Senate Bill sb1774
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Florida Senate - 2003 SB 1774
By Senator Campbell
314-420A-03
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to the tax on gross receipts
3 for utility and communications services;
4 amending s. 203.01, F.S.; providing for a tax
5 on the delivery of electricity to a final
6 consumer, based on an index price; providing
7 for an annual calculation of the index price;
8 providing a credit for similar taxes paid to
9 another jurisdiction; providing for a tax on
10 the transportation of natural gas or
11 manufactured gas to a final consumer, based on
12 an index price; providing for an annual
13 calculation of the index price; providing a
14 credit for similar taxes paid to another
15 jurisdiction; providing for a tax on the cost
16 price of electricity, natural gas, or
17 manufactured gas to be paid by any person who
18 causes these products to be imported into the
19 state for that person's own use; revising
20 obsolete provisions; providing that the term
21 "gross receipts" does not include the sale of
22 manufactured gas to a public or private utility
23 for resale or for use as a fuel in the
24 generation of electricity; providing an amnesty
25 for unpaid gross receipts tax, penalties, and
26 interest on unpaid gross receipts tax otherwise
27 due for selling natural gas in this state;
28 providing conditions for the amnesty; providing
29 limitations for the amnesty; authorizing the
30 executive director of the Department of Revenue
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Florida Senate - 2003 SB 1774
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1 to adopt emergency rules to implement the
2 amnesty; providing effective dates.
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4 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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6 Section 1. Present paragraph (f) of subsection (1) of
7 section 203.01, Florida Statutes, is redesignated as paragraph
8 (i) and amended and new paragraphs (f), (g), and (h) are added
9 to that subsection, and subsections (2), (3), and (4) of that
10 section are amended to read:
11 203.01 Tax on gross receipts for utility and
12 communications services.--
13 (1)
14 (f)1. Every person who receives payment from a final
15 retail consumer in this state for the delivery of electricity
16 to that final consumer is subject to the tax imposed by this
17 paragraph unless the payment is subject to tax under paragraph
18 (a). The tax due in connection with each payment for delivery
19 shall be determined by multiplying the number of kilowatt
20 hours delivered by the index price and applying the rate in
21 paragraph (a) to the result.
22 2. The index price is the average Florida price per
23 kilowatt hour for commercial and industrial retail consumers
24 in the previous calendar year, as published in the United
25 States Energy Information Administration Electric Power
26 Monthly and announced by the Department of Revenue on July 1
27 of each year to be effective for the subsequent 12-month
28 period.
29 3. Tax due under this paragraph shall be administered,
30 paid, and reported in the same manner as the tax due under
31 paragraph (a).
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Florida Senate - 2003 SB 1774
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1 4. The amount of tax due under this paragraph shall be
2 reduced by the amount of any gross receipts tax or similar tax
3 lawfully imposed on and paid by the person from whom the
4 consumer purchased the electricity, whether imposed by and
5 paid to this state, another state, a territory of the United
6 States, or the District of Columbia. This reduction must be
7 reflected in a reduction to any gross receipts tax passed on
8 to the final retail consumer as a separately stated charge and
9 does not inure to the benefit of the person who receives
10 payment for the delivery of the electricity. The methods of
11 demonstrating proof of payment and the amount of such
12 reduction in tax shall be made according to rules of the
13 Department of Revenue.
14 (g)1. Every person who receives payment from a final
15 retail consumer in this state for the transportation of
16 natural gas or manufactured gas to that final consumer is
17 subject to the tax imposed by this paragraph unless the
18 payment is subject to tax under paragraph (a). The tax due in
19 connection with each payment received shall be determined by
20 dividing the number of cubic feet delivered by 1,000,
21 multiplying the resulting number by the index price, and
22 applying the rate in paragraph (a) to the result.
23 2. The index price is the average Florida price per
24 1,000 cubic feet for commercial and industrial retail
25 consumers in the previous calendar year as published in the
26 United Station Energy Information Administration Natural Gas
27 Monthly and announced by the Department of Revenue on July 1
28 of each year to be effective for the subsequent 12-month
29 period.
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Florida Senate - 2003 SB 1774
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1 3. Tax due under this paragraph shall be administered,
2 paid, and reported in the same manner as the tax due under
3 paragraph (a).
