CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.





                                                  SENATE AMENDMENT

    Bill No. SB 1918

    Amendment No.    

                            CHAMBER ACTION
              Senate                               House
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11  Senator Klein moved the following amendment:

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13         Senate Amendment (with title amendment) 

14         On page 8, between lines 6 and 7,

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16  insert:

17         Section 2.  Paragraphs (a) and (b) of subsection (1)

18  and subsection (3) of section 197.182, Florida Statutes, are

19  amended to read:

20         197.182  Department of Revenue to pass upon and order

21  refunds.--

22         (1)(a)  Except as provided in paragraph (b), the

23  department shall pass upon and order refunds when payment of

24  taxes assessed on the county tax rolls has been made

25  voluntarily or involuntarily under any of the following

26  circumstances:

27         1.  When an overpayment has been made.

28         2.  When a payment has been made when no tax was due.

29         3.  When a bona fide controversy exists between the tax

30  collector and the taxpayer as to the liability of the taxpayer

31  for the payment of the tax claimed to be due, the taxpayer

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                                                  SENATE AMENDMENT

    Bill No. SB 1918

    Amendment No.    





 1  pays the amount claimed by the tax collector to be due, and it

 2  is finally adjudged by a court of competent jurisdiction that

 3  the taxpayer was not liable for the payment of the tax or any

 4  part thereof.

 5         4.  When a payment has been made in error by a taxpayer

 6  to the tax collector, if, within 24 months of the date of the

 7  erroneous payment and prior to any transfer of the assessed

 8  property to a third party for consideration, the party seeking

 9  a refund makes demand for reimbursement of the erroneous

10  payment upon the owner of the property on which the taxes were

11  erroneously paid and reimbursement of the erroneous payment is

12  not received within 45 days after such demand.  The demand for

13  reimbursement shall be sent by certified mail, return receipt

14  requested, and a copy thereof shall be sent to the tax

15  collector. If the payment was made in error by the taxpayer

16  because of an error in the tax notice sent to the taxpayer,

17  refund must be made as provided in paragraph (b)2.

18         5.  When any payment has been made for tax certificates

19  that are subsequently corrected or are subsequently determined

20  to be void under s. 197.443.

21         (b)1.  Those refunds that have been ordered by a court

22  and those refunds that do not result from changes made in the

23  assessed value on a tax roll certified to the tax collector

24  shall be made directly by the tax collector without order from

25  the department and shall be made from undistributed funds

26  without approval of the various taxing authorities.

27  Overpayments in the amount of $5 or less may be retained by

28  the tax collector unless a written claim for a refund is

29  received from the taxpayer. Overpayments over $5 resulting

30  from taxpayer error, if determined within the 4-year period of

31  limitation, are to be automatically refunded to the taxpayer.

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                                                  SENATE AMENDMENT

    Bill No. SB 1918

    Amendment No.    





 1  Such refunds do not require approval from the department.

 2         2.  When a payment has been made in error by a taxpayer

 3  to the tax collector because of an error in the tax notice

 4  sent to the taxpayer, refund must be made directly by the tax

 5  collector and does not require approval from the department.

 6  At the request of the taxpayer, the amount paid in error may

 7  be applied by the tax collector to the taxes for which the

 8  taxpayer is actually liable.

 9         (3)  A refund ordered by the department pursuant to

10  this section shall be made by the tax collector in one

11  aggregate amount composed of all the pro rata shares of the

12  several taxing authorities concerned, except that a partial

13  refund is allowed when one or more of the taxing authorities

14  concerned do not have funds currently available to pay their

15  pro rata shares of the refund and this would cause an

16  unreasonable delay in the total refund.  A statement by the

17  tax collector explaining the refund shall accompany the refund

18  payment. When taxes become delinquent as a result of a refund

19  pursuant to subparagraph (1)(a)4. or subparagraph (1)(b)2.,

20  the tax collector shall notify the property owner that the

21  taxes have become delinquent and that a tax certificate will

22  be sold if the taxes are not paid within 30 days after the

23  date of delinquency.

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25  (Redesignate subsequent sections.)

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28  ================ T I T L E   A M E N D M E N T ===============

29  And the title is amended as follows:

30         On page 1, line 9, after the semicolon

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                                                  SENATE AMENDMENT

    Bill No. SB 1918

    Amendment No.    





 1  insert:

 2         amending s. 197.182, F.S.; providing that

 3         amounts paid by a taxpayer in error because of

 4         an error in the tax notice must be refunded by

 5         the tax collector or applied to taxes actually

 6         due;

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