| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to local occupational license taxes; |
| 3 | amending s. 205.0535, F.S.; updating provisions |
| 4 | authorizing reclassification and new rate structure |
| 5 | revisions to occupational license taxes by ordinance; |
| 6 | deleting counties from such authorization provisions; |
| 7 | revising a provision relating to a limit on the first-year |
| 8 | revenue generation by municipalities; providing |
| 9 | construction relating to decreasing or repealing such |
| 10 | taxes; providing an effective date. |
| 11 |
|
| 12 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 13 |
|
| 14 | Section 1. Subsections (1) and (4) and paragraph (b) of |
| 15 | Subsection (3) of section 205.0535, Florida Statutes, are |
| 16 | amended to read: |
| 17 | 205.0535 Reclassification and rate structure revisions.-- |
| 18 | (1) By October 1, 2006 1995, any municipality which has |
| 19 | adopted by ordinance an occupational license tax after October |
| 20 | 1, 1995, or county may, by ordinance, reclassify businesses, |
| 21 | professions, and occupations and may establish new rate |
| 22 | structures, if the conditions specified in subsections (2) and |
| 23 | (3) are met. A person who is engaged in the business of |
| 24 | providing local exchange telephone service or a pay telephone |
| 25 | service in a municipality or in the unincorporated area of a |
| 26 | county and who pays the occupational license tax under the |
| 27 | category designated for telephone companies or a pay telephone |
| 28 | service provider certified pursuant to s. 364.3375 is deemed to |
| 29 | have but one place of business or business location in each |
| 30 | municipality or unincorporated area of a county. Pay telephone |
| 31 | service providers may not be assessed an occupational license |
| 32 | tax on a per-instrument basis. |
| 33 | (3) |
| 34 | (b) The total annual revenue generated by the new rate |
| 35 | structure for the fiscal year following the fiscal year during |
| 36 | which the rate structure is adopted may not exceed: |
| 37 | 1. For municipalities, the sum of the revenue base and 2.5 |
| 38 | 10 percent of that revenue base. The revenue base is the sum of |
| 39 | the occupational license tax revenue generated by licenses |
| 40 | issued for the most recently completed local fiscal year or the |
| 41 | amount of revenue that would have been generated from the |
| 42 | authorized increases under s. 205.043(1)(b), whichever is |
| 43 | greater, plus any revenue received from the county under s. |
| 44 | 205.033(4). |
| 45 | 2. For counties, the sum of the revenue base, 10 percent |
| 46 | of that revenue base, and the amount of revenue distributed by |
| 47 | the county to the municipalities under s. 205.033(4) during the |
| 48 | most recently completed local fiscal year. The revenue base is |
| 49 | the occupational license tax revenue generated by licenses |
| 50 | issued for the most recently completed local fiscal year or the |
| 51 | amount of revenue that would have been generated from the |
| 52 | authorized increases under s. 205.033(1)(b), whichever is |
| 53 | greater, but may not include any revenues distributed to |
| 54 | municipalities under s. 205.033(4). |
| 55 | (4) After the conditions specified in subsections (2) and |
| 56 | (3) are met, municipalities and counties may, every other year |
| 57 | thereafter, increase by ordinance the rates of local |
| 58 | occupational license taxes by up to 5 percent. The increase, |
| 59 | however, may not be enacted by less than a majority plus one |
| 60 | vote of the governing body. Nothing in this chapter shall be |
| 61 | construed to prohibit a municipality or county from decreasing |
| 62 | or repealing any license tax authorized under this chapter. |
| 63 | Section 2. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law. |