CS/CS/HB 567

1
A bill to be entitled
2An act relating to the communications services tax;
3amending s. 202.12, F.S.; decreasing the rate of the tax;
4providing for application; amending s. 202.16, F.S.;
5requiring dealers to document exempt sales for resale;
6providing requirements and procedures; providing a
7definition; providing construction; providing for dealer
8provision of evidence of the exempt status of certain
9sales through an informal protest process; requiring the
10Department of Revenue to accept certain evidence during
11the protest period; providing limitations; requiring the
12department to establish a toll-free telephone number for
13the purpose of verifying registration numbers and resale
14certificates; requiring the department to establish a
15system for receiving information from dealers regarding
16certificate numbers; amending s. 202.18, F.S.; decreasing
17the percentage allocation of certain tax proceeds;
18amending s. 202.20, F.S.; limiting local governmental
19authority to make certain rate adjustments in the tax
20under certain circumstances; providing for a determination
21of completeness of certain data; providing effective
22dates.
23
24Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
25
26     Section 1.  Paragraphs (a) and (b) of subsection (1) of
27section 202.12, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
28     202.12  Sales of communications services.--The Legislature
29finds that every person who engages in the business of selling
30communications services at retail in this state is exercising a
31taxable privilege. It is the intent of the Legislature that the
32tax imposed by chapter 203 be administered as provided in this
33chapter.
34     (1)  For the exercise of such privilege, a tax is levied on
35each taxable transaction, and the tax is due and payable as
36follows:
37     (a)  Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, at a
38rate of 6.55 6.8 percent applied to the sales price of the
39communications service which:
40     1.  Originates and terminates in this state, or
41     2.  Originates or terminates in this state and is charged
42to a service address in this state,
43
44when sold at retail, computed on each taxable sale for the
45purpose of remitting the tax due. The gross receipts tax imposed
46by chapter 203 shall be collected on the same taxable
47transactions and remitted with the tax imposed by this
48paragraph. If no tax is imposed by this paragraph by reason of
49s. 202.125(1), the tax imposed by chapter 203 shall nevertheless
50be collected and remitted in the manner and at the time
51prescribed for tax collections and remittances under this
52chapter.
53     (b)  At the rate of 10.55 10.8 percent on the retail sales
54price of any direct-to-home satellite service received in this
55state. The proceeds of the tax imposed under this paragraph
56shall be accounted for and distributed in accordance with s.
57202.18(2). The gross receipts tax imposed by chapter 203 shall
58be collected on the same taxable transactions and remitted with
59the tax imposed by this paragraph.
60     Section 2.  The amendments to s. 202.12, Florida Statutes,
61by this act shall apply to bills for communications services
62dated on or after January 1, 2008.
63     Section 3.  Effective January 1, 2008, subsection (2) of
64section 202.16, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
65     202.16  Payment.--The taxes imposed or administered under
66this chapter and chapter 203 shall be collected from all dealers
67of taxable communications services on the sale at retail in this
68state of communications services taxable under this chapter and
69chapter 203. The full amount of the taxes on a credit sale,
70installment sale, or sale made on any kind of deferred payment
71plan is due at the moment of the transaction in the same manner
72as a cash sale.
73     (2)(a)  A sale of communications services that are used as
74a component part of or integrated into a communications service
75or prepaid calling arrangement for resale, including, but not
76limited to, carrier-access charges, interconnection charges paid
77by providers of mobile communication services or other
78communication services, charges paid by cable service providers
79for the transmission of video or other programming by another
80dealer of communications services, charges for the sale of
81unbundled network elements, and any other intercompany charges
82for the use of facilities for providing communications services
83for resale, must be made in compliance with the rules of the
84department. Any person who makes a sale for resale which is not
85in compliance with these rules is liable for any tax, penalty,
86and interest due for failing to comply, to be calculated
87pursuant to s. 202.28(2)(a).
88     (b)1.  Any dealer who makes a sale for resale shall
89document the exempt nature of the transaction, as established by
90rules adopted by the department, by retaining a copy of the
91purchaser's initial or annual resale certificate issued pursuant
92to s. 202.17(6). In lieu of maintaining a copy of the
93certificate, a dealer may document, prior to the time of sale,
94an authorization number provided telephonically or
95electronically by the department or by such other means
96established by rule of the department. The dealer may rely on an
97initial or annual resale certificate issued pursuant to s.
98202.17(6), valid at the time of receipt from the purchaser,
99without seeking additional annual resale certificates from such
100purchaser, if the dealer makes recurring sales to the purchaser
101in the normal course of business on a continual basis. For
102purposes of this paragraph, the term "recurring sales to a
103purchaser in the normal course of business" means sales in which
104the dealer extends credit to the purchaser and records the debt
105as an account receivable, or in which the dealer sells to a
106purchaser who has an established cash account, similar to an
107open credit account. For purposes of this paragraph, purchases
108are made from a selling dealer on a continual basis if the
109selling dealer makes, in the normal course of business, sales to
110the purchaser no less frequently than once in every 12-month
111period.
