Senate Bill 1842c1

    Florida Senate - 2000                           CS for SB 1842

    By the Committee on Fiscal Resource and Senator Sebesta





    314-2066-00

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to the excise tax on documents;

  3         creating s. 201.205, F.S.; prohibiting the

  4         deliberate use of excess documentary stamps;

  5         providing criminal penalties; amending s.

  6         201.132, F.S.; deleting the requirement that

  7         the notation placed on a document be signed;

  8         providing effective dates.

  9

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

11

12         Section 1.  Section 201.205, Florida Statutes, is

13  created to read:

14         201.205  Deliberate use of excess documentary stamps;

15  prohibition; penalty.--The documentary stamps affixed to a

16  deed, instrument, or writing for the purpose of showing that a

17  tax imposed by s. 201.02(1) has been paid must reflect the

18  true and correct amount of the sales price or other

19  consideration for the interest in real property which has been

20  granted, assigned, transferred, or otherwise conveyed to or

21  vested in the purchaser or any other person by his or her

22  direction. It is unlawful for the seller or conveyor of the

23  property interest to deliberately affix or cause to be affixed

24  to such a deed, instrument, or writing excess documentary

25  stamps with the intent to imply a sales price for the property

26  interest which is in excess of the actual sales price. A

27  violation of this section is a misdemeanor of the first

28  degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.

29         Section 2.  Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of section

30  201.132, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:

31

                                  1

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






    Florida Senate - 2000                           CS for SB 1842
    314-2066-00




  1         201.132  Exceptions to use of stamps on recorded

  2  documents; county comptrollers and clerks of the circuit

  3  court.--

  4         (1)  The county comptroller or, if there be none, the

  5  clerk of the circuit court of each county may collect the tax

  6  imposed by this chapter without affixing stamps to the

  7  document to be recorded under the following conditions:

  8         (a)  A notation shall be placed on the document to be

  9  recorded showing the amount of tax paid and the county where

10  payment is being made, and the notation shall be signed by the

11  county comptroller or clerk of the circuit court, or

12  designated agent thereof.

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

14

15          STATEMENT OF SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES CONTAINED IN
                       COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
16                             SB 1842

17

18  This committee substitute removes from the bill the
    documentary stamp tax exemption for transfers of property
19  between spouses.

20  It makes it illegal to buy excess documentary stamps with the
    intent to imply a sales price for a piece of property in
21  excess of the actual sales price.

22  It also deletes obsolete language about the county comptroller
    or clerk of court signing documents, under certain conditions.
23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

31

                                  2