Senate Bill sb2500

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    Florida Senate - 2005                                  SB 2500

    By Senator Rich





    34-1409-05

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to the tax on sales, use, and

  3         other transactions; amending s. 212.12, F.S.;

  4         authorizing a dealer to elect to forego the

  5         collection allowance and direct that the

  6         collection allowance be transferred to the

  7         Educational Enhancement Trust Fund; providing

  8         exceptions; providing for rulemaking by the

  9         Department of Revenue; providing an

10         appropriation; providing for costs recovery;

11         providing an effective date.

12  

13  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

14  

15         Section 1.  Subsection (1) of section 212.12, Florida

16  Statutes, is amended to read:

17         212.12  Dealer's credit for collecting tax; penalties

18  for noncompliance; powers of Department of Revenue in dealing

19  with delinquents; brackets applicable to taxable transactions;

20  records required.--

21         (1)  Notwithstanding any other provision of law and for

22  the purpose of compensating persons granting licenses for and

23  the lessors of real and personal property taxed hereunder, for

24  the purpose of compensating dealers in tangible personal

25  property, for the purpose of compensating dealers providing

26  communication services and taxable services, for the purpose

27  of compensating owners of places where admissions are

28  collected, and for the purpose of compensating remitters of

29  any taxes or fees reported on the same documents utilized for

30  the sales and use tax, as compensation for the keeping of

31  prescribed records, filing timely tax returns, and the proper

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    Florida Senate - 2005                                  SB 2500
    34-1409-05




 1  accounting and remitting of taxes by them, such seller,

 2  person, lessor, dealer, owner, and remitter (except dealers

 3  who make mail order sales) shall be allowed 2.5 percent of the

 4  amount of the tax due and accounted for and remitted to the

 5  department, in the form of a deduction in submitting his or

 6  her report and paying the amount due by him or her; the

 7  department shall allow such deduction of 2.5 percent of the

 8  amount of the tax to the person paying the same for remitting

 9  the tax and making of tax returns in the manner herein

10  provided, for paying the amount due to be paid by him or her,

11  and as further compensation to dealers in tangible personal

12  property for the keeping of prescribed records and for

13  collection of taxes and remitting the same. However, if the

14  amount of the tax due and remitted to the department for the

15  reporting period exceeds $1,200, no allowance shall be allowed

16  for all amounts in excess of $1,200. The executive director of

17  the department is authorized to negotiate a collection

18  allowance, pursuant to rules promulgated by the department,

19  with a dealer who makes mail order sales.  The rules of the

20  department shall provide guidelines for establishing the

21  collection allowance based upon the dealer's estimated costs

22  of collecting the tax, the volume and value of the dealer's

23  mail order sales to purchasers in this state, and the

24  administrative and legal costs and likelihood of achieving

25  collection of the tax absent the cooperation of the dealer.

26  However, in no event shall the collection allowance negotiated

27  by the executive director exceed 10 percent of the tax

28  remitted for a reporting period.

29         (a)  The Department of Revenue may deny the collection

30  allowance if a taxpayer files an incomplete return or if the

31  

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    Florida Senate - 2005                                  SB 2500
    34-1409-05




 1  required tax return or tax is delinquent at the time of

 2  payment.

 3         1.  An "incomplete return" is, for purposes of this

 4  chapter, a return which is lacking such uniformity,

 5  completeness, and arrangement that the physical handling,

 6  verification, review of the return, or determination of other

 7  taxes and fees reported on the return may not be readily

 8  accomplished.

 9         2.  The department shall adopt rules requiring such

10  information as it may deem necessary to ensure that the tax

11  levied hereunder is properly collected, reviewed, compiled,

12  reported, and enforced, including, but not limited to: the

13  amount of gross sales; the amount of taxable sales; the amount

14  of tax collected or due; the amount of lawful refunds,

15  deductions, or credits claimed; the amount claimed as the

16  dealer's collection allowance; the amount of penalty and

17  interest; the amount due with the return; and such other

18  information as the Department of Revenue may specify. The

19  department shall require that transient rentals and

20  agricultural equipment transactions be separately shown. Sales

21  made through vending machines as defined in s. 212.0515 must

22  be separately shown on the return. Sales made through

23  coin-operated amusement machines as defined by s. 212.02 and

24  the number of machines operated must be separately shown on

25  the return or on a form prescribed by the department. If a

26  separate form is required, the same penalties for late filing,

27  incomplete filing, or failure to file as provided for the

28  sales tax return shall apply to said form.

29         (b)  The collection allowance and other credits or

30  deductions provided in this chapter shall be applied

31  

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    Florida Senate - 2005                                  SB 2500
    34-1409-05




 1  proportionally to any taxes or fees reported on the same

 2  documents used for the sales and use tax.

 3         (c)  A dealer entitled to the collection allowance

 4  provided in this section may elect to forego the collection

 5  allowance and direct that the said amount be transferred into

 6  the Educational Enhancement Trust Fund. Such an election must

 7  be made with the timely filing of a return and cannot be

 8  rescinded once made. When a dealer who makes such an election

 9  files a delinquent return, underpays the tax, or files an

10  incomplete return, the amount transferred into the Educational

11  Enhancement Trust Fund shall be the collection allowance

12  remaining after resolution of liability for all of the tax,

13  interest, and penalty due on that return or underpayment of

14  tax. This paragraph does not apply to s. 212.0305 or to any

15  other tax, fee, or levy that is administered, collected, and

16  enforced pursuant to the procedures under chapter 212.

17         Section 2.  Notwithstanding the provisions of chapter

18  120, Florida Statutes, to the contrary, the Department of

19  Revenue may adopt rules to carry out the amendments made by

20  this act to section 212.12, Florida Statutes.

21         Section 3.  The sum of $236,465 is appropriated from

22  the General Revenue Fund to the Department of Revenue for the

23  purpose of administering the amendments to section 212.12,

24  Florida Statutes, made by this act.

25         Section 4.  The Department of Revenue shall retain all

26  of the dealer collection allowance revenues directed to be

27  deposited into the Educational Enhancement Trust Fund until

28  the $236,465 General Revenue Appropriation is recovered. The

29  $236,465 retained by the department shall be transferred into

30  the General Revenue Fund.

31         Section 5.  This act shall take effect January 1, 2006.

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    Florida Senate - 2005                                  SB 2500
    34-1409-05




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 2                          SENATE SUMMARY

 3    Authorizes a dealer to elect to forego the collection
      allowance on the sales tax which is provided under s.
 4    212.12, F.S. Directs that the amount of such a collection
      allowance be transferred to the Educational Enhancement
 5    Trust Fund, with exceptions. Allows the Department of
      Revenue to make rules. Provides an appropriation.
 6    Provides for costs recovery.

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