Florida Senate - 2015                                     SB 900
       
       
        
       By Senator Abruzzo
       
       
       
       
       
       25-00213-15                                            2015900__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to economic development; creating s.
    3         212.099, F.S.; establishing the Restaurant and Hotel
    4         Renovation Tax Refund Program; defining terms;
    5         providing policies and procedures for the review and
    6         approval of applications; requiring the Department of
    7         Economic Opportunity to verify renovation project
    8         costs and the incremental sales tax revenue increases
    9         for approved applicants; prescribing limitations with
   10         respect to tax refund amounts; requiring the
   11         Department of Revenue to remit tax refund payments
   12         upon certification; requiring the Department of
   13         Economic Opportunity to cease certifying tax refund
   14         amounts under specified conditions; authorizing the
   15         Department of Economic Opportunity and the Department
   16         of Revenue to adopt rules; providing an effective
   17         date.
   18          
   19  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   20  
   21         Section 1. Section 212.099, Florida Statutes, is created to
   22  read:
   23         212.099 Restaurant and Hotel Renovation Tax Refund
   24  Program.—
   25         (1) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the term:
   26         (a) “Approved applicant” means a person, sole
   27  proprietorship, firm, partnership, or corporation approved by
   28  the Department of Economic Opportunity for a specific hotel or
   29  restaurant renovation project.
   30         (b) “Approved project costs” means the costs of a
   31  renovation project incurred by a qualified applicant and
   32  approved by the Department of Economic Opportunity which are
   33  verified by an independent, third-party, certified public
   34  accountant licensed under chapter 473 who is retained by the
   35  applicant.
   36         (c) “Eligible business” means a person, sole
   37  proprietorship, firm, partnership, or corporation that operates
   38  a hotel or restaurant and undertakes a qualifying project.
   39         (d) “Hotel” has the same meaning as the term “transient
   40  public lodging establishment,” as defined in s. 509.013.
   41         (e) “Incremental sales tax revenue increase” means the
   42  difference between the average annual sales and use taxes
   43  remitted by the approved applicant or the previous business
   44  operator at the project location in the 3 years prior to its
   45  scheduled completion date and the annual sales and use taxes
   46  remitted by the approved applicant after completion of the
   47  renovation project.
   48         (f) “Qualifying project” means one of the following:
   49         1. For a hotel, the expenditure of at least $2 million for
   50  the renovation of guest rooms, suites, or common areas,
   51  including at least $10,000 per guest room or per suite. The
   52  renovation may include improvements of signage, building
   53  facades, and landscaping.
   54         2. For a restaurant, the expenditure of at least $100,000
   55  for the renovation of dining areas, restrooms, kitchens, and
   56  common areas, including at least $10,000 for the renovation of
   57  kitchens or other areas of the restaurant which are used
   58  primarily for the preparation of food. The renovation may
   59  include improvements of signage, building facades, and
   60  landscaping.
   61         (g) “Renovation” means the restoration, modernization,
   62  refurbishment, rehabilitation, remodeling, or improvement of an
   63  existing hotel or restaurant. The term does not include the
   64  construction of a new structure designed to accommodate a hotel
   65  or restaurant.
   66         (h) “Restaurant” has the same meaning as the term “public
   67  food service establishment,” as defined in s. 509.013.
   68         (2) APPLICATION PROCESS.—An eligible business that wishes
   69  to seek a refund of taxes paid shall submit a refund application
   70  to the Department of Economic Opportunity. If the eligible
   71  business has not been operating at the project location for at
   72  least 3 years, the application must be accompanied by records
   73  that document the average annual sales and use tax remitted by
   74  any other business that operated at the project location during
   75  that 3-year period.
   76         (a) The application must include:
   77         1. A detailed description of the proposed renovation,
   78  including an estimated completion date.
   79         2. Estimated costs of the proposed renovation.
   80         3. Documentation specifying the amount of annual sales and
   81  use taxes remitted by the eligible business at the location of
   82  the proposed renovation project for the previous 3 years.
   83         4. An estimate of the incremental increase in sales tax
   84  revenue attributable to the proposed renovation.
   85         (b) The Department of Economic Opportunity shall review
   86  each application within 60 days after receipt to determine
   87  whether the applicant is an eligible business and whether the
   88  renovation is a qualifying project. The Department of Economic
   89  Opportunity shall approve all applications that meet the
   90  requirements established under this section for eligibility and
   91  qualification. Upon approval of an application, the Department
   92  of Economic Opportunity shall issue a certificate to the
   93  applicant which authorizes it to participate in the tax refund
   94  program.
   95         (3) PAYMENT OF TAX REFUNDS.—
   96         (a)An approved applicant that wishes to receive a tax
   97  refund shall submit documentation of any incremental sales tax
   98  revenue increase to the Department of Economic Opportunity. An
   99  approved applicant may only submit one tax refund request per
  100  calendar year. The Department of Economic Opportunity shall
  101  verify that the approved applicant has incurred the approved
  102  project costs related to the qualifying project and the amount
  103  of the incremental sales tax revenue increase. Upon
  104  verification, the Department of Economic Opportunity shall
  105  certify to the Department of Revenue a refund amount to be paid
  106  to the approved applicant. The refund amount may not exceed 50
  107  percent of the incremental sales tax revenue increase. Upon
  108  certification of the refund amount, the Department of Revenue
  109  shall remit the refund to the approved applicant within 30 days.
  110         (b) The aggregate amount of refund payments that an
  111  approved applicant receives may not exceed 20 percent of the
  112  project costs incurred by the approved applicant. Expansions,
  113  enlargements, or additional improvements made by an approved
  114  applicant which exceed the project plans detailed in the
  115  approved application do not increase authorized tax refund
  116  payments certified by the Department of Economic Opportunity.
  117         (c) The Department of Economic Opportunity shall cease
  118  certifying tax refund amounts to the Department of Revenue for
  119  an approved applicant when the aggregate amount of 20 percent of
  120  the total approved project costs incurred by the approved
  121  applicant has been fully recovered through refund payments.
  122         (4) RULES.—The Department of Economic Opportunity and the
  123  Department of Revenue may adopt rules to implement and
  124  administer this section, including rules relating to the forms
  125  required to claim a refund under this section, the required
  126  documentation and basis for establishing eligibility for a
  127  refund, and the procedures and guidelines for claiming a refund.
  128         Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2015.