Senate Bill 1342

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



    Florida Senate - 2000                                  SB 1342

    By Senator Grant





    13-1120-00                                          See HB 513

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to tax on sales, use, and other

  3         transactions; amending s. 212.05, F.S.;

  4         reducing the rate of the tax on charges for

  5         telecommunication service and for electrical

  6         power or energy; amending s. 212.12, F.S., to

  7         conform; providing an effective date.

  8

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

10

11         Section 1.  Paragraph (e) of subsection (1) of section

12  212.05, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:

13         212.05  Sales, storage, use tax.--It is hereby declared

14  to be the legislative intent that every person is exercising a

15  taxable privilege who engages in the business of selling

16  tangible personal property at retail in this state, including

17  the business of making mail order sales, or who rents or

18  furnishes any of the things or services taxable under this

19  chapter, or who stores for use or consumption in this state

20  any item or article of tangible personal property as defined

21  herein and who leases or rents such property within the state.

22         (1)  For the exercise of such privilege, a tax is

23  levied on each taxable transaction or incident, which tax is

24  due and payable as follows:

25         (e)1.  At the rate of 6 percent on charges for:

26         a.  All telegraph messages and long-distance telephone

27  calls beginning and terminating in this state,

28  telecommunication service as defined in s. 203.012, and those

29  services described in s. 203.012(2)(a), except that the tax

30  rate for charges for telecommunication service is 7 percent.

31  The tax on calls made with a prepaid telephone calling card

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






    Florida Senate - 2000                                  SB 1342
    13-1120-00                                          See HB 513




  1  shall be collected at the time of sale and remitted by the

  2  dealer selling or recharging a prepaid telephone card.

  3         (I)  A prepaid telephone card or authorization number

  4  means the right to exclusively make telephone calls that must

  5  be paid for in advance and that enable the origination of

  6  calls using an access number, prepaid mobile account, or

  7  authorization code, whether manually or electronically dialed.

  8         (II)  If the sale or recharge of the prepaid telephone

  9  calling card does not take place at the dealer's place of

10  business, it shall be deemed to take place at the customer's

11  shipping address or, if no item is shipped, at the customer's

12  address or the location associated with the customer's mobile

13  telephone number.

14         (III)  The prepaid phone card constitutes property in

15  this state and subjects the selling dealer to the jurisdiction

16  of this state for purposes of this subsection.

17         b.  Any television system program service.

18         c.  The installation of telecommunication and

19  telegraphic equipment.

20         d.  Electrical power or energy, except that the tax

21  rate for charges for electrical power or energy is 7 percent.

22         2.  For purposes of this chapter, "television system

23  program service" means the transmitting, by any means, of any

24  audio or video signal to a subscriber for other than

25  retransmission, or the installing, connecting, reconnecting,

26  disconnecting, moving, or changing of any equipment related to

27  such service.  For purposes of this chapter, the term

28  "telecommunication service" does not include local service

29  provided through a pay telephone. The provisions of s.

30  212.17(3), regarding credit for tax paid on charges

31  subsequently found to be worthless, shall be equally

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






    Florida Senate - 2000                                  SB 1342
    13-1120-00                                          See HB 513




  1  applicable to any tax paid under the provisions of this

  2  section on charges for telecommunication or telegraph services

  3  or electric power subsequently found to be uncollectible. The

  4  word "charges" in this paragraph does not include any excise

  5  or similar tax levied by the Federal Government, any political

  6  subdivision of the state, or any municipality upon the

  7  purchase or sale of telecommunication, television system

  8  program, or telegraph service or electric power, which tax is

  9  collected by the seller from the purchaser.

