Senate Bill sb0664

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    Florida Senate - 2001                                   SB 664

    By Senator Sullivan





    22-494-01

  1                      A bill to be entitled

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

  3         other transactions; amending s. 212.08, F.S.;

  4         revising an exemption from taxation for

  5         machinery and equipment used in defense and

  6         space technology research and development and

  7         production; providing an effective date.

  8

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

10

11         Section 1.  Paragraph (j) of subsection (5) of section

12  212.08, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:

13         212.08  Sales, rental, use, consumption, distribution,

14  and storage tax; specified exemptions.--The sale at retail,

15  the rental, the use, the consumption, the distribution, and

16  the storage to be used or consumed in this state of the

17  following are hereby specifically exempt from the tax imposed

18  by this chapter.

19         (5)  EXEMPTIONS; ACCOUNT OF USE.--

20         (j)  Machinery and equipment used in semiconductor,

21  defense, or space technology production and research and

22  development.--

23         1.a.  Industrial machinery and equipment used in

24  semiconductor technology facilities certified under

25  subparagraph 6. to manufacture, process, compound, or produce

26  semiconductor technology products for sale or for use by these

27  facilities are exempt from the tax imposed by this chapter.

28  For purposes of this paragraph, industrial machinery and

29  equipment includes molds, dies, machine tooling, other

30  appurtenances or accessories to machinery and equipment,

31  testing equipment, test beds, computers, and software, whether

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    Florida Senate - 2001                                   SB 664
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  1  purchased or self-fabricated, and, if self-fabricated,

  2  includes materials and labor for design, fabrication, and

  3  assembly.

  4         b.  Industrial machinery and equipment used in defense

  5  or space technology facilities certified under subparagraph 6.

  6  to manufacture, process, compound, or produce defense

  7  technology products or space technology products for sale or

  8  for use by these facilities are exempt from 25 percent of the

  9  tax imposed by this chapter.

10         2.a.  Machinery and equipment are exempt from the tax

11  imposed by this chapter if used predominately in semiconductor

12  wafer research and development activities in a semiconductor

13  technology research and development facility certified under

14  subparagraph 6. For purposes of this paragraph, machinery and

15  equipment includes molds, dies, machine tooling, other

16  appurtenances or accessories to machinery and equipment,

17  testing equipment, test beds, computers, and software, whether

18  purchased or self-fabricated, and, if self-fabricated,

19  includes materials and labor for design, fabrication, and

20  assembly.

21         b.  Machinery and equipment are exempt from 25 percent

22  of the tax imposed by this chapter if used predominately in

23  defense or space research and development activities in a

24  defense or space technology research and development facility

25  certified under subparagraph 6.

26         3.  Building materials purchased for use in

27  manufacturing or expanding clean rooms in

28  semiconductor-manufacturing facilities are exempt from the tax

29  imposed by this chapter.

30         4.  In addition to meeting the criteria mandated by

31  subparagraph 1., subparagraph 2., or subparagraph 3., a

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  1  business must be certified by the Office of Tourism, Trade,

  2  and Economic Development as authorized in this paragraph in

  3  order to qualify for exemption under this paragraph.

  4         5.  For items purchased tax exempt pursuant to this

  5  paragraph, possession of a written certification from the

  6  purchaser, certifying the purchaser's entitlement to exemption

  7  pursuant to this paragraph, relieves the seller of the

  8  responsibility of collecting the tax on the sale of such

  9  items, and the department shall look solely to the purchaser

10  for recovery of tax if it determines that the purchaser was

11  not entitled to the exemption.

12         6.a.  To be eligible to receive the exemption provided

13  by subparagraph 1., subparagraph 2., or subparagraph 3., a

14  qualifying business entity shall apply to Enterprise Florida,

15  Inc. The application shall be developed by the Office of

16  Tourism, Trade, and Economic Development in consultation with

17  Enterprise Florida, Inc.

18         b.  Enterprise Florida, Inc., shall review each

19  submitted application and information and determine whether or

20  not the application is complete within 5 working days. Once an

21  application is complete, Enterprise Florida, Inc., shall,

22  within 10 working days, evaluate the application and recommend

23  approval or disapproval of the application to the Office of

24  Tourism, Trade, and Economic Development.

25         c.  Upon receipt of the application and recommendation

26  from Enterprise Florida, Inc., the Office of Tourism, Trade,

27  and Economic Development shall certify within 5 working days

28  those applicants who are found to meet the requirements of

29  this section and notify the applicant, Enterprise Florida,

30  Inc., and the department of the certification. If the Office

31  of Tourism, Trade, and Economic Development finds that the

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  1  applicant does not meet the requirements of this section, it

  2  shall notify the applicant and Enterprise Florida, Inc.,

  3  within 10 working days that the application for certification

  4  has been denied and the reasons for denial. The Office of

  5  Tourism, Trade, and Economic Development has final approval

  6  authority for certification under this section.

