| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to the tax on sales, use, and other |
| 3 | transactions; amending s. 212.052, F.S.; deleting an |
| 4 | exception to an exemption from the tax for research or |
| 5 | development costs; providing an exemption for machinery |
| 6 | and equipment used predominantly for research and |
| 7 | development activities; defining the term "machinery and |
| 8 | equipment"; authorizing a business certified to receive |
| 9 | the exemption to designate one or more state universities |
| 10 | or community colleges as recipients of part or all of the |
| 11 | amount of the exemption under specified conditions; |
| 12 | providing that the business retains the rights to patents, |
| 13 | royalties, or real or intellectual property unless an |
| 14 | agreement specifies otherwise; providing an effective |
| 15 | date. |
| 16 |
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| 17 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 18 |
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| 19 | Section 1. Subsection (2) of section 212.052, Florida |
| 20 | Statutes, is amended, present subsections (3), (4), and (5) of |
| 21 | said section are renumbered as subsections (4), (5), and (6), |
| 22 | respectively, and a new subsection (3) is added to said section, |
| 23 | to read: |
| 24 | 212.052 Research or development costs; exemption.-- |
| 25 | (2) Notwithstanding any provision of this chapter to the |
| 26 | contrary, any person, including an affiliated group as defined |
| 27 | in s. 1504 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954, as amended, who |
| 28 | manufactures, produces, compounds, processes, or fabricates in |
| 29 | any manner tangible personal property for such taxpayer's own |
| 30 | use directly and solely in research or development shall not be |
| 31 | subject to the tax imposed by this chapter upon the cost of the |
| 32 | product so manufactured, produced, compounded, processed, or |
| 33 | fabricated. However, the tax imposed by this chapter shall be |
| 34 | due on the purchase, rental, or repair of real property or |
| 35 | tangible personal property employed in research or development |
| 36 | which is subject to the tax imposed by this chapter at the time |
| 37 | of purchase or rental. |
| 38 | (3)(a) Machinery and equipment are exempt from the tax |
| 39 | imposed by this chapter if used predominantly for research and |
| 40 | development activities. For the purposes of this subsection, the |
| 41 | term "machinery and equipment" includes molds, dies, machine |
| 42 | tooling, other appurtenances or accessories to machinery and |
| 43 | equipment, testing equipment, test beds, computers, and |
| 44 | software, whether purchased or self-fabricated, and, if self- |
| 45 | fabricated, includes materials and labor for design, |
| 46 | fabrication, and assembly. |
| 47 | (b) A business certified to receive this exemption may |
| 48 | elect to designate one or more state universities or community |
| 49 | colleges as recipients of up to 100 percent of the amount of the |
| 50 | exemption for which the business qualifies. To receive these |
| 51 | funds, the state university or community college must agree to |
| 52 | match the funds so earned with equivalent cash, programs, |
| 53 | services, or other in-kind support on a one-to-one basis in the |
| 54 | pursuit of research and development projects as requested by the |
| 55 | certified business. The rights to any patents, royalties, or |
| 56 | real or intellectual property must be vested in the business |
| 57 | unless otherwise agreed to by the business and the state |
| 58 | university or community college. |
| 59 | Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2005. |