| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to payment card transaction exactions; |
| 3 | amending s. 212.12, F.S.; specifying absence of dealer |
| 4 | liability to the state for certain payment card |
| 5 | transaction rates, charges, or fees; specifying such |
| 6 | rates, charges, or fees as a credit against and deduction |
| 7 | from certain sales and use tax requirements; providing a |
| 8 | return requirement; providing an effective date. |
| 9 |
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| 10 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 11 |
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| 12 | Section 1. Paragraph (c) of subsection (1) of section |
| 13 | 212.12, Florida Statutes, is amended, and paragraph (d) is added |
| 14 | to that subsection, to read: |
| 15 | 212.12 Dealer's credit for collecting tax; penalties for |
| 16 | noncompliance; powers of Department of Revenue in dealing with |
| 17 | delinquents; brackets applicable to taxable transactions; |
| 18 | records required.-- |
| 19 | (1) Notwithstanding any other provision of law and for the |
| 20 | purpose of compensating persons granting licenses for and the |
| 21 | lessors of real and personal property taxed hereunder, for the |
| 22 | purpose of compensating dealers in tangible personal property, |
| 23 | for the purpose of compensating dealers providing communication |
| 24 | services and taxable services, for the purpose of compensating |
| 25 | owners of places where admissions are collected, and for the |
| 26 | purpose of compensating remitters of any taxes or fees reported |
| 27 | on the same documents utilized for the sales and use tax, as |
| 28 | compensation for the keeping of prescribed records, filing |
| 29 | timely tax returns, and the proper accounting and remitting of |
| 30 | taxes by them, such seller, person, lessor, dealer, owner, and |
| 31 | remitter (except dealers who make mail order sales) shall be |
| 32 | allowed 2.5 percent of the amount of the tax due and accounted |
| 33 | for and remitted to the department, in the form of a deduction |
| 34 | in submitting his or her report and paying the amount due by him |
| 35 | or her; the department shall allow such deduction of 2.5 percent |
| 36 | of the amount of the tax to the person paying the same for |
| 37 | remitting the tax and making of tax returns in the manner herein |
| 38 | provided, for paying the amount due to be paid by him or her, |
| 39 | and as further compensation to dealers in tangible personal |
| 40 | property for the keeping of prescribed records and for |
| 41 | collection of taxes and remitting the same. However, if the |
| 42 | amount of the tax due and remitted to the department for the |
| 43 | reporting period exceeds $1,200, no allowance shall be allowed |
| 44 | for all amounts in excess of $1,200. The executive director of |
| 45 | the department is authorized to negotiate a collection |
| 46 | allowance, pursuant to rules promulgated by the department, with |
| 47 | a dealer who makes mail order sales. The rules of the department |
| 48 | shall provide guidelines for establishing the collection |
| 49 | allowance based upon the dealer's estimated costs of collecting |
| 50 | the tax, the volume and value of the dealer's mail order sales |
| 51 | to purchasers in this state, and the administrative and legal |
| 52 | costs and likelihood of achieving collection of the tax absent |
| 53 | the cooperation of the dealer. However, in no event shall the |
| 54 | collection allowance negotiated by the executive director exceed |
| 55 | 10 percent of the tax remitted for a reporting period. |
| 56 | (c)1. A dealer entitled to the collection allowance |
| 57 | provided in this section may elect to forego the collection |
| 58 | allowance and direct that said amount be transferred into the |
| 59 | Educational Enhancement Trust Fund. Such an election must be |
| 60 | made with the timely filing of a return and may not be rescinded |
| 61 | once made. If a dealer who makes such an election files a |
| 62 | delinquent return, underpays the tax, or files an incomplete |
| 63 | return, the amount transferred into the Educational Enhancement |
| 64 | Trust Fund shall be the amount of the collection allowance |
| 65 | remaining after resolution of liability for all of the tax, |
| 66 | interest, and penalty due on that return or underpayment of tax. |
| 67 | The Department of Education shall distribute the remaining |
| 68 | amount from the trust fund to the school districts that have |
| 69 | adopted resolutions stating that those funds will be used to |
| 70 | ensure that up-to-date technology is purchased for the |
| 71 | classrooms in the district and that teachers are trained in the |
| 72 | use of that technology. Revenues collected in districts that do |
| 73 | not adopt such a resolution shall be equally distributed to |
| 74 | districts that have adopted such resolutions. |
| 75 | 2. This paragraph applies to all taxes, surtaxes, and any |
| 76 | local option taxes administered under this chapter and remitted |
| 77 | directly to the department. This paragraph does not apply to any |
| 78 | locally imposed and self-administered convention development |
| 79 | tax, tourist development tax, or tourist impact tax administered |
| 80 | under this chapter. |
| 81 | 3. Revenues from the dealer-collection allowances shall be |
| 82 | transferred quarterly from the General Revenue Fund to the |
| 83 | Educational Enhancement Trust Fund. The Department of Revenue |
| 84 | shall provide to the Department of Education quarterly |
| 85 | information about such revenues by county to which the |
| 86 | collection allowance was attributed. |
| 87 | 4. Notwithstanding any provision of chapter 120 to the |
| 88 | contrary, the Department of Revenue may adopt rules to carry out |
| 89 | the provisions of the amendment made by chapter 2006-52, Laws of |
| 90 | Florida, to this paragraph section. |
| 91 | (d) A dealer as described in this subsection is not liable |
| 92 | to the state for any discount rate, transaction charge, |
| 93 | interchange rate, or any other rate, charge, or fee charged to |
| 94 | the dealer by an issuer or deducted from a payment card sale for |
| 95 | processing a payment card transaction for which the rate, |
| 96 | charge, or fee is a flat rate, charge, or fee or a percentage |
| 97 | multiplied by the gross dollar amount of the payment card |
| 98 | transaction. Such rate, charge, or fee is a lawful credit |
| 99 | against and shall be deducted from any sales and use tax |
| 100 | required to be remitted by the dealer to the state. The dealer |
| 101 | shall separately state the credit on any required return. |
| 102 | Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2007. |