Florida Senate - 2009 SB 2376
By Senator Altman
24-01408-09 20092376__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to the tax on sales, use, and other
3 transactions; providing a short title; amending s.
4 212.05, F.S.; limiting the amount of tax collected on
5 individual sales of aircraft or boats; providing an
6 effective date.
7
8 WHEREAS, Florida's maritime and boating industry, including
9 the sale and servicing of large boats, has historically been a
10 significant component of Florida's economy, with over 220,000
11 people employed in this and related industries, and
12 WHEREAS, Florida has become increasingly important in the
13 field of aircraft manufacturing, sales, maintenance, repair, and
14 overhaul, with approximately 80,000 people employed in the
15 aviation and aerospace industries at an average annual wage of
16 over $50,000, and
17 WHEREAS, the aviation and boating industries not only
18 create significant numbers of jobs in Florida, but also attract
19 large amounts of capital , cause significant tax revenue to be
20 collected and create extensive indirect jobs and other benefits,
21 and
22 WHEREAS, the voters in Florida made clear in the most
23 recent election that, by amending Florida's constitution, they
24 value highly Florida's working waterfronts, and want to see
25 those waterfronts taking advantage of Florida's natural
26 amenities and adding further to employment and capital
27 investment in Florida, and
28 WHEREAS, current tax policy discourages the purchase, use,
29 and maintenance of boats and aircraft in Florida, and actually
30 requires certain purchasers to leave the state to avoid
31 unnecessary taxation, with a resulting loss of jobs, capital
32 investment and sales and use tax revenue, and
33 WHEREAS, current law and policy results in little or no
34 sales tax revenue collection on the purchase and sale of large
35 boats and aircraft because of far more advantageous law and
36 policy in other jurisdictions, including offshore, and
37 WHEREAS, changing tax policy to encourage the sale, use,
38 maintenance, repair, and overhaul of boats and aircraft in
39 Florida would energize its economy, create jobs, attract
40 capital, and generate additional sales and use tax revenue, and,
41 indirectly, assist law enforcement and the Department of
42 Homeland Security by decreasing the number of offshore
43 registered boats in Florida's and America's waters, NOW,
44 THEREFORE,
45
46 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
47
48 Section 1. This act may be cited as the “Aviation and
49 Maritime Full Employment Act.”
50 Section 2. Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of section
51 212.05, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
52 212.05 Sales, storage, use tax.—It is hereby declared to be
53 the legislative intent that every person is exercising a taxable
54 privilege who engages in the business of selling tangible
55 personal property at retail in this state, including the
56 business of making mail order sales, or who rents or furnishes
57 any of the things or services taxable under this chapter, or who
58 stores for use or consumption in this state any item or article
59 of tangible personal property as defined herein and who leases
60 or rents such property within the state.
61 (1) For the exercise of such privilege, a tax is levied on
62 each taxable transaction or incident, which tax is due and
63 payable as follows:
64 (a)1.a. At the rate of 6 percent of the sales price of each
65 item or article of tangible personal property when sold at
66 retail in this state, computed on each taxable sale for the
67 purpose of remitting the amount of tax due the state, and
68 including each and every retail sale.
69 b. Each occasional or isolated sale of an aircraft, boat,
70 mobile home, or motor vehicle of a class or type which is
71 required to be registered, licensed, titled, or documented in
72 this state or by the United States Government shall be subject
73 to tax at the rate provided in this paragraph, provided the
74 maximum amount of tax collected under this subparagraph on each
75 individual sale of an aircraft or boat may not exceed $25,000.
76 The department shall by rule adopt any nationally recognized
77 publication for valuation of used motor vehicles as the
78 reference price list for any used motor vehicle which is
79 required to be licensed pursuant to s. 320.08(1), (2), (3)(a),
80 (b), (c), or (e), or (9). If any party to an occasional or
81 isolated sale of such a vehicle reports to the tax collector a
82 sales price which is less than 80 percent of the average loan
83 price for the specified model and year of such vehicle as listed
84 in the most recent reference price list, the tax levied under
85 this paragraph shall be computed by the department on such
86 average loan price unless the parties to the sale have provided
87 to the tax collector an affidavit signed by each party, or other
88 substantial proof, stating the actual sales price. Any party to
89 such sale who reports a sales price less than the actual sales
90 price is guilty of a misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable
91 as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083. The department shall
92 collect or attempt to collect from such party any delinquent
93 sales taxes. In addition, such party shall pay any tax due and
94 any penalty and interest assessed plus a penalty equal to twice
95 the amount of the additional tax owed. Notwithstanding any other
96 provision of law, the Department of Revenue may waive or
97 compromise any penalty imposed pursuant to this subparagraph.
98 2. This paragraph does not apply to the sale of a boat or
99 aircraft by or through a registered dealer under this chapter to
100 a purchaser who, at the time of taking delivery, is a
101 nonresident of this state, does not make his or her permanent
102 place of abode in this state, and is not engaged in carrying on
103 in this state any employment, trade, business, or profession in
104 which the boat or aircraft will be used in this state, or is a
105 corporation none of the officers or directors of which is a
106 resident of, or makes his or her permanent place of abode in,
107 this state, or is a noncorporate entity that has no individual
108 vested with authority to participate in the management,
109 direction, or control of the entity's affairs who is a resident
110 of, or makes his or her permanent abode in, this state. For
111 purposes of this exemption, either a registered dealer acting on
112 his or her own behalf as seller, a registered dealer acting as
113 broker on behalf of a seller, or a registered dealer acting as
114 broker on behalf of the purchaser may be deemed to be the
115 selling dealer. This exemption shall not be allowed unless:
116 a. The purchaser removes a qualifying boat, as described in
117 sub-subparagraph f., from the state within 90 days after the
118 date of purchase or the purchaser removes a nonqualifying boat
119 or an aircraft from this state within 10 days after the date of
120 purchase or, when the boat or aircraft is repaired or altered,
121 within 20 days after completion of the repairs or alterations;
122 b. The purchaser, within 30 days from the date of
123 departure, shall provide the department with written proof that
124 the purchaser licensed, registered, titled, or documented the
125 boat or aircraft outside the state. If such written proof is
126 unavailable, within 30 days the purchaser shall provide proof
127 that the purchaser applied for such license, title,
128 registration, or documentation. The purchaser shall forward to
129 the department proof of title, license, registration, or
130 documentation upon receipt.