10         3.  Telegraph messages and telecommunication services

11  which originate or terminate in this state, other than

12  interstate private communication services, and are billed to a

13  customer, telephone number, or device located within this

14  state are taxable under this paragraph.  Interstate private

15  communication services are taxable under this paragraph as

16  follows:

17         a.  One hundred percent of the charge imposed at each

18  channel termination point within this state;

19         b.  One hundred percent of the charge imposed for the

20  total channel mileage between each channel termination point

21  within this state; and

22         c.  The portion of the interstate interoffice channel

23  mileage charge as determined by multiplying said charge times

24  a fraction, the numerator of which is the air miles between

25  the last channel termination point in this state and the

26  vertical and horizontal coordinates, 7856 and 1756,

27  respectively, and the denominator of which is the air miles

28  between the last channel termination point in this state and

29  the first channel termination point outside this state.  The

30  denominator of this fraction shall be adjusted, if necessary,

31  by adding the numerator of said fraction to similarly

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






    Florida Senate - 2000                                  SB 1342
    13-1120-00                                          See HB 513




  1  determined air miles in the state in which the other channel

  2  termination point is located, so that the summation of the

  3  apportionment factor for this state and the apportionment

  4  factor for the other state is not greater than one, to ensure

  5  that no more than 100 percent of the interstate interoffice

  6  channel mileage charge can be taxed by this state and another

  7  state.

  8         4.  The tax imposed pursuant to this paragraph shall

  9  not exceed $50,000 per calendar year on charges to any person

10  for interstate telecommunications services defined in s.

11  203.012(4) and (7)(b), if the majority of such services used

12  by such person are for communications originating outside of

13  this state and terminating in this state.  This exemption

14  shall only be granted to holders of a direct pay permit issued

15  pursuant to this subparagraph.  No refunds shall be given for

16  taxes paid prior to receiving a direct pay permit. Upon

17  application, the department may issue a direct pay permit to

18  the purchaser of telecommunications services authorizing such

19  purchaser to pay tax on such services directly to the

20  department. Any vendor furnishing telecommunications services

21  to the holder of a valid direct pay permit shall be relieved

22  of the obligation to collect and remit the tax on such

23  service. Tax payments and returns pursuant to a direct pay

24  permit shall be monthly. For purposes of this subparagraph,

25  the term "person" shall be limited to a single legal entity

26  and shall not be construed as meaning a group or combination

27  of affiliated entities or entities controlled by one person or

28  group of persons.

29         5.  If the sale of a television system program service,

30  as defined in this paragraph, also involves the sale of an

31  item exempt under s. 212.08(7)(j), the tax shall be applied to

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






    Florida Senate - 2000                                  SB 1342
    13-1120-00                                          See HB 513




  1  the value of the taxable service when it is sold separately.

  2  If the company does not offer this service separately, the

  3  consideration paid shall be separately identified and stated

  4  with respect to the taxable and exempt portions of the

  5  transaction as a condition of the exemption, except that the

  6  amount identified as taxable shall not be less than the cost

  7  of the service.

  8         Section 2.  Subsection (11) of section 212.12, Florida

  9  Statutes, is amended to read:

10         212.12  Dealer's credit for collecting tax; penalties

11  for noncompliance; powers of Department of Revenue in dealing

12  with delinquents; brackets applicable to taxable transactions;

13  records required.--

14         (11)  The department is authorized to provide by rule

15  the tax amounts and brackets applicable to all taxable

16  transactions that occur in counties that have a surtax at a

17  rate other than 1 percent which transactions would otherwise

18  have been transactions taxable at the rate of 6 percent.

19  Likewise, the department is authorized to promulgate by rule

20  the tax amounts and brackets applicable to transactions

21  taxable at 3 percent pursuant to s. 212.08(3), transactions

22  taxable at 7 percent pursuant to s. 212.05(1)(e), and on

23  transactions which would otherwise have been so taxable in

24  counties which have adopted a discretionary sales surtax.

25         Section 3.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2000.

26

27            *****************************************

28                          HOUSE SUMMARY

29
      Reduces the rate of the sales tax on charges for
30    telecommunication service and for electrical power or
      energy from 7 percent to 6 percent.
31

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