Florida Senate - 2025 SB 1352
By Senator Trumbull
2-01287A-25 20251352__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to communication services; amending s.
3 202.19, F.S.; revising the date after which a
4 specified tax may be increased; amending s. 212.08,
5 F.S.; creating a tax exemption for certain
6 communications and Internet equipment; defining terms;
7 providing applicability; providing construction;
8 specifying how the exemption may be obtained; creating
9 the Communications Services Tax Working Group;
10 specifying where the group is housed administratively;
11 providing membership; prohibiting members from
12 receiving reimbursement; providing an exception;
13 providing the group’s purpose; requiring the group to
14 prepare and submit a report to the Governor and
15 Legislature by a specified date; authorizing the group
16 to hold meetings; providing for future repeal;
17 providing effective dates.
18
19 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
20
21 Section 1. Effective July 1, 2025, paragraph (d) of
22 subsection (2) and subsection (5) of section 202.19, Florida
23 Statutes, are amended to read:
24 202.19 Authorization to impose local communications
25 services tax.—
26 (2)
27 (d) The local communications services tax rate in effect on
28 January 1, 2023, may not be increased before January 1, 2031
29 2026.
30 (5) In addition to the communications services taxes
31 authorized by subsection (1), a discretionary sales surtax that
32 a county or school board has levied under s. 212.055 is imposed
33 as a local communications services tax under this section, and
34 the rate shall be determined in accordance with s. 202.20(3).
35 However, any increase to the discretionary sales surtax levied
36 under s. 212.055 on or after January 1, 2023, may not be added
37 to the local communications services tax under this section
38 before January 1, 2031 2026.
39 (a) Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, each
40 such tax rate shall be applied, in addition to the other tax
41 rates applied under this chapter, to communications services
42 subject to tax under s. 202.12 which:
43 1. Originate or terminate in this state; and
44 2. Are charged to a service address in the county.
45 (b) With respect to private communications services, the
46 tax shall be on the sales price of such services provided within
47 the county, which shall be determined in accordance with the
48 following provisions:
49 1. Any charge with respect to a channel termination point
50 located within such county;
51 2. Any charge for the use of a channel between two channel
52 termination points located in such county; and
53 3. Where channel termination points are located both within
54 and outside of such county:
55 a. If any segment between two such channel termination
56 points is separately billed, 50 percent of such charge; and
57 b. If any segment of the circuit is not separately billed,
58 an amount equal to the total charge for such circuit multiplied
59 by a fraction, the numerator of which is the number of channel
60 termination points within such county and the denominator of
61 which is the total number of channel termination points of the
62 circuit.
63 Section 2. Effective July 1, 2025, paragraph (vvv) is added
64 to subsection (7) of section 212.08, Florida Statutes, to read:
65 212.08 Sales, rental, use, consumption, distribution, and
66 storage tax; specified exemptions.—The sale at retail, the
67 rental, the use, the consumption, the distribution, and the
68 storage to be used or consumed in this state of the following
69 are hereby specifically exempt from the tax imposed by this
70 chapter.
71 (7) MISCELLANEOUS EXEMPTIONS.—Exemptions provided to any
72 entity by this chapter do not inure to any transaction that is
73 otherwise taxable under this chapter when payment is made by a
74 representative or employee of the entity by any means,
75 including, but not limited to, cash, check, or credit card, even
76 when that representative or employee is subsequently reimbursed
77 by the entity. In addition, exemptions provided to any entity by
78 this subsection do not inure to any transaction that is
79 otherwise taxable