Senate Bill 0072c1

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    Florida Senate - 2000                             CS for SB 72

    By the Committee on Comprehensive Planning, Local and Military
    Affairs; and Senator Sebesta




    316-845-00

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to ad valorem taxation;

  3         amending s. 193.092, F.S.; providing an

  4         exception to the requirement for assessing

  5         taxes to a current owner of property that has

  6         previously escaped taxation; amending s.

  7         196.161, F.S.; providing a waiver of penalty

  8         and interest in specified instances wherein a

  9         taxpayer erroneously receives a homestead tax

10         exemption; amending s. 196.198, F.S.;

11         maintaining exemption from taxation for

12         property leased from a governmental agency if

13         the agency continues to use the property

14         exclusively for educational purposes; amending

15         s. 200.065, F.S.; revising the procedure by

16         which a property appraiser may correct an error

17         in notices of proposed taxes; providing an

18         effective date.

19

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

21

22         Section 1.  Section 193.092, Florida Statutes, is

23  amended to read:

24         193.092  Assessment of property for back taxes.--

25         (1)  When it shall appear that any ad valorem tax might

26  have been lawfully assessed or collected upon any property in

27  the state, but that such tax was not lawfully assessed or

28  levied, and has not been collected for any year within a

29  period of 3 years next preceding the year in which it is

30  ascertained that such tax has not been assessed, or levied, or

31  collected, then the officers authorized shall make the

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    Florida Senate - 2000                             CS for SB 72
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  1  assessment of taxes upon such property in addition to the

  2  assessment of such property for the current year, and shall

  3  assess the same separately for such property as may have

  4  escaped taxation at and upon the basis of valuation applied to

  5  such property for the year or years in which it escaped

  6  taxation, noting distinctly the year when such property

  7  escaped taxation and such assessment shall have the same force

  8  and effect as it would have had if it had been made in the

  9  year in which the property shall have escaped taxation, and

10  taxes shall be levied and collected thereon in like manner and

11  together with taxes for the current year in which the

12  assessment is made.  But no property shall be assessed for

13  more than 3 years' arrears of taxation, and all property so

14  escaping taxation shall be subject to such taxation to be

15  assessed in whomsoever's hands or possession the same may be

16  found, except that property acquired by a bona fide purchaser

17  shall not be subject to assessment for taxes for any time

18  prior to the time of such purchase, but the individual or

19  corporation liable for any such assessment shall become

20  personally liable for same; provided, that the county property

21  appraiser shall not assess any lot or parcel of land certified

22  or sold to the state for any previous years unless such lot or

23  parcel of lands so certified or sold shall be included in the

24  list furnished by the Comptroller to the county property

25  appraiser as provided by law; provided, if real or personal

26  property be assessed for taxes, and because of litigation

27  delay ensues and the assessment be held invalid the taxing

28  authorities, may reassess such property within the time herein

29  provided after the termination of such litigation; provided

30  further, that personal property acquired in good faith by

31  purchase shall not be subject to assessment for taxes for any

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    Florida Senate - 2000                             CS for SB 72
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  1  time prior to the time of such purchase, but the individual or

  2  corporation liable for any such assessment shall continue

  3  personally liable for same. As used in this subsection, the

  4  term "bona fide purchaser" means a purchaser for value, in

  5  good faith, and without notice of any escaped taxation or

  6  adverse claim.

  7         (2)  The provisions of This section applies shall apply

  8  to property of every class and kind upon which ad valorem tax

  9  is assessable by any state or county authority under the laws

10  of the state.

11         Section 2.  Paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of section

12  196.161, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:

13         196.161  Homestead exemptions; lien imposed on property

14  of person claiming exemption although not a permanent

15  resident.--

16         (1)

17         (b)  In addition, upon determination by the property

18  appraiser that for any year or years within the prior 10 years

19  a person who was not entitled to a homestead exemption was

20  granted a homestead exemption from ad valorem taxes, it shall

21  be the duty of the property appraiser making such

22  determination to serve upon the owner a notice of intent to

23  record in the public records of the county a notice of tax

24  lien against any property owned by that person in the county,

25  and such property shall be identified in the notice of tax

26  lien. Such property which is situated in this state shall be

27  subject to the taxes exempted thereby, plus a penalty of 50

28  percent of the unpaid taxes for each year and 15 percent

29  interest per annum.  However, if a homestead exemption is

30  improperly granted as a result of a clerical mistake or an

31  omission by the property appraiser, or as a result of a

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    Florida Senate - 2000                             CS for SB 72
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  1  transfer of title as described in s. 193.155(3) and the person

  2  would otherwise be entitled to the homestead exemption on that

  3  property, the person improperly receiving the exemption shall

  4  not be assessed penalty and interest. The waiver of assessed

  5  penalty and interest is inapplicable to transfers made under

  6  s. 193.155(3) if the intent of the transfer is to avoid the

  7  payment of such assessed penalty and interest. Before any such

  8  lien may be filed, the owner so notified must be given 30 days

  9  to pay the taxes, penalties, and interest.

