Florida Senate - 2024 SB 1468
By Senator Hutson
7-01353-24 20241468__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to the sales and use tax; amending s.
3 212.08, F.S.; defining terms; exempting from the sales
4 and use tax the purchase or lease of equipment by a
5 provider of certain communication services or Internet
6 access services; providing applicability; providing an
7 effective date.
8
9 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
10
11 Section 1. Present paragraphs (ppp) through (uuu) of
12 subsection (7) of section 212.08, Florida Statutes, are
13 redesignated as paragraphs (qqq) through (vvv), respectively,
14 and a new paragraph (ppp) is added to that subsection, to read:
15 212.08 Sales, rental, use, consumption, distribution, and
16 storage tax; specified exemptions.—The sale at retail, the
17 rental, the use, the consumption, the distribution, and the
18 storage to be used or consumed in this state of the following
19 are hereby specifically exempt from the tax imposed by this
20 chapter.
21 (7) MISCELLANEOUS EXEMPTIONS.—Exemptions provided to any
22 entity by this chapter do not inure to any transaction that is
23 otherwise taxable under this chapter when payment is made by a
24 representative or employee of the entity by any means,
25 including, but not limited to, cash, check, or credit card, even
26 when that representative or employee is subsequently reimbursed
27 by the entity. In addition, exemptions provided to any entity by
28 this subsection do not inure to any transaction that is
29 otherwise taxable under this chapter unless the entity has
30 obtained a sales tax exemption certificate from the department
31 or the entity obtains or provides other documentation as
32 required by the department. Eligible purchases or leases made
33 with such a certificate must be in strict compliance with this
34 subsection and departmental rules, and any person who makes an
35 exempt purchase with a certificate that is not in strict
36 compliance with this subsection and the rules is liable for and
37 shall pay the tax. The department may adopt rules to administer
38 this subsection.
39 (ppp) Equipment purchased or leased in this state by a
40 provider of communications services or Internet access services
41 receiving broadband grants administered by the Department of
42 Commerce.—
43 1. As used in this paragraph, the term:
44 a. “Central office” means the location at which telephone
45 subscribers’ lines are joined to switching equipment, including,
46 but not limited to, switches, cable distribution frames, and
47 batteries, for connecting other subscribers to each other,
48 locally and long distance.
49 b. “Communications services” has the same meaning as in s.
50 202.11.
51 c. “Headend” means the primary location in a communications
52 provider’s network which receives television programming signals
53 through satellite antennae or fiber optic cables for
54 distribution to the customer premises through a distribution
55 network. The headend processes and combines signals for
56 distribution to hubs or directly to customer premises. In most
57 cases, the headend also serves as a distribution hub for the
58 fiber optic transfer nodes closest to the headend. The term also
59 includes a super headend, which processes all incoming
60 programming signals and transmits them to regional headends or
61 directly to hubs. Headend equipment includes, but is not limited
62 to, computer-based electronic equipment that receives
63 programming signals and uses prescribed processes to combine,
64 amplify, and convert the programming signals and transmit them
65 through the distribution network.
66 d. “Hub” means the secondary location in a communications
67 provider’s network that is connected to the headend by fiber
68 optic or other cable. A hub may contain electronic equipment
69 that processes, converts, and transmits signals through the
70 distribution network. A hub can serve a large number of business
71 and residential communities.
72 e. “Internet access service” has the same meaning as in s.
73 202.11 and only applies to services that provide access to the
74 Internet with a capacity for transmission at a consistent speed
75 of at least 25 megabits per second for download and 3 megabits
76 per second for upload.
77 f. “Provider of communications services or Internet access
78 services” means a dealer as defined in s. 202.11 and any member
79 of an affiliated group as described in s. 202.37(1)(c)2.
80 g. “Qualifying equipment” means equipment, machinery,
81 software, or other infrastructure used to provide communications
82 services or Internet access services, which must be located
83 within a central office, headend, or hub operated by a provider
84 of communications services or Internet access services.
85 2. The purchase or lease of qualifying equipment used by a
86 provider of communications services or Internet access services
87 to fulfill the requirements of a Department of Commerce
88 administered broadband grant is exempt from the tax imposed by
89 this chapter.
90 3. The exemption provided by this paragraph does not apply
91 to any of the following:
92 a. Land.
93 b. Improvements to land.
94 c. Office furniture and fixtures.
95 d. General office equipment and machinery that is not used
96 to provide communications services or Internet access services.
97 e. Vehicles.
98 f. Customer premise equipment.
99 g. The facilities used to distribute signals to customer
100 locations beyond the central office, headend, or hub facilities
101 described herein, including fiber optic, coaxial, or other
102 transmission cables; amplifiers; taps; and customer drops.
103 4. The exemption provided by this paragraph does not apply
104 to the tax levied under s. 212.031.
105 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2024.