| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to corporate income tax credits; creating |
| 3 | s. 220.1875, F.S.; providing legislative findings and |
| 4 | purposes; providing definitions; establishing the Florida |
| 5 | Public School Tax Credit Program; providing for credits |
| 6 | against the corporate income tax for contributions to |
| 7 | public schools for certain purposes; providing |
| 8 | limitations; authorizing public schools to determine how |
| 9 | to use undesignated contributions; requiring public |
| 10 | schools to report certain information to the Department of |
| 11 | Revenue; limiting the total annual amount of credits; |
| 12 | providing requirements for taxpayers filing consolidated |
| 13 | returns; providing procedures and requirements for |
| 14 | rescinding credits; providing for use of rescinded credits |
| 15 | by other taxpayers; specifying certain taxpayers as |
| 16 | ineligible to receive the corporate tax credit; specifying |
| 17 | administrative rules for use and application of the |
| 18 | credit; requiring the Department of Revenue and the State |
| 19 | Board of Education to adopt rules; providing requirements |
| 20 | for deposits of eligible contributions; providing criteria |
| 21 | for preservation of tax credits under certain |
| 22 | circumstances; providing a limitation; providing an |
| 23 | effective date. |
| 24 |
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| 25 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 26 |
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| 27 | Section 1. Section 220.1875, Florida Statutes, is created |
| 28 | to read: |
| 29 | 220.1875 Credits for contributions to public schools for |
| 30 | public school expenses.- |
| 31 | (1) FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.- |
| 32 | (a) The Legislature finds that: |
| 33 | 1. It has the inherent power to determine subjects of |
| 34 | taxation for general or particular public purposes. |
| 35 | 2. Expanding educational opportunities and improving the |
| 36 | quality of educational services within the state are valid |
| 37 | public purposes that the Legislature may promote using its |
| 38 | sovereign power to determine subjects of taxation and exemptions |
| 39 | from taxation. |
| 40 | 3. Expanding educational opportunities and the healthy |
| 41 | competition they promote are critical to improving the quality |
| 42 | of education in the state and to ensuring that all children |
| 43 | receive the high-quality education to which they are entitled. |
| 44 | (b) The purpose of this section is to: |
| 45 | 1. Enable taxpayers to make private, voluntary |
| 46 | contributions to public schools in order to promote the general |
| 47 | welfare. |
| 48 | 2. Enable children in this state to achieve a greater |
| 49 | level of excellence in their education. |
| 50 | 3. Improve the quality of education in this state, both by |
| 51 | expanding educational opportunities for children and by creating |
| 52 | incentives for public schools to achieve excellence. |
| 53 | 4. Allow corporations to claim education tax credits for |
| 54 | direct payments to public schools for educational expenses, |
| 55 | special assistance, tutoring, Foundation for Florida's Future, |
| 56 | mentoring, extracurricular activities, or character education |
| 57 | programs and pay-to-play fees associated with mental and |
| 58 | physical student development. |
| 59 | (2) DEFINITIONS.-As used in this section, the term: |
| 60 | (a) "Department" means the Department of Revenue. |
| 61 | (b) "Eligible contribution" means a monetary contribution |
| 62 | from a taxpayer, subject to the restrictions provided in this |
| 63 | section, to a public school. |
| 64 | (c) "Public school" means a school in this state that |
| 65 | provides education to students in any grades K-12 in a public |
| 66 | school district. |
| 67 | (3) PROGRAM.-The Florida Public School Tax Credit Program |
| 68 | is established. |
| 69 | (4) AUTHORIZATION TO GRANT PUBLIC SCHOOL FUNDING TAX |
| 70 | CREDITS; LIMITATIONS ON INDIVIDUAL AND TOTAL CREDITS.- |
| 71 | (a)1. There is allowed a credit of 100 percent of an |
| 72 | eligible contribution against any tax due for a taxable year |
| 73 | under this chapter. The credit is allowed against the taxes |
| 74 | imposed by this chapter for the amount of any fees paid or cash |
| 75 | contributions made by a taxpayer during the taxable year to a |
| 76 | public school located in this state for the support of |
| 77 | educational expenses, special assistance, tutoring, Foundation |
| 78 | for Florida's Future, mentoring, extracurricular activities, |
| 79 | character education programs and pay-to-play fees. The taxpayer |
| 80 | may designate the specific use to which the contribution must be |
| 81 | applied. However, such a credit may not exceed 75 percent of the |
| 82 | tax due under this chapter for the taxable year, after the |
| 83 | application of any other allowable credits by the taxpayer. The |
| 84 | credit granted by this section shall be reduced by the |
| 85 | difference between the amount of federal corporate income tax |
| 86 | taking into account the credit granted by this section and the |
| 87 | amount of federal corporate income tax without application of |
| 88 | the credit granted by this section. |
| 89 | 2. Each public school that receives contributions that are |
| 90 | not designated for a specific purpose shall determine how the |