10         Section 3.  Section 196.198, Florida Statutes, is

11  amended to read:

12         196.198  Educational property exemption.--Educational

13  institutions within this state and their property used by them

14  or by any other exempt entity or educational institution

15  exclusively for educational purposes shall be exempt from

16  taxation.  Sheltered workshops providing rehabilitation and

17  retraining of disabled individuals and exempted by a

18  certificate under s. (d) of the federal Fair Labor Standards

19  Act of 1938, as amended, are declared wholly educational in

20  purpose and shall be exempted from certification,

21  accreditation, and membership requirements set forth in s.

22  196.012.  Those portions of property of college fraternities

23  and sororities certified by the president of the college or

24  university to the appropriate property appraiser as being

25  essential to the educational process, shall be exempt from ad

26  valorem taxation. The use of property by public fairs and

27  expositions chartered by chapter 616 is presumed to be an

28  educational use of such property and shall be exempt from ad

29  valorem taxation to the extent of such use.  Property used

30  exclusively for educational purposes shall be deemed owned by

31  an educational institution if the entity owning 100 percent of

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    Florida Senate - 2000                             CS for SB 72
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  1  the educational institution is owned by the identical persons

  2  who own the property. If legal title to property is held by a

  3  governmental agency that leases the property to a lessee, the

  4  property shall be deemed to be owned by the governmental

  5  agency and used exclusively for educational purposes if the

  6  governmental agency continues to use such property exclusively

  7  for educational purposes pursuant to a sublease or other

  8  contractual agreement with that lessee. If the title to land

  9  is held by the trustee of an irrevocable inter vivos trust and

10  if the trust grantor owns 100 percent of the entity that owns

11  an educational institution that is using the land exclusively

12  for educational purposes, the land is deemed to be property

13  owned by the educational institution for purposes of this

14  exemption. Property owned by an educational institution shall

15  be deemed to be used for an educational purpose if the

16  institution has taken affirmative steps to prepare the

17  property for educational use.  Affirmative steps means

18  environmental or land use permitting activities, creation of

19  architectural plans or schematic drawings, land clearing or

20  site preparation, construction or renovation activities, or

21  other similar activities that demonstrate commitment of the

22  property to an educational use.

23         Section 4.  Paragraph (a) of subsection (13) of section

24  200.065, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:

25         200.065  Method of fixing millage.--

26         (13)(a)  If the notice of proposed property taxes

27  mailed to taxpayers under this section contains an error, the

28  property appraiser, in lieu of mailing a corrected notice to

29  all taxpayers, may correct the error by mailing a short form

30  of the notice to those taxpayers affected by the error and its

31  correction.  The notice shall be prepared by the property

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    Florida Senate - 2000                             CS for SB 72
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  1  appraiser at the expense of the taxing authority which caused

  2  the error or at the property appraiser's expense if he or she

  3  caused the error.  The form of the notice must be approved by

  4  the executive director of the Department of Revenue or the

  5  executive director's designee. If the error involves only the

  6  date and time of the public hearings required by this section,

  7  the property appraiser, with the permission of the taxing

  8  authority affected by the error, may correct the error by

  9  advertising the corrected information in a newspaper of

10  general circulation in the county as provided in subsection

11  (3).

12         Section 5.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a

13  law.

14

15          STATEMENT OF SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES CONTAINED IN
                       COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
16                              SB 72

17

18  The CS differs from the bill as filed in the following ways:

19  In Section 1, the constructive notice condition is removed;
    the previous owner is made responsible for the unpaid back
20  taxes accruing during his ownership; and a definition of a
    "bona fide purchaser" is included.
21
    In Section 2, language is included to clarify that the
22  exemption from penalties and interest is granted only to
    persons that would otherwise be entitled to the exemption; and
23  a qualifying condition is added to prohibit persons from
    qualifying for the exemption if their intention is to avoid
24  the payment of penalties and interest.

25  Section 4, which prohibited the deliberate use of excess
    documentary stamps, is deleted.
26
    A new section is added to maintain a property tax exemption
27  for property leased from a governmental agency if the agency
    continues to use the property exclusively for educational
28  purposes.

29

30

31

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