| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to the tax on sales, use, and other |
| 3 | transactions; specifying a period each year during which |
| 4 | the sale of clothing, wallets, bags, school supplies, |
| 5 | computers, and specified computer equipment are exempt |
| 6 | from the tax; providing definitions; providing exceptions; |
| 7 | providing an effective date. |
| 8 |
|
| 9 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 10 |
|
| 11 | Section 1. Paragraph (iii) is added to subsection (7) of |
| 12 | section 212.08, Florida Statutes, to read: |
| 13 | 212.08 Sales, rental, use, consumption, distribution, and |
| 14 | storage tax; specified exemptions.-The sale at retail, the |
| 15 | rental, the use, the consumption, the distribution, and the |
| 16 | storage to be used or consumed in this state of the following |
| 17 | are hereby specifically exempt from the tax imposed by this |
| 18 | chapter. |
| 19 | (7) MISCELLANEOUS EXEMPTIONS.-Exemptions provided to any |
| 20 | entity by this chapter do not inure to any transaction that is |
| 21 | otherwise taxable under this chapter when payment is made by a |
| 22 | representative or employee of the entity by any means, |
| 23 | including, but not limited to, cash, check, or credit card, even |
| 24 | when that representative or employee is subsequently reimbursed |
| 25 | by the entity. In addition, exemptions provided to any entity by |
| 26 | this subsection do not inure to any transaction that is |
| 27 | otherwise taxable under this chapter unless the entity has |
| 28 | obtained a sales tax exemption certificate from the department |
| 29 | or the entity obtains or provides other documentation as |
| 30 | required by the department. Eligible purchases or leases made |
| 31 | with such a certificate must be in strict compliance with this |
| 32 | subsection and departmental rules, and any person who makes an |
| 33 | exempt purchase with a certificate that is not in strict |
| 34 | compliance with this subsection and the rules is liable for and |
| 35 | shall pay the tax. The department may adopt rules to administer |
| 36 | this subsection. |
| 37 | (iii) Clothing, wallets, bags, school supplies, and |
| 38 | computers.-The tax levied under this chapter may not be |
| 39 | collected each year during the period beginning at 12:01 a.m. on |
| 40 | Friday after the second Thursday of August and ending 10 days |
| 41 | later at 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, on sales of: |
| 42 | 1. Clothing, wallets, or bags, including handbags, |
| 43 | backpacks, fanny packs, and diaper bags, but excluding |
| 44 | briefcases, suitcases, and other garment bags, having a sales |
| 45 | price of $100 or less per item. As used in this paragraph, the |
| 46 | term "clothing" means: |
| 47 | a. Any article of wearing apparel intended to be worn on |
| 48 | or about the human body, excluding watches, watchbands, jewelry, |
| 49 | umbrellas, or handkerchiefs; and |
| 50 | b. All footwear, excluding skis, swim fins, roller blades, |
| 51 | and skates. |
| 52 | 2. School supplies having a sales price of $10 or less per |
| 53 | item. As used in this paragraph, the term "school supplies" |
| 54 | means pens, pencils, erasers, crayons, notebooks, notebook |
| 55 | filler paper, legal pads, binders, lunch boxes, construction |
| 56 | paper, markers, folders, poster board, composition books, poster |
| 57 | paper, scissors, cellophane tape, glue or paste, rulers, |
| 58 | computer disks, protractors, compasses, and calculators. |
| 59 | 3. Computers, computer software, and school computer |
| 60 | supplies, purchased individually or in combination during a |
| 61 | single purchase, having a sales price of $750 or less, excluding |
| 62 | furniture or any systems, devices, software, or peripherals, |
| 63 | designed or intended primarily for recreational use, or video |
| 64 | games of a noneducational nature. As used in this paragraph, the |
| 65 | term: |
| 66 | a. "Computer" means an electronic device that accepts |
| 67 | information in digital or similar form and manipulates it for a |
| 68 | result based on a sequence of instructions, including desktops, |
| 69 | laptops, netbooks, and tablets. |
| 70 | b. "Computer software" means a set of coded instructions |
| 71 | designed to cause a computer or automatic data processing |
| 72 | equipment to perform a task. |
| 73 | c. "School computer supplies" means items commonly used by |
| 74 | a student in a course of study in which a computer is used, |
| 75 | including computer storage media, such as USB memory sticks or |
| 76 | flash drives, and printers and printer consumables, such as |
| 77 | paper, toner, and ink. |
| 78 | 4. The tax exemptions in this paragraph do not apply to |
| 79 | sales within a theme park or entertainment complex as defined in |
| 80 | s. 509.013(9), a public lodging establishment as defined in s. |
| 81 | 509.013(4), or an airport as defined in s. 330.27(2). |
| 82 | Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2011. |