Florida Senate - 2010                             CS for SB 1128
       
       
       
       By the Committee on Commerce; and Senator Altman
       
       
       
       
       577-04806-10                                          20101128c1
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to the admissions tax; amending s.
    3         212.04, F.S.; expanding an exemption from the tax for
    4         certain sports championship or all-star games, certain
    5         other professional sporting events, and events
    6         surrounding certain professional sporting events;
    7         providing an effective date.
    8  
    9  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   10  
   11         Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of section
   12  212.04, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
   13         212.04 Admissions tax; rate, procedure, enforcement.—
   14         (2)(a)1. No tax shall be levied on admissions to athletic
   15  or other events sponsored by elementary schools, junior high
   16  schools, middle schools, high schools, community colleges,
   17  public or private colleges and universities, deaf and blind
   18  schools, facilities of the youth services programs of the
   19  Department of Children and Family Services, and state
   20  correctional institutions when only student, faculty, or inmate
   21  talent is used. However, this exemption shall not apply to
   22  admission to athletic events sponsored by a state university,
   23  and the proceeds of the tax collected on such admissions shall
   24  be retained and used by each institution to support women’s
   25  athletics as provided in s. 1006.71(2)(c).
   26         2.a. No tax shall be levied on dues, membership fees, and
   27  admission charges imposed by not-for-profit sponsoring
   28  organizations. To receive this exemption, the sponsoring
   29  organization must qualify as a not-for-profit entity under the
   30  provisions of s. 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954,
   31  as amended.
   32         b. No tax shall be levied on admission charges to an event
   33  sponsored by a governmental entity, sports authority, or sports
   34  commission when held in a convention hall, exhibition hall,
   35  auditorium, stadium, theater, arena, civic center, performing
   36  arts center, or publicly owned recreational facility and when
   37  100 percent of the risk of success or failure lies with the
   38  sponsor of the event and 100 percent of the funds at risk for
   39  the event belong to the sponsor, and student or faculty talent
   40  is not exclusively used. As used in this sub-subparagraph, the
   41  terms “sports authority” and “sports commission” mean a
   42  nonprofit organization that is exempt from federal income tax
   43  under s. 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and that
   44  contracts with a county or municipal government for the purpose
   45  of promoting and attracting sports-tourism events to the
   46  community with which it contracts. This sub-subparagraph is
   47  repealed July 1, 2009.
   48         3. No tax shall be levied on an admission paid by a
   49  student, or on the student’s behalf, to any required place of
   50  sport or recreation if the student’s participation in the sport
   51  or recreational activity is required as a part of a program or
   52  activity sponsored by, and under the jurisdiction of, the
   53  student’s educational institution, provided his or her
   54  attendance is as a participant and not as a spectator.
   55         4. A No tax may not shall be levied on admissions to:
   56         a. The National Football League championship game., on
   57  admissions to
   58         b. Any semifinal game or championship game of a national
   59  collegiate tournament., or on admissions to
   60         c. A Major League Baseball, National Basketball
   61  Association, or National Hockey League all-star game.
   62         d.The Home Run Derby held by Major League Baseball before
   63  the Major League Baseball All-Star Game.
   64         e.The National Football League’s Pro Bowl.
   65         f.The National Basketball Association’s Rookie Challenge,
   66  Celebrity Game, 3-Point Shooting Contest, or Slam Dunk Contest.
   67         5. A participation fee or sponsorship fee imposed by a
   68  governmental entity as described in s. 212.08(6) for an athletic
   69  or recreational program is exempt when the governmental entity
   70  by itself, or in conjunction with an organization exempt under
   71  s. 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954, as amended,
   72  sponsors, administers, plans, supervises, directs, and controls
   73  the athletic or recreational program.
   74         6. Also exempt from the tax imposed by this section to the
   75  extent provided in this subparagraph are admissions to live
   76  theater, live opera, or live ballet productions in this state
   77  which are sponsored by an organization that has received a
   78  determination from the Internal Revenue Service that the
   79  organization is exempt from federal income tax under s.
   80  501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954, as amended, if
   81  the organization actively participates in planning and
   82  conducting the event, is responsible for the safety and success
   83  of the event, is organized for the purpose of sponsoring live
   84  theater, live opera, or live ballet productions in this state,
   85  has more than 10,000 subscribing members and has among the
   86  stated purposes in its charter the promotion of arts education
   87  in the communities which it serves, and will receive at least 20
   88  percent of the net profits, if any, of the events which the
   89  organization sponsors and will bear the risk of at least 20
   90  percent of the losses, if any, from the events which it sponsors
   91  if the organization employs other persons as agents to provide
   92  services in connection with a sponsored event. Prior to March 1
   93  of each year, such organization may apply to the department for
   94  a certificate of exemption for admissions to such events
   95  sponsored in this state by the organization during the
   96  immediately following state fiscal year. The application shall
   97  state the total dollar amount of admissions receipts collected
   98  by the organization or its agents from such events in this state
   99  sponsored by the organization or its agents in the year
  100  immediately preceding the year in which the organization applies
  101  for the exemption. Such organization shall receive the exemption
  102  only to the extent of $1.5 million multiplied by the ratio that
  103  such receipts bear to the total of such receipts of all
  104  organizations applying for the exemption in such year; however,
  105  in no event shall such exemption granted to any organization
  106  exceed 6 percent of such admissions receipts collected by the
  107  organization or its agents in the year immediately preceding the
  108  year in which the organization applies for the exemption. Each
  109  organization receiving the exemption shall report each month to
  110  the department the total admissions receipts collected from such
  111  events sponsored by the organization during the preceding month
  112  and shall remit to the department an amount equal to 6 percent
  113  of such receipts reduced by any amount remaining under the
  114  exemption. Tickets for such events sold by such organizations
  115  shall not reflect the tax otherwise imposed under this section.
  116         7. Also exempt from the tax imposed by this section are
  117  entry fees for participation in freshwater fishing tournaments.
  118         8. Also exempt from the tax imposed by this section are
  119  participation or entry fees charged to participants in a game,
  120  race, or other sport or recreational event if spectators are
  121  charged a taxable admission to such event.
  122         9. No tax shall be levied on admissions to any postseason
  123  collegiate football game sanctioned by the National Collegiate
  124  Athletic Association.
  125         Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2010.