112     2.  A dealer may, through the informal conference
113procedures provided for in s. 213.21 and the rules of the
114department, provide the department with evidence of the exempt
115status of a sale. Exemption certificates executed by entities
116that were exempt at the time of sale, resale certificates
117provided by purchasers who were active dealers at the time of
118sale, and verification by the department of a purchaser's active
119dealer status at the time of sale in lieu of a resale
120certificate shall be accepted by the department when submitted
121during the protest period but may not be accepted in any
122proceeding under chapter 120 or any circuit court action
123instituted under chapter 72.     Section 4.  Effective January 1,
1242008, the Department of Revenue shall establish a toll-free
125telephone number for the verification of valid dealer
126registration numbers and resale certificates issued under
127chapter 202, Florida Statutes. The system must be adequate to
128guarantee a low busy rate, must respond to keypad inquiries, and
129must provide data that is updated daily.
130     Section 5.  Effective January 1, 2008, the Department of
131Revenue shall establish a system for receiving information from
132dealers regarding certificate numbers of purchasers who are
133seeking to make purchases for resale under chapter 202, Florida
134Statutes. The department shall provide such dealers, free of
135charge, with verification of those numbers that are canceled or
136invalid.
137     Section 6.  Effective January 1, 2008, paragraph (b) of
138subsection (2) of section 202.18, Florida Statutes, is amended
139to read:
140     202.18  Allocation and disposition of tax proceeds.--The
141proceeds of the communications services taxes remitted under
142this chapter shall be treated as follows:
143     (2)  The proceeds of the taxes remitted under s.
144202.12(1)(b) shall be divided as follows:
145     (b)  Sixty-two and one-tenth Sixty-three percent of the
146remainder shall be allocated to the state and distributed
147pursuant to s. 212.20(6), except that the proceeds allocated
148pursuant to s. 212.20(6)(d)3. shall be prorated to the
149participating counties in the same proportion as that month's
150collection of the taxes and fees imposed pursuant to chapter 212
151and paragraph (1)(b).
152     Section 7.  Paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of section
153202.20, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
154     202.20  Local communications services tax conversion
155rates.--
156     (2)(a)1.  With respect to any local taxing jurisdiction,
157if, for the periods ending December 31, 2001; March 31, 2002;
158June 30, 2002; or September 30, 2002, the revenues received by
159that local government from the local communications services tax
160imposed under subsection (1) are less than the revenues received
161from the replaced revenue sources for the corresponding 2000-
1622001 period; plus reasonably anticipated growth in such revenues
163over the preceding 1-year period, based on the average growth of
164such revenues over the immediately preceding 5-year period; plus
165an amount representing the revenues from the replaced revenue
166sources for the 1-month period that the local taxing
167jurisdiction was required to forego, the governing authority may
168adjust the rate of the local communications services tax upward
169to the extent necessary to generate the entire shortfall in
170revenues within 1 year after the rate adjustment and by an
171amount necessary to generate the expected amount of revenue on
172an ongoing basis.
173     2.  If complete data are not available at the time of
174determining whether the revenues received by a local government
175from the local communications services tax imposed under
176subsection (1) are less than the revenues received from the
177replaced revenue sources for the corresponding 2000-2001 period,
178as set forth in subparagraph 1., the local government shall use
179the best data available for the corresponding 2000-2001 period
180in making such determination. Complete data shall be deemed
181available to all local governments after the department
182completes audits, including the redistribution of local tax, of
183dealers who account for no less than 80 percent of the amount of
184communications services tax revenues received for fiscal year
1852005-2006.
186     3.  The adjustment permitted under subparagraph 1. may be
187made by emergency ordinance or resolution and may be made
188notwithstanding the maximum rate established under s. 202.19(2)
189and notwithstanding any schedules or timeframes or any other
190limitations contained in this chapter. Beginning July 1, 2007, a
191local government may make such adjustment only if the department
192or a dealer allocates or reallocates revenues away from the
193local government. However, any such adjustment shall be made no
194later than 6 months following the date the department notifies
195the local governments in writing that complete data is
196available. The emergency ordinance or resolution shall specify
197an effective date for the adjusted rate, which shall be no less
198than 60 days after the date of adoption of the ordinance or
199resolution and shall be effective with respect to taxable
200services included on bills that are dated on the first day of a
201month subsequent to the expiration of the 60-day period. At the
202end of 1 year following the effective date of such adjusted
203rate, the local governing authority shall, as soon as is
204consistent with s. 202.21, reduce the rate by that portion of
205the emergency rate which was necessary to recoup the amount of
206revenues not received prior to the implementation of the
207emergency rate.
208     4.  If, for the period October 1, 2001, through September
20930, 2002, the revenues received by a local government from the
210local communications services tax conversion rate established
211under subsection (1), adjusted upward for the difference in
212rates between paragraphs (1)(a) and (b) or any other rate
213adjustments or base changes, are above the threshold of 10
214percent more than the revenues received from the replaced
215revenue sources for the corresponding 2000-2001 period plus
216reasonably anticipated growth in such revenues over the
217preceding 1-year period, based on the average growth of such
218revenues over the immediately preceding 5-year period, the
219governing authority must adjust the rate of the local
220communications services tax to the extent necessary to reduce
221revenues to the threshold by emergency ordinance or resolution
222within the timeframes established in subparagraph 3. The
223foregoing rate adjustment requirement shall not apply to a local
224government that adopts a local communications services tax rate
225by resolution or ordinance. If complete data are not available
226at the time of determining whether the revenues exceed the
227threshold, the local government shall use the best data
228available for the corresponding 2000-2001 period in making such
229determination. This subparagraph shall not be construed as
230establishing a right of action for any person to enforce this
231subparagraph or challenge a local government's implementation of
232this subparagraph.
233     Section 8.  Except as otherwise expressly provided by this
234act, this act shall take effect upon becoming a law.


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