Senate Bill sb1592e1

    SB 1592                                  First Engrossed (ntc)



  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to local occupational license

  3         taxes; amending s. 205.0535, F.S.; updating

  4         provisions authorizing reclassification and new

  5         rate-structure revisions to local occupational

  6         license taxes by ordinance; deleting counties

  7         from such authorization provisions; providing

  8         construction relating to decreasing or

  9         repealing such taxes; providing an effective

10         date.

11  

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

13  

14         Section 1.  Section 205.0535, Florida Statutes, is

15  amended to read:

16         205.0535  Reclassification and rate structure

17  revisions.--

18         (1)  By October 1, 2006 1995, any municipality that has

19  adopted by ordinance an occupational license tax after October

20  1, 1995, or county may, by ordinance, reclassify businesses,

21  professions, and occupations and may establish new rate

22  structures, if the conditions specified in subsections (2) and

23  (3) are met.  A person who is engaged in the business of

24  providing local exchange telephone service or a pay telephone

25  service in a municipality or in the unincorporated area of a

26  county and who pays the occupational license tax under the

27  category designated for telephone companies or a pay telephone

28  service provider certified pursuant to s. 364.3375 is deemed

29  to have but one place of business or business location in each

30  municipality or unincorporated area of a county. Pay telephone

31  


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    SB 1592                                  First Engrossed (ntc)



 1  service providers may not be assessed an occupational license

 2  tax on a per-instrument basis.

 3         (2)  Before adopting a reclassification and revision

 4  ordinance, the municipality or county must establish an equity

 5  study commission and appoint its members.  Each member of the

 6  study commission must be a representative of the business

 7  community within the local government's jurisdiction.  Each

 8  equity study commission shall recommend to the appropriate

 9  local government a classification system and rate structure

10  for local occupational license taxes.

11         (3)(a)  After the reclassification and rate structure

12  revisions have been transmitted to and considered by the

13  appropriate local governing body, it may adopt by majority

14  vote a new occupational license tax ordinance.  Except that a

15  minimum license tax of up to $25 is permitted, the

16  reclassification shall not increase the occupational license

17  tax by more than the following:  for licenses costing $150 or

18  less, 200 percent; for licenses costing more than $150 but not

19  more than $500, 100 percent; for licenses costing more than

20  $500 but not more than $2,500, 75 percent; for licenses

21  costing more than $2,500 but not more than $10,000, 50

22  percent; and for licenses costing more than $10,000, 10

23  percent; however, in no case may any license be increased more

24  than $5,000.

25         (b)  The total annual revenue generated by the new rate

26  structure for the fiscal year following the fiscal year during

27  which the rate structure is adopted may not exceed:

28         1.  For municipalities, the sum of the revenue base and

29  10 percent of that revenue base.  The revenue base is the sum

30  of the occupational license tax revenue generated by licenses

31  issued for the most recently completed local fiscal year or


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    SB 1592                                  First Engrossed (ntc)



 1  the amount of revenue that would have been generated from the

 2  authorized increases under s. 205.043(1)(b), whichever is

 3  greater, plus any revenue received from the county under s.

 4  205.033(4).

 5         2.  For counties, the sum of the revenue base, 10

 6  percent of that revenue base, and the amount of revenue

 7  distributed by the county to the municipalities under s.

 8  205.033(4) during the most recently completed local fiscal

 9  year. The revenue base is the occupational license tax revenue

10  generated by licenses issued for the most recently completed

11  local fiscal year or the amount of revenue that would have

12  been generated from the authorized increases under s.

13  205.033(1)(b), whichever is greater, but may not include any

14  revenues distributed to municipalities under s. 205.033(4).

15         (c)  In addition to the revenue increases authorized by

16  paragraph (b), revenue increases attributed to the increases

17  in the number of licenses issued are authorized.

18         (4)  After the conditions specified in subsections (2)

19  and (3) are met, municipalities and counties may, every other

20  year thereafter, increase or decrease by ordinance the rates

21  of local occupational license taxes by up to 5 percent. The

22  increase, however, may not be enacted by less than a majority

23  plus one vote of the governing body. This chapter does not

24  prohibit a municipality or county from decreasing or repealing

25  any license tax authorized under this chapter.

26         (5)  No license shall be issued unless the federal

27  employer identification number or social security number is

28  obtained from the person to be licensed.

29         Section 2.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a

30  law.

31  


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