131 c. The purchaser, within 10 days of removing the boat or
132 aircraft from Florida, shall furnish the department with proof
133 of removal in the form of receipts for fuel, dockage, slippage,
134 tie-down, or hangaring from outside of Florida. The information
135 so provided must clearly and specifically identify the boat or
136 aircraft;
137 d. The selling dealer, within 5 days of the date of sale,
138 shall provide to the department a copy of the sales invoice,
139 closing statement, bills of sale, and the original affidavit
140 signed by the purchaser attesting that he or she has read the
141 provisions of this section;
142 e. The seller makes a copy of the affidavit a part of his
143 or her record for as long as required by s. 213.35; and
144 f. Unless the nonresident purchaser of a boat of 5 net tons
145 of admeasurement or larger intends to remove the boat from this
146 state within 10 days after the date of purchase or when the boat
147 is repaired or altered, within 20 days after completion of the
148 repairs or alterations, the nonresident purchaser shall apply to
149 the selling dealer for a decal which authorizes 90 days after
150 the date of purchase for removal of the boat. The department is
151 authorized to issue decals in advance to dealers. The number of
152 decals issued in advance to a dealer shall be consistent with
153 the volume of the dealer's past sales of boats which qualify
154 under this sub-subparagraph. The selling dealer or his or her
155 agent shall mark and affix the decals to qualifying boats in the
156 manner prescribed by the department, prior to delivery of the
157 boat.
158 (I) The department is hereby authorized to charge dealers a
159 fee sufficient to recover the costs of decals issued.
160 (II) The proceeds from the sale of decals will be deposited
161 into the administrative trust fund.
162 (III) Decals shall display information to identify the boat
163 as a qualifying boat under this sub-subparagraph, including, but
164 not limited to, the decal's date of expiration.
165 (IV) The department is authorized to require dealers who
166 purchase decals to file reports with the department and may
167 prescribe all necessary records by rule. All such records are
168 subject to inspection by the department.
169 (V) Any dealer or his or her agent who issues a decal
170 falsely, fails to affix a decal, mismarks the expiration date of
171 a decal, or fails to properly account for decals will be
172 considered prima facie to have committed a fraudulent act to
173 evade the tax and will be liable for payment of the tax plus a
174 mandatory penalty of 200 percent of the tax, and shall be liable
175 for fine and punishment as provided by law for a conviction of a
176 misdemeanor of the first degree, as provided in s. 775.082 or s.
177 775.083.
178 (VI) Any nonresident purchaser of a boat who removes a
179 decal prior to permanently removing the boat from the state, or
180 defaces, changes, modifies, or alters a decal in a manner
181 affecting its expiration date prior to its expiration, or who
182 causes or allows the same to be done by another, will be
183 considered prima facie to have committed a fraudulent act to
184 evade the tax and will be liable for payment of the tax plus a
185 mandatory penalty of 200 percent of the tax, and shall be liable
186 for fine and punishment as provided by law for a conviction of a
187 misdemeanor of the first degree, as provided in s. 775.082 or s.
188 775.083.
189 (VII) The department is authorized to adopt rules necessary
190 to administer and enforce this subparagraph and to publish the
191 necessary forms and instructions.
192 (VIII) The department is hereby authorized to adopt
193 emergency rules pursuant to s. 120.54(4) to administer and
194 enforce the provisions of this subparagraph.
195
196 If the purchaser fails to remove the qualifying boat from this
197 state within 90 days after purchase or a nonqualifying boat or
198 an aircraft from this state within 10 days after purchase or,
199 when the boat or aircraft is repaired or altered, within 20 days
200 after completion of such repairs or alterations, or permits the
201 boat or aircraft to return to this state within 6 months from
202 the date of departure, or if the purchaser fails to furnish the
203 department with any of the documentation required by this
204 subparagraph within the prescribed time period, the purchaser
205 shall be liable for use tax on the cost price of the boat or
206 aircraft and, in addition thereto, payment of a penalty to the
207 Department of Revenue equal to the tax payable. This penalty
208 shall be in lieu of the penalty imposed by s. 212.12(2) and is
209 mandatory and shall not be waived by the department. The 90-day
210 period following the sale of a qualifying boat tax-exempt to a
211 nonresident may not be tolled for any reason. Notwithstanding
212 other provisions of this paragraph to the contrary, an aircraft
213 purchased in this state under the provisions of this paragraph
214 may be returned to this state for repairs within 6 months after
215 the date of its departure without being in violation of the law
216 and without incurring liability for the payment of tax or
217 penalty on the purchase price of the aircraft if the aircraft is
218 removed from this state within 20 days after the completion of
219 the repairs and if such removal can be demonstrated by invoices
220 for fuel, tie-down, hangar charges issued by out-of-state
221 vendors or suppliers, or similar documentation.
222 Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2009.