Senate Bill sb2014c1

    Florida Senate - 2002                           CS for SB 2014

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




    316-2001-02

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to the additional homestead

  3         exemption for persons 65 and older; amending s.

  4         196.075, F.S., which allows counties and

  5         municipalities to grant such exemption;

  6         providing requirements with respect to the

  7         taxpayer's statement of household income and

  8         supporting documents; revising the submission

  9         date for such documents; authorizing random

10         audits of such statements; providing

11         requirements with respect to release of tax

12         information to the property appraiser;

13         providing penalties and providing for a lien

14         for improperly taking such an exemption;

15         providing for notice and procedures relating to

16         such a lien; providing an effective date.

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

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20         Section 1.  Subsection (5) of section 196.075, Florida

21  Statutes, is amended, and subsection (9) is added to that

22  section, to read:

23         196.075  Additional homestead exemption for persons 65

24  and older.--

25         (5)  The department must require by rule that the

26  filing of the statement be supported by copies of any federal

27  income tax returns for the prior year, any wage and earnings

28  statements (W-2 forms), any request for an extension of time

29  to file returns, and any other documents it finds necessary,

30  for each member of the household, to be submitted by for

31  inspection by the property appraiser June 1. The taxpayer's

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






    Florida Senate - 2002                           CS for SB 2014
    316-2001-02




  1  sworn statement shall attest to the accuracy of the documents

  2  and grant permission to allow review of the documents if

  3  requested by the property appraiser. Submission of supporting

  4  documentation is not required for the renewal of an exemption

  5  under this section unless the property appraiser requests such

  6  documentation. Once the documents have been inspected by the

  7  property appraiser, they shall be returned to the taxpayer or

  8  otherwise destroyed. The property appraiser is authorized to

  9  generate random audits of the taxpayers' sworn statements to

10  ensure the accuracy of the household income reported. If so

11  selected for audit, a taxpayer shall execute Internal Revenue

12  Service Form 8821 or 4506, which authorizes the Internal

13  Revenue Service to release tax information to the property

14  appraiser's office. All reviews conducted in accordance with

15  this section shall be completed on or before June 1 such

16  copies. The property appraiser may not grant or renew the

17  exemption if without the required documentation requested is

18  not provided.

19         (9)  If the property appraiser determines that for any

20  year within the immediately previous 10 years a person who was

21  not entitled to the additional homestead exemption under this

22  section was granted such an exemption, the property appraiser

23  shall serve upon the owner a notice of intent to record in the

24  public records of the county a notice of tax lien against any

25  property owned by that person in the county, and that property

26  must be identified in the notice of tax lien. Any property

27  that is owned by the taxpayer and is situated in this state is

28  subject to the taxes exempted by the improper homestead

29  exemption, plus a penalty of 50 percent of the unpaid taxes

30  for each year and interest at a rate of 15 percent per annum.

31  However, if such an exemption is improperly granted as a

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    Florida Senate - 2002                           CS for SB 2014
    316-2001-02




  1  result of a clerical mistake or omission by the property

  2  appraiser, the person who improperly received the exemption

  3  may not be assessed a penalty and interest. Before any such

  4  lien may be filed, the owner must be given 30 days within

  5  which to pay the taxes, penalties, and interest. Such a lien

  6  is subject to the procedures and provisions set forth in s.

  7  196.161(3).

  8         Section 2.  This act shall take effect January 1, 2003.

  9

10          STATEMENT OF SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES CONTAINED IN
                       COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
11                             SB 2014

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13  This CS differs from the bill as filed in that it deletes the
    April 15 deadlines, as proposed in the bill, for submission of
14  supporting documents required by the property appraiser to
    obtain the exemption; and clarifies that submission of
15  supporting documentation is not required for the renewal of an
    exemption unless the property appraiser requests such
16  documentation.

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