| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to the tax on transient rentals; amending |
| 3 | s. 212.03, F.S.; expanding the description of certain |
| 4 | business activities relating to transient rental |
| 5 | accommodations that are subject to certain transient |
| 6 | rental taxation requirements; providing definitions; |
| 7 | authorizing the Department of Revenue to adopt rules; |
| 8 | requiring certain persons to register with the department |
| 9 | and report and remit the tax on certain transient rentals; |
| 10 | providing requirements, procedures, and limitations; |
| 11 | requiring the Department of Revenue to provide for an |
| 12 | amnesty for certain unpaid taxes, penalties, and interest; |
| 13 | providing criteria for qualifying for the amnesty; |
| 14 | providing exclusions from application of the amnesty; |
| 15 | authorizing the department to adopt emergency rules to |
| 16 | implement the amnesty; providing for the effective period |
| 17 | of such rules; providing an effective date. |
| 18 |
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| 19 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 20 |
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| 21 | Section 1. Subsections (8), (9), and (10) are added to |
| 22 | section 212.03, Florida Statutes, to read: |
| 23 | 212.03 Transient rentals tax; rate, procedure, |
| 24 | enforcement, exemptions.-- |
| 25 | (8) For purposes of this section, ss. 125.0104, 125.0108, |
| 26 | and 212.0305, and chapter 67-930, Laws of Florida, as amended, |
| 27 | the business of renting, leasing, letting, or granting a license |
| 28 | to use transient rental accommodations includes any activity in |
| 29 | which a person offers information about the availability of |
| 30 | accommodations to a customer, arranges for the customer's |
| 31 | occupancy of the accommodations, establishes the total rent the |
| 32 | customer will pay for the accommodations, or collects the rental |
| 33 | payments from the customer. |
| 34 | (9)(a) The terms "total rent" as used in this section, |
| 35 | "total consideration" as used in ss. 125.0104 and 125.0108, |
| 36 | "consideration" as used in s. 212.0305, and "rent" as used in |
| 37 | chapter 67-930, Laws of Florida, as amended, have the same |
| 38 | meaning and include: |
| 39 | 1. The total amount a customer pays for the right to |
| 40 | occupy a transient rental accommodation. |
| 41 | 2. Charges that must be paid as a condition of the right |
| 42 | of occupancy, except for mandatory fees imposed for the |
| 43 | availability of communications services. |
| 44 | 3. Charges paid by a customer to the person collecting the |
| 45 | rent or consideration as a condition of the right of occupancy, |
| 46 | even if the charges are separately stated or are for tangible |
| 47 | personal property or services provided by a third party. |
| 48 | 4. Charges for the use of tangible personal property or |
| 49 | services as a condition of the right of occupancy, even if |
| 50 | separately stated. |
| 51 | (b) Notwithstanding paragraph (a), the department may |
| 52 | adopt rules that exclude separately stated charges for tangible |
| 53 | personal property and services from the definition of total rent |
| 54 | or total consideration. |
| 55 | (10) Each person engaging in activities described in |
| 56 | subsection (8) shall register with the department and collect |
| 57 | and remit taxes on the total rent charged to their customers, |
| 58 | unless the registered owners or operators of the accommodations |
| 59 | agree in writing to report and remit taxes on such person's |
| 60 | behalf. Any written agreement must require the person collecting |
| 61 | the rent to report total taxable sales and taxes due and pay the |
| 62 | taxes collected to the owner or operator by the last day of the |
| 63 | month in which the customer pays the rent or the last day of the |
| 64 | month in which the customer completes the occupancy of the |
| 65 | accommodation. The owner or operator shall report and remit the |
| 66 | taxes together with the owner's or operator's return, which is |
| 67 | due in the month following the month in which the taxes are paid |
| 68 | to the owner or operator. The owner or operator is not liable |
| 69 | for any tax, penalty, or interest due as a result of the failure |
| 70 | of the person who arranged the occupancy and collected the rent |
| 71 | to accurately report and remit the taxes imposed by this |
| 72 | section, s. 125.0104, s. 125.0108, s. 212.0305, or s. 2 of |
| 73 | chapter 67-930, Laws of Florida, as amended. If the owner or |
| 74 | operator does not agree to report and remit taxes on behalf of |
| 75 | the person who rents the accommodations as provided in |
| 76 | subsection (8), that person shall extend his or her annual |
| 77 | resale certificate in lieu of paying taxes on the amounts he or |
| 78 | she pays to the owner or operator for the accommodations. A |
| 79 | person engaged in the activities described in subsection (8) may |
| 80 | file with the department a single application for registration. |
| 81 | Such application for registration must identify each county in |
| 82 | which are located transient accommodations at which the person |
| 83 | engages in the activities described in subsection (8). Such |
| 84 | person must also file a separate registration with each county |
| 85 | that self-administers any local transient accommodations tax. A |
| 86 | person engaged in the activities described in subsection (8) may |
| 87 | file a consolidated return as provided in s. 212.11(1)(e). |
| 88 | Section 2. (1) The Department of Revenue shall provide |
| 89 | for an amnesty for unpaid taxes, penalties, and interest imposed |
| 90 | under chapter 125 or chapter 212, Florida Statutes, or chapter |
| 91 | 67-930, Laws of Florida, as amended, on transient rentals if: |
| 92 | (a) The rentals subject to the amnesty were made prior to |
| 93 | July 1, 2010. |
| 94 | (b) The rental payments were collected by persons who are |
| 95 | not owners, operators, or managers of the transient rental |
| 96 | facilities or their agents. |
| 97 | (c) The person who collected the rental payments registers |
| 98 | with the department and any applicable local jurisdictions to |
| 99 | pay taxes on transient rentals on or before October 1, 2010. |
| 100 | (d) The person who collected the rental payments applies |
| 101 | for amnesty by October 1, 2010, pursuant to rules of the |
| 102 | department. |
| 103 | (2)(a) The amnesty does not apply to any taxes, penalties, |
| 104 | or interest assessed if the assessment is final and has not been |
| 105 | timely challenged, or for any taxes, penalties, or interest that |
| 106 | have been paid to the department or other jurisdiction unless |
| 107 | the payment is the subject of an assessment that is not final or |
| 108 | that has been timely challenged. |
| 109 | (b) The amnesty does not apply to any tax billed to or |
| 110 | collected from the consumer who pays for occupancy of the |
| 111 | transient rental facility. The amnesty applies, however, to such |
| 112 | amounts to the extent that the person who collected the rental |
| 113 | payments documents that such taxes were remitted to the owner or |
| 114 | operator of the transient rental facility. |
| 115 | (3) The Department of Revenue may adopt emergency rules to |
| 116 | implement the provisions of this act. Such rules may provide |
| 117 | forms and procedures for applying for the amnesty, for reporting |
| 118 | the rentals for which amnesty is sought, and for ensuring the |
| 119 | applicant's ongoing commitment to registration, collection, and |
| 120 | remittance of the taxes imposed by state law on transient |
| 121 | rentals. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the |
| 122 | emergency rules shall remain effective until 6 months after the |
| 123 | date of adoption of the rule or the date of final resolution of |
| 124 | all amnesty applications filed pursuant to this section, |
| 125 | whichever occurs later. These rules may be renewed during the |
| 126 | pendency of procedures to adopt rules addressing the subject of |
| 127 | the emergency rules. |
| 128 | Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2010. |