preclude the filing of a

  4  consolidated return on behalf of the qualified members.  Where

  5  a consolidated return is made, intercompany accounts,

  6  including the capital stock or membership interest in a

  7  limited liability company of an includable corporation or

  8  limited liability company, other than the parent, owned by

  9  another includable corporation or limited liability company,

10  shall not be subject to annual taxation. However, capital

11  stock, or membership interest in a limited liability company,

12  and other intercompany accounts of a nonqualified member of

13  the affiliated group shall be subject to annual tax.  Each

14  consolidated return shall be accompanied by documentation

15  identifying all intercompany accounts and containing such

16  other information as the department shall require. Failure to

17  timely file a consolidated return shall not prejudice the

18  taxpayer's right to file a consolidated return, provided that

19  the failure to file a consolidated return is limited to 1 year

20  and the taxpayer's intent to file a consolidated return is

21  evidenced by the taxpayer having filed a consolidated return

22  for the 3 years prior to the year the return was not timely

23  filed.

24         Section 3.  Section 199.032, Florida Statutes, is

25  amended to read:

26         199.032  Levy of annual tax.--An annual tax of 1.5 2

27  mills is hereby imposed on each dollar of the just valuation

28  of all intangible personal property that which has a taxable

29  situs in this state, except for notes and other obligations

30  for the payment of money, other than bonds, which are secured

31  by mortgage, deed of trust, or other lien upon real property


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    CS for SB 318                                  First Engrossed



  1  situated in the state. This tax shall be assessed and

  2  collected as provided in this chapter.

  3         Section 4.  Paragraph (l) of subsection (1) and

  4  paragraph (b) of subsection (2) of section 199.185, Florida

  5  Statutes, 1998 Supplement, are amended to read:

  6         199.185  Property exempted from annual and nonrecurring

  7  taxes.--

  8         (1)  The following intangible personal property shall

  9  be exempt from the annual and nonrecurring taxes imposed by

10  this chapter:

11         (l)  Two-thirds One-third of the accounts receivable

12  arising or acquired in the ordinary course of a trade or

13  business which are owned, controlled, or managed by a taxpayer

14  on January 1, 2000 1999, and thereafter. It is the intent of

15  the Legislature that, pursuant to future legislative action,

16  the portion of such accounts receivable exempt from taxation

17  be increased to two-thirds for taxes levied on January 1,

18  2000, and further increased to all such accounts receivable on

19  January 1, 2001, and thereafter. This exemption does not apply

20  to accounts receivable that which arise outside the taxpayer's

21  ordinary course of trade or business. For the purposes of this

22  chapter, the term "accounts receivable" means a business debt

23  that is owed by another to the taxpayer or the taxpayer's

24  assignee in the ordinary course of trade or business and is

25  not supported by negotiable instruments. Accounts receivable

26  include, but are not limited to, credit card receivables,

27  charge card receivables, credit receivables, margin

28  receivables, inventory or other floor plan financing, lease

29  payments past due, conditional sales contracts, retail

30  installment sales agreements, financing lease contracts, and a

31  claim against a debtor usually arising from sales or services


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    CS for SB 318                                  First Engrossed



  1  rendered and which is not necessarily due or past due. The

  2  examples specified in this paragraph shall be deemed not to be

  3  supported by negotiable instruments. The term "negotiable

  4  instrument" means a written document that is legally capable

  5  of being transferred by indorsement or delivery. The term

  6  "indorsement" means the act of a payee or holder in writing

  7  his or her name on the back of an instrument without further

  8  qualifying words other than "pay to the order of" or "pay to"

  9  whereby the property is assigned and transferred to another.

10         (2)

11         (b)  With respect to the last 0.5 mill of the annual

12  tax, every natural person is entitled each year to an

13  exemption of the first $100,000 of the value of property

14  otherwise subject to said tax. A husband and wife filing

15  jointly shall have an exemption of $200,000.

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17  Agents and fiduciaries, other than guardians and custodians

18  under a gifts-to-minors act, filing as such may not claim this

19  exemption on behalf of their principals or beneficiaries;

20  however, if the principal or beneficiary returns the property

21  held by the agent or fiduciary and is a natural person, the

22  principal or beneficiary may claim the exemption.  No taxpayer

23  shall be entitled to more than one exemption under paragraph

24  (a) and one exemption under paragraph (b).  This exemption

25  shall not apply to that intangible personal property described

26  in s. 199.023(1)(d).

27         Section 5.  This act shall take effect January 1, 2000.

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