| 91 | contributions are used. The school advisory council may make |
| 92 | recommendations as to how best to apply undesignated |
| 93 | contributions. |
| 94 | 3. A public school that receives fees or a cash |
| 95 | contribution shall report to the department, in a form |
| 96 | prescribed by the department: |
| 97 | a. The total number of fee and cash contribution payments |
| 98 | received during the previous calendar year. |
| 99 | b. The total dollar amount of fees and contributions |
| 100 | received during the previous calendar year. |
| 101 | c. The total dollar amount from fees and contributions |
| 102 | received that were spent by the public school during the |
| 103 | previous calendar year. |
| 104 | (b) For each state fiscal year, the total amount of tax |
| 105 | credits and carryforward of tax credits which may be granted |
| 106 | under this section and s. 624.51055 is $118 million. |
| 107 | (c) A taxpayer who files a Florida consolidated return as |
| 108 | a member of an affiliated group pursuant to s. 220.131(1) may be |
| 109 | allowed the credit on a consolidated return basis; however, the |
| 110 | total credit taken by the affiliated group is subject to the |
| 111 | limitation established under paragraph (a). |
| 112 | (d) Effective for tax years beginning January 1, 2011, a |
| 113 | taxpayer may rescind all or part of its allocated tax credit |
| 114 | under this section. The amount rescinded shall become available |
| 115 | for purposes of the cap for that state fiscal year under this |
| 116 | section to an eligible taxpayer as approved by the department if |
| 117 | the taxpayer receives notice from the department that the |
| 118 | rescission has been accepted by the department and the taxpayer |
| 119 | has not previously rescinded any or all of its tax credit |
| 120 | allocation under this section more than once in the previous 3 |
| 121 | tax years. Any amount rescinded under this paragraph shall |
| 122 | become available to an eligible taxpayer on a first-come, first- |
| 123 | served basis based on tax credit applications received after the |
| 124 | date the rescission is accepted by the department. |
| 125 | (e) A taxpayer who is eligible to receive the credit |
| 126 | provided for in s. 624.51055 is not eligible to receive the |
| 127 | credit provided by this section. |
| 128 | (5) ADMINISTRATION; RULES.- |
| 129 | (a) If the credit granted pursuant to this section is not |
| 130 | fully used in any one year because of insufficient tax liability |
| 131 | on the part of the corporation, the unused amount may be carried |
| 132 | forward for a period not to exceed 3 years; however, any |
| 133 | taxpayer that seeks to carry forward an unused amount of tax |
| 134 | credit must submit an application for allocation of tax credits |
| 135 | or carryforward credits as required in paragraph (d) in the year |
| 136 | that the taxpayer intends to use the carryforward. This |
| 137 | carryforward applies to all approved contributions made after |
| 138 | January 1, 2011. A taxpayer may not convey, assign, or transfer |
| 139 | the credit authorized by this section to another entity unless |
| 140 | all of the assets of the taxpayer are conveyed, assigned, or |
| 141 | transferred in the same transaction. |
| 142 | (b) An application for a tax credit pursuant to this |
| 143 | section shall be submitted to the department on forms |
| 144 | established by rule of the department. |
| 145 | (c) The department and the Department of Education shall |
| 146 | develop a cooperative agreement to assist in the administration |
| 147 | of this section. |
| 148 | (d) The department shall adopt rules necessary to |
| 149 | administer this section, including rules establishing |
| 150 | application forms and procedures and governing the allocation of |
| 151 | tax credits and carryforward credits under this section on a |
| 152 | first-come, first-served basis. |
| 153 | (e) The State Board of Education shall adopt rules |
| 154 | pursuant to ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54 to administer this section |
| 155 | as it relates to the roles of the Department of Education and |
| 156 | the Commissioner of Education. |
| 157 | (6) DEPOSITS OF ELIGIBLE CONTRIBUTIONS.-All eligible |
| 158 | contributions received by a public school shall be deposited in |
| 159 | a manner consistent with s. 17.57(2). |
| 160 | (7) PRESERVATION OF CREDIT.-If any provision or portion of |
| 161 | subsection (4) or the application thereof to any person or |
| 162 | circumstance is held unconstitutional by any court or is |
| 163 | otherwise declared invalid, the unconstitutionality or |
| 164 | invalidity shall not affect any credit earned under subsection |
| 165 | (4) by any taxpayer with respect to any contribution paid to a |
| 166 | public school before the date of a determination of |
| 167 | unconstitutionality or invalidity. Such credit shall be allowed |
| 168 | at such time and in such a manner as if a determination of |
| 169 | unconstitutionality or invalidity had not been made, provided |
| 170 | that nothing in this subsection by itself or in combination with |
| 171 | any other provision of law shall result in the allowance of any |
| 172 | credit to any taxpayer in excess of one dollar of credit for |
| 173 | each dollar paid to a public school. |
| 174 | Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2010. |