Senate Bill sb0656c1

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    Florida Senate - 2007                            CS for SB 656

    By the Committee on Community Affairs; and Senator Rich





    578-2003-07

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to local business taxes;

  3         amending s. 205.0535, F.S.; authorizing certain

  4         municipalities to reclassify businesses and

  5         occupations and establish new business tax

  6         rates before a specified date; providing that

  7         ch. 205, F.S., does not prohibit a municipality

  8         or county from decreasing or repealing a local

  9         business tax; providing an effective date.

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

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13         Section 1.  Section 205.0535, Florida Statutes, is

14  amended to read:

15         205.0535  Reclassification and rate structure

16  revisions.--

17         (1)  By October 1, 1995, any municipality or county

18  may, by ordinance, reclassify businesses, professions, and

19  occupations and may establish new rate structures, if the

20  conditions specified in subsections (2) and (3) are met.

21  However, a municipality that adopted a local business tax by

22  ordinance on or after October 1, 1995, may, before October 1,

23  2008, reclassify businesses, professions, and occupations and

24  establish new rate structures by ordinance if the conditions

25  specified in subsections (2) and (3) are met. A person who is

26  engaged in the business of providing local exchange telephone

27  service or a pay telephone service in a municipality or in the

28  unincorporated area of a county and who pays the business tax

29  under the category designated for telephone companies or a pay

30  telephone service provider certified pursuant to s. 364.3375

31  is deemed to have but one place of business or business

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    Florida Senate - 2007                            CS for SB 656
    578-2003-07




 1  location in each municipality or unincorporated area of a

 2  county. Pay telephone service providers may not be assessed a

 3  business tax on a per-instrument basis.

 4         (2)  Before adopting a reclassification and revision

 5  ordinance, the municipality or county must establish an equity

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

 7  study commission must be a representative of the business

 8  community within the local government's jurisdiction. Each

 9  equity study commission shall recommend to the appropriate

10  local government a classification system and rate structure

11  for business taxes.

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

13  revisions have been transmitted to and considered by the

14  appropriate local governing body, it may adopt by majority

15  vote a new business tax ordinance. Except that a minimum tax

16  of up to $25 is permitted, the reclassification may not

17  increase the tax by more than the following: for receipts

18  costing $150 or less, 200 percent; for receipts costing more

19  than $150 but not more than $500, 100 percent; for receipts

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

21  for receipts costing more than $2,500 but not more than

22  $10,000, 50 percent; and for receipts costing more than

23  $10,000, 10 percent; however, in no case may the tax on any

24  receipt be increased more 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 business tax revenue generated by receipts issued for

31  the most recently completed local fiscal year or the amount of

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    Florida Senate - 2007                            CS for SB 656
    578-2003-07




 1  revenue that would have been generated from the authorized

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

 3  any revenue received from the county under s. 205.033(4).

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

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

 6  distributed by the county to the municipalities under s.

 7  205.033(4) during the most recently completed local fiscal

 8  year. The revenue base is the business tax revenue generated

 9  by receipts issued for the most recently completed local

10  fiscal year or the amount of revenue that would have been

11  generated from the authorized increases under s.

12  205.033(1)(b), whichever is greater, but may not include any

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

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

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

16  in the number of receipts issued are authorized.

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

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

19  year thereafter, increase or decrease by ordinance the rates

20  of business taxes by up to 5 percent. The increase, however,

21  may not be enacted by less than a majority plus one vote of

22  the governing body. This chapter does not prohibit a

23  municipality or county from decreasing or repealing a local

24  business tax authorized under this chapter.

25         (5)  A receipt may not be issued unless the federal

26  employer identification number or social security number is

27  obtained from the person to be taxed.

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

29  law.

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    Florida Senate - 2007                            CS for SB 656
    578-2003-07




 1          STATEMENT OF SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES CONTAINED IN
                       COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
 2                         Senate Bill 656

 3                                 

 4  The committee substitute expands the window of time, from
    October 1, 2007 to October 1, 2008, during which a
 5  municipality that adopted a local business tax ordinance on or
    after October 1, 1995, may reclassify businesses, professions,
 6  and occupations, and establish a new rate structure.

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