HB 987

1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to the tax on sales, use, and other
3	transactions; amending s. 212.12, F.S.; authorizing a
4	dealer to elect to forego the collection allowance and
5	direct that collection allowance revenues be transferred
6	to the Educational Enhancement Trust Fund for distribution
7	to school districts as specified; providing exceptions;
8	providing for rulemaking by the Department of Revenue;
9	providing an appropriation; providing for costs recovery;
10	requiring the Department of Revenue to report collection
11	information to the Department of Education; providing an
12	effective date.
13
14	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
15
16	Section 1.  Paragraph (c) is added to subsection (1) of
17	section 212.12, Florida Statutes, to read:
18	212.12  Dealer's credit for collecting tax; penalties for
19	noncompliance; powers of Department of Revenue in dealing with
20	delinquents; brackets applicable to taxable transactions;
21	records required.--
22	(1)  Notwithstanding any other provision of law and for the
23	purpose of compensating persons granting licenses for and the
24	lessors of real and personal property taxed hereunder, for the
25	purpose of compensating dealers in tangible personal property,
26	for the purpose of compensating dealers providing communication
27	services and taxable services, for the purpose of compensating
28	owners of places where admissions are collected, and for the
29	purpose of compensating remitters of any taxes or fees reported
30	on the same documents utilized for the sales and use tax, as
31	compensation for the keeping of prescribed records, filing
32	timely tax returns, and the proper accounting and remitting of
33	taxes by them, such seller, person, lessor, dealer, owner, and
34	remitter (except dealers who make mail order sales) shall be
35	allowed 2.5 percent of the amount of the tax due and accounted
36	for and remitted to the department, in the form of a deduction
37	in submitting his or her report and paying the amount due by him
38	or her; the department shall allow such deduction of 2.5 percent
39	of the amount of the tax to the person paying the same for
40	remitting the tax and making of tax returns in the manner herein
41	provided, for paying the amount due to be paid by him or her,
42	and as further compensation to dealers in tangible personal
43	property for the keeping of prescribed records and for
44	collection of taxes and remitting the same. However, if the
45	amount of the tax due and remitted to the department for the
46	reporting period exceeds $1,200, no allowance shall be allowed
47	for all amounts in excess of $1,200. The executive director of
48	the department is authorized to negotiate a collection
49	allowance, pursuant to rules promulgated by the department, with
50	a dealer who makes mail order sales. The rules of the department
51	shall provide guidelines for establishing the collection
52	allowance based upon the dealer's estimated costs of collecting
53	the tax, the volume and value of the dealer's mail order sales
54	to purchasers in this state, and the administrative and legal
55	costs and likelihood of achieving collection of the tax absent
56	the cooperation of the dealer. However, in no event shall the
57	collection allowance negotiated by the executive director exceed
58	10 percent of the tax remitted for a reporting period.
59	(c)1.  A dealer entitled to the collection allowance
60	provided in this section may elect to forego the collection
61	allowance and direct the department to transfer the amount of
62	the collection allowance into the Educational Enhancement Trust
63	Fund. Such an election must be made with the timely filing of a
64	return and may not be rescinded once made. If a dealer who makes
65	such an election files a delinquent return, underpays the tax,
66	or files an incomplete return, the amount transferred into the
67	Educational Enhancement Trust Fund shall be the amount of the
68	collection allowance remaining after resolution of liability for
69	all of the tax, interest, and penalty due on that return or
70	underpayment of tax. The Department of Education shall
71	distribute the remaining amount from the trust fund to the
72	school districts that have adopted a resolution stating that
73	those funds will be used to ensure that up-to-date technology is
74	purchased for the classrooms in the district and that teachers
75	are trained in the use of that technology. Revenues collected in
76	districts that do not adopt such a resolution shall be equally
77	distributed to districts that have adopted such resolutions.
78	2.  This paragraph applies to all taxes, surtaxes, and any
79	local option taxes administered under this chapter and remitted
80	directly to the department. This paragraph does not apply to any
81	locally imposed and self-administered convention development
82	tax, tourist development tax, or tourist impact tax administered
83	under this chapter.
84	Section 2.  Notwithstanding the provisions of chapter 120,
85	Florida Statutes, the Department of Revenue may adopt rules to
86	carry out the amendment made by this act to s. 212.12, Florida
87	Statutes.
88	Section 3.  The sum of $36,465 is appropriated from the
89	General Revenue Fund to the Department of Revenue for the
90	purpose of administering the amendment to s. 212.12, Florida
91	Statutes, made by this act. The Department of Revenue shall
92	retain all of the revenues from dealer collection allowances
93	which are deposited into the Educational Enhancement Trust Fund
94	until the $36,465 appropriated from the General Revenue Fund has
95	been recovered.
96	Section 4.  Revenues from the dealer collection allowances
97	shall be transferred quarterly to the Educational Enhancement
98	Trust Fund. The Department of Revenue shall provide to the
99	Department of Education quarterly information about such
100	revenues by county to which the collection allowance was
101	attributed.
102	Section 5.  This act shall take effect January 1, 2007.

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