| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to tax credits for restaurants with tipped |
| 3 | employees; creating s. 509.073, F.S.; providing |
| 4 | definitions; authorizing the Office of Tourism, Trade, and |
| 5 | Economic Development to grant tax credits against sales |
| 6 | and use tax or corporate income tax liabilities to certain |
| 7 | businesses; specifying a rate for the credit; providing |
| 8 | for adjusting the rate each year; providing for funding of |
| 9 | the tax credits; limiting the amount of the credits; |
| 10 | providing a methodology for allocating amounts of tax |
| 11 | credits; requiring tax credit applications to be approved |
| 12 | by the office; providing application requirements; |
| 13 | providing responsibilities of the office in granting tax |
| 14 | credits; requiring businesses approved for a tax credit to |
| 15 | apply to the Department of Revenue for a refund; providing |
| 16 | refund application requirements; requiring the office to |
| 17 | publicize availability of the tax credit; providing |
| 18 | criminal penalties for fraudulently claiming the credit; |
| 19 | requiring repayment of the credit for fraudulently |
| 20 | claiming the credit plus a mandatory penalty equal to the |
| 21 | amount of the credit; providing an effective date. |
| 22 |
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| 23 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 24 |
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| 25 | Section 1. Section 509.073, Florida Statutes, is created |
| 26 | to read: |
| 27 | 509.073 Tax credit for restaurants with tipped |
| 28 | employees.-- |
| 29 | (1) As used in this section, the term: |
| 30 | (a) "Department" means the Department of Revenue. |
| 31 | (b) "Eligible business" means any public food service |
| 32 | establishment licensed under s. 509.241 that employs one or more |
| 33 | tipped employees. |
| 34 | (c) "Office" means the Office of Tourism, Trade, and |
| 35 | Economic Development. |
| 36 | (d) "Tipped employee" means any person employed in a |
| 37 | position in which he or she customarily and regularly receives |
| 38 | more than $30 per month in tips. |
| 39 | (2)(a) Upon an affirmative showing by an eligible business |
| 40 | to the satisfaction of the office that the requirements of this |
| 41 | section have been met, the eligible business shall be granted a |
| 42 | tax credit, the amount of which the eligible business may choose |
| 43 | to apply to its liability for sales, storage, or use taxes as |
| 44 | provided in s. 212.05, to its liability for corporate income tax |
| 45 | as provided in s. 220.11, or partially to both. An eligible |
| 46 | business shall apply to the office for the tax credit using an |
| 47 | application adopted by the office for this purpose. Applications |
| 48 | shall be filed with the office in February of each year, |
| 49 | covering those hours worked by a tipped employee during the |
| 50 | prior calendar year. |
| 51 | (b) For those tax credit applications filed in February |
| 52 | 2010, the tax credit shall be equal to $2.06 for each hour |
| 53 | worked by a tipped employee during the 2009 calendar year. For |
| 54 | tax credit applications filed in subsequent years, the tax |
| 55 | credit shall be equal to $2.06 for each hour worked by a tipped |
| 56 | employee during the calendar year prior to the filing of the |
| 57 | application, increased by the same rate of inflation used by the |
| 58 | Agency for Workforce Innovation to adjust the state minimum wage |
| 59 | that took effect on January 1 of the year of filing the |
| 60 | application, as provided in s. 448.110. |
| 61 | (c) The tax credits provided under this section shall be |
| 62 | funded from surplus funds of the Hotel and Restaurant Trust Fund |
| 63 | established in s. 509.072, as certified by the director of the |
| 64 | Division of Hotels and Restaurants on January 1 of each year. |
| 65 | (d) An eligible business may not apply for or receive a |
| 66 | tax credit under this section of more than $200,000 annually. |
| 67 | (e) If the total amount of all properly completed and |
| 68 | timely filed tax credit applications exceeds the funds available |
| 69 | under paragraph (c), all such applications requesting $10,000 or |
| 70 | less shall be approved, with approval on a pro rata basis if |
| 71 | funds are insufficient to fully fund all such applications. Any |
| 72 | remaining funds shall be used to fund applications requesting |
| 73 | more than $10,000, with funding on a pro rata basis if |
| 74 | necessary. |
| 75 | (3)(a) All applications for the tax credit under this |
| 76 | section must be approved by the office before the credit is |
| 77 | granted. Each business shall affirmatively demonstrate to the |
| 78 | satisfaction of the office that it meets the requirements of |
| 79 | this section. |
| 80 | (b) In order to claim the credit provided by this section, |
| 81 | an eligible business must file with the office a statement that |
| 82 | includes for each tipped employee for whom the credit is claimed |
| 83 | the employee's name and place of residence and the total number |
| 84 | of hours worked by the tipped employee during the calendar year |
| 85 | that is the subject of the application. |
| 86 | (c) The decision of the office to grant the credit must be |
| 87 | in writing, and, if the credit is approved, the notification |
| 88 | must state the amount of the tax credit approved for the |
| 89 | eligible business. A copy of the decision shall be transmitted |
| 90 | to the executive director of the department, who shall apply |
| 91 | such credit to the tax liability of the eligible business. |
| 92 | (d)1. Any eligible business that has received notification |
| 93 | from the office that a tax credit has been approved and wishes |
| 94 | to apply all or part of the tax credit against its liability for |
| 95 | the sales, storage, or use tax as provided in s. 212.05 must |
| 96 | apply to the department to receive a refund of such taxes. |
| 97 | Application must be made on the form prescribed for claiming |
| 98 | refunds of such taxes and be accompanied by a copy of the |
| 99 | notification. An eligible business may submit only one |
| 100 | application for refund to the department within any 12-month |
| 101 | period. |
| 102 | 2. Any eligible business that has received notification |
| 103 | from the office that a tax credit has been approved and wishes |
| 104 | to apply all or part of the tax credit against its liability for |
| 105 | the corporate income tax as provided in s. 220.11 must claim |
| 106 | such credit on its annual return. A taxpayer who files a Florida |
| 107 | consolidated return as a member of an affiliated group pursuant |
| 108 | to s. 220.131(1) may be allowed the credit on a consolidated |
| 109 | return basis. |
| 110 | (e) The office shall, in consultation with the Department |
| 111 | of Business and Professional Regulation, publicize the |
| 112 | availability of the tax credit to eligible businesses. |
| 113 | (f) A person who fraudulently claims the credit authorized |
| 114 | by this section commits a misdemeanor of the second degree, |
| 115 | punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083, and is, in |
| 116 | addition to any criminal penalty imposed, liable for repayment |
| 117 | of the credit plus a mandatory penalty of 100 percent of the |
| 118 | credit. |
| 119 | Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2009. |