4 4. The amount of tax due under this paragraph shall be
5 reduced by the amount of any gross receipts tax or similar tax
6 lawfully imposed on and paid by the person from whom the
7 consumer purchased the natural gas or manufactured gas,
8 whether imposed by and paid to this state, another state, a
9 territory of the United States, or the District of Columbia.
10 This reduction must be reflected in a reduction to any gross
11 receipts tax passed on to the consumer as a separately stated
12 charge and does not inure to the benefit of the person
13 providing the transportation service. The methods of
14 demonstrating proof of payment and the amount of such
15 reduction in tax shall be made according to rules of the
16 Department of Revenue.
17 (h) Any person who purchases and imports into this
18 state electricity, natural gas, or manufactured gas for that
19 person's own use or consumption as a substitute for purchasing
20 utility, transportation, or delivery services taxable under
21 this chapter and who cannot demonstrate payment of the tax
22 imposed by this chapter must register with the Department of
23 Revenue and pay into the State Treasury each month an amount
24 equal to the cost price of such electricity, natural gas, or
25 manufactured gas times the rate set forth in paragraph (b),
26 reduced by the amount of any gross receipts tax or similar tax
27 lawfully imposed on and paid by the person from whom the
28 electricity, natural gas, or manufactured gas was purchased
29 and any person who provided delivery service or transportation
30 service in connection with the electricity, natural gas, or
31 manufactured gas. For purposes of this paragraph, the term
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1 "cost price" has the meaning ascribed in s. 212.02(4). The
2 methods of demonstrating proof of payment and the amount of
3 such reductions in tax shall be made according to rules of the
4 Department of Revenue.
5 (i)(f) Notwithstanding any other provision of this
6 chapter, with the exception of a communications services
7 dealer reporting taxes administered under chapter 202
8 telephone or telecommunication system described in paragraph
9 (c), the department may require:
10 1. A quarterly return and payment when the tax
11 remitted for the preceding four calendar quarters did not
12 exceed $1,000;
13 2. A semiannual return and payment when the tax
14 remitted for the preceding four calendar quarters did not
15 exceed $500; or
16 3. An annual return and payment when the tax remitted
17 for the preceding four calendar quarters did not exceed $100.
18 (2)(a) In addition to any other penalty provided by
19 law, any person who fails to timely report and pay any tax
20 imposed by subsection (1) on gross receipts from utility
21 services under this chapter shall pay a penalty equal to 10
22 percent of any unpaid tax, if the failure is for less than 31
23 days, plus an additional 10 percent of any unpaid tax for each
24 additional 30 days or fraction thereof. However, such penalty
25 may not be less than $10 or exceed a total of 50 percent in
26 the aggregate of any unpaid tax.
27 (b) In addition to any other penalty provided by law,
28 any person who falsely or fraudulently reports or unlawfully
29 attempts to evade paying any tax imposed by subsection (1) on
30 gross receipts from utility services under this chapter shall
31 pay a penalty equal to 100 percent of any tax due and is
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1 guilty of a misdemeanor of the second degree, punishable as
2 provided under s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.
3 (3) The term "gross receipts" as used herein does not
4 include gross receipts of any person derived from:
5 (a) The sale of natural gas or manufactured gas to a
6 public or private utility, including a municipal corporation
7 or rural electric cooperative association, either for resale
8 or for use as fuel in the generation of electricity; or
9 (b) The sale of electricity to a public or private
10 utility, including a municipal corporation or rural electric
11 cooperative association, for resale within the state, or as
12 part of an electrical interchange agreement or contract
13 between such utilities for the purpose of transferring more
14 economically generated power;
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16 provided the person deriving gross receipts from such sale
17 demonstrates that a resale in fact occurred and complies with
18 the following requirements: A resale in this state must be in
19 strict compliance with the rules and regulations of the
20 Department of Revenue; and any person making a sale for resale
21 in this state which is not in strict compliance with the rules
22 and regulations of the Department of Revenue shall be liable
23 for and pay the tax. Any person making a sale for resale in
24 this state may, through an informal protest provided for in s.