  7         7.a.  A business may apply once each year for the

  8  exemption.

  9         b.  The application must indicate, for program

10  evaluation purposes only, the average number of full-time

11  equivalent employees at the facility over the preceding

12  calendar year, the average wage and benefits paid to those

13  employees over the preceding calendar year, the total

14  investment made in real and tangible personal property over

15  the preceding calendar year, and the total value of tax-exempt

16  purchases and taxes exempted during the previous year. The

17  department shall assist the Office of Tourism, Trade, and

18  Economic Development in evaluating and verifying information

19  provided in the application for exemption.

20         c.  The Office of Tourism, Trade, and Economic

21  Development may use the information reported on the

22  application for evaluation purposes only and shall prepare an

23  annual report on the exemption program and its cost and

24  impact. The annual report for the preceding fiscal year shall

25  be submitted to the Governor, the President of the Senate, and

26  the Speaker of the House of Representatives by September 30 of

27  each fiscal year. This report may be submitted in conjunction

28  with the annual report required in s. 288.095(3)(c).

29         8.  A business certified to receive this exemption may

30  elect to designate one or more state universities or community

31  colleges as recipients of up to 100 percent of the amount of

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  1  the exemption for which they may qualify. To receive these

  2  funds, the institution must agree to match the funds so earned

  3  with equivalent cash, programs, services, or other in-kind

  4  support on a one-to-one basis in the pursuit of research and

  5  development projects as requested by the certified business.

  6  The rights to any patents, royalties, or real or intellectual

  7  property must be vested in the business unless otherwise

  8  agreed to by the business and the university or community

  9  college.

10         9.  As used in this paragraph, the term:

11         a.  "Predominately" means at least 50 percent of the

12  time in qualifying research and development.

13         b.  "Research and development" means basic and applied

14  research in the science or engineering, as well as the design,

15  development, and testing of prototypes or processes of new or

16  improved products. Research and development does not include

17  market research, routine consumer product testing, sales

18  research, research in the social sciences or psychology,

19  nontechnological activities, or technical services.

20         c.  "Semiconductor technology products" means raw

21  semiconductor wafers or semiconductor thin films that are

22  transformed into semiconductor memory or logic wafers,

23  including wafers containing mixed memory and logic circuits;

24  related assembly and test operations; active-matrix flat panel

25  displays; semiconductor chips; semiconductor lasers;

26  optoelectronic elements; and related semiconductor technology

27  products as determined by the Office of Tourism, Trade, and

28  Economic Development.

29         d.  "Clean rooms" means manufacturing facilities

30  enclosed in a manner that meets the clean manufacturing

31

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  1  requirements necessary for high-technology

  2  semiconductor-manufacturing environments.

  3         e.  "Defense technology products" means products that

  4  have a military application, including, but not limited to,

  5  weapons, weapons systems, guidance systems, surveillance

  6  systems, communications or information systems, munitions,

  7  aircraft, vessels, or boats, or components thereof, which are

  8  intended for military use and manufactured in performance of a

  9  contract with the United States Department of Defense or the

10  military branch of a recognized foreign government or a

11  subcontract thereunder which relates to matters of national

12  defense.

13         f.  "Space technology products" means products that are

14  specifically designed or manufactured for application in space

15  activities, including, but not limited to, space launch

16  vehicles, missiles, satellites or research payloads, avionics,

17  and associated control systems and processing systems. The

18  term does not include products that are designed or

19  manufactured for general commercial aviation or other uses

20  even though those products may also serve an incidental use in

21  space applications.

22         Section 2.  This act shall take effect January 1, 2002.

23

24            *****************************************

25                          SENATE SUMMARY

26    Revises an exemption from the tax on sales, use, and
      other transactions which applies to certain machinery and
27    equipment used in defense and space technology research
      and development and production, by providing that the
28    machinery and equipment is exempt from all such taxation,
      rather than subject to 25 percent of the tax rate.
29

30

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