Florida Senate - 2009 SB 1970 By Senator Lynn 7-01265A-09 20091970__ 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to the tax on transient rentals; 3 amending s. 212.03, F.S.; requiring that persons who 4 engage in certain business activities related to 5 transient rentals collect the tax; providing 6 definitions; authorizing the Department of Revenue to 7 adopt rules to exclude certain charges from the 8 definition of the terms “total rent” or “total 9 consideration”; requiring certain persons to report 10 and remit the tax on certain transient rentals; 11 providing requirements, procedures, and limitations; 12 requiring the Department of Revenue to provide for an 13 amnesty for certain unpaid taxes, penalties, and 14 interest; providing criteria for qualifying for the 15 amnesty; providing exclusions from application of the 16 amnesty; authorizing the department to adopt emergency 17 rules to implement the amnesty; providing for the 18 effective period of such rules; providing an effective 19 date. 20 21 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 22 23 Section 1. Subsections (8), (9), and (10) are added to 24 section 212.03, Florida Statutes, to read: 25 212.03 Transient rentals tax; rate, procedure, enforcement, 26 exemptions.— 27 (8) For purposes of this section and ss. 125.0104, 28 125.0108, and 212.0305, the business of renting, leasing, 29 letting, or granting a license to use transient rental 30 accommodations includes any activity in which a person offers 31 information about the availability of accommodations to a 32 customer, arranges for the customer's occupancy of the 33 accommodations, establishes the total rent the customer pays for 34 the accommodations, or collects the rental payments from the 35 customer. 36 (9)(a) The terms “total rent” as used in this section, 37 “total consideration” as used in ss. 125.0104 and 125.0108, and 38 “total consideration” as used in s. 212.0305 have the same 39 meaning and include: 40 1. The total amount a customer pays for the right to occupy 41 a transient accommodation. 42 2. Charges that must be paid as a condition of the right of 43 occupancy, except for mandatory fees imposed for the 44 availability of communications services. 45 3. Charges paid by a customer to the person collecting the 46 rent or consideration as a condition of the right of occupancy, 47 even if the charges are separately stated or are for tangible 48 personal property or services provided by a third party. 49 4. Charges for the use of tangible personal property or 50 services as a condition of the right of occupancy, even if 51 separately stated. 52 (b) Notwithstanding subsection (a), the department may 53 adopt rules that exclude separately stated charges for tangible 54 personal property and services from the definition of total rent 55 or total consideration. 56 (10) Persons engaging in activities described in subsection 57 (8) shall register with the department and collect and remit 58 taxes on the total rent charged to their customers, unless the 59 registered owners or operators of the accommodations agree in 60 writing to report and remit taxes on their behalf. Any written 61 agreement must require the person collecting the rent to report 62 total taxable sales and taxes due and pay the taxes collected to 63 the owner or operator by the last day of the month in which the 64 customer pays the rent or the last day of the month in which the 65 customer completes the occupancy of the accommodation. The owner 66 or operator shall report and remit the taxes along with the 67 owner or operator's return that is due in the month following 68 the month in which the taxes are paid to the owner or operator. 69 The owner or operator is not liable for any tax, penalty, or 70 interest due as a result of the failure of the person who 71 arranged the occupancy and collected the rent to accurately 72 report and remit the taxes imposed by this section or by s. 73 125.0104, s. 125.0108, or s. 212.0305. If the owner or operator 74 does not agree to report and remit taxes on behalf of the person 75 who rents the accommodations as provided in subsection (8), that 76 person shall extend his or her annual resale certificate in lieu 77 of paying taxes on the amounts he or she pays to the owner or 78 operator for the accommodations. The department may provide by 79 rule for a single registration with the department by a person 80 engaged in the activities described in subsection (8) for all 81 political subdivisions for which the tourist development tax is 82 collected by the department. The department need not require 83 separate registrations for each location where transient rental 84 accommodations are located. However, a person engaged in the 85 activities described in subsection (8) must register with each 86 political subdivision that collects its own tourist development 87 tax. Such person may file consolidated returns as provided in s. 88 212.11(1)(e). 89 Section 2. (1) The Department of Revenue shall provide for 90 an amnesty for unpaid taxes, penalties, and interest imposed 91 under chapter 125 or chapter 212, Florida Statutes, on transient 92 rentals if: 93 (a) The rentals subject to amnesty were made prior to July 94 1, 2009. 95 (b) The rental payments were collected by persons who are 96 not owners, operators, or managers of the transient rental 97 facilities or their agents. 98 (c) The person who collected the rental payments registers 99 with the department to pay taxes on transient rentals on or 100 before October 1, 2009. 101 (d) The person who collected the rental payments applies 102 for amnesty by October 1, 2009, pursuant to rules of the 103 department. 104 (2)(a) The amnesty is not available for taxes, penalties, 105 or interest assessed if the assessment is final and has not been 106 timely challenged, or for any taxes, penalties, or interest that 107 have been paid to the department unless the payment is the 108 subject of an assessment that is not final or that has been 109 timely challenged. 110 (b) The amnesty is not available for tax billed to or 111 collected from the consumer who pays for occupancy of the 112 transient rental facility. The amnesty applies, however, to such 113 amounts to the extent that the person who collected the rental 114 payments can document that such taxes were remitted to the owner 115 or operator of the transient rental facility. 116 (3) The Department of Revenue may adopt emergency rules to 117 implement the amnesty. The rules may provide forms and 118 procedures for applying for amnesty, for reporting the rentals 119 for which amnesty is sought, and for ensuring the applicant's 120 ongoing commitment to registration, collection, and remittance 121 of the taxes imposed by state law on transient rentals. 122 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the emergency rules 123 shall remain effective until 6 months after the date of adoption 124 of the rule or the date of final resolution of all amnesty 125 applications filed pursuant to this section, whichever occurs 126 later. 127 Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2009.