25 213.21 and the rules of the Department of Revenue, provide the
26 department with evidence of the exempt status of a sale. The
27 department shall adopt rules which provide that valid proof
28 and documentation of the resale in this state by a person
29 making the sale for resale in this state will be accepted by
30 the department when submitted during the protest period but
31 will not be accepted when submitted in any proceeding under
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1 chapter 120 or any circuit court action instituted under
2 chapter 72.
3 (4) The tax imposed pursuant to this chapter relating
4 to the provision of any utility, transportation, or delivery
5 services must at the option of the person supplying the
6 taxable services may be separately stated as Florida gross
7 receipts tax on the total amount of any bill, invoice, or
8 other tangible evidence of the provision of such taxable
9 services and must may be added as a component part of the
10 total charge. Whenever a provider of taxable services elects
11 to separately states state such tax as a component of the
12 charge for the provision of such taxable services, every
13 person, including all governmental units, shall remit the tax
14 to the person who provides such taxable services as a part of
15 the total bill, and the tax is a component part of the debt of
16 the purchaser to the person who provides such taxable services
17 until paid and, if unpaid, is recoverable at law in the same
18 manner as any other part of the charge for such taxable
19 services. For a utility, the decision to separately state any
20 increase in the rate of tax imposed by this chapter which is
21 effective after December 31, 1989, and the ability to recover
22 the increased charge from the customer shall not be subject to
23 regulatory approval.
24 Section 2. Amnesty for registration and remittance of
25 tax.--
26 (1) The state shall provide an amnesty for unpaid
27 gross receipts tax, penalties, and interest on unpaid gross
28 receipts tax that may otherwise be due for the sale or
29 transportation of natural gas for consumption in this state if
30 all of the following requirements are satisfied.
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Florida Senate - 2003 SB 1774
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1 (a) The sales subject to amnesty were made prior to
2 the effective date of this act.
3 (b) The gross receipts at issue were derived from one
4 of the following:
5 1. Sales by persons who are not regulated pursuant to
6 chapter 366;
7 2. Sales for which the written sales agreement
8 provides for transfer of title to the gas outside the state;
9 or
10 3. Sales of transportation services associated with
11 the sales of gas.
12 (c) The seller, if unregistered for gross receipts tax
13 purposes, registers with the Department of Revenue to pay
14 gross receipts tax on or before the effective date of this
15 act.
16 (d) The seller applies for amnesty within 3 months
17 after the effective date of this act, in accordance with the
18 rules of the Department of Revenue.
19 (2) The amnesty is not available for taxes, penalties,
20 or interest that have been assessed if the assessment is final
21 and has not been timely challenged, or for any tax, penalty,
22 or interest that has been previously paid to the department
23 unless the payment is the subject of an assessment that is not
24 final or that has been timely challenged.
25 (3) The amnesty is not available for tax billed to or
26 collected by the seller as an itemized charge to customers.
27 (4) The executive director of the department may adopt
28 emergency rules under sections 120.536(1) and 120.54(4),
29 Florida Statutes, to implement the amnesty. Such rules may
30 provide forms and procedures for applying for amnesty; for
31 reporting the sales for which amnesty is sought; and for
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1 ensuring the applicant's ongoing commitment to registration,
2 collection, and remittance of the state's gross receipts tax.
3 Notwithstanding any other law, the emergency rules shall
4 remain effective until the later of the date that is 6 months
5 after the date of adoption of the rule or the date of final
6 resolution of all amnesty applications filed pursuant to this
7 section.
8 (5) This section shall take effect upon this act
9 becoming a law.
10 Section 3. Except as otherwise expressly provided in
11 this act, this act shall take effect July 1, 2003.
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14 SENATE SUMMARY
15 Provides for the tax on gross receipts for utility and
communications services to apply to the delivery of
16 electricity to a final consumer and on the transportation
of natural gas or manufactured gas to a final consumer.
17 Provides for calculating the tax. Provides a tax credit
for similar taxes paid to another jurisdiction. Provides
18 an amnesty for unpaid gross receipts tax, penalties, and
interest due for selling natural gas in the state.
19 Provides requirements for qualifying for the amnesty.
Authorizes the executive director of the Department of
20 Revenue to adopt rules. (See bill for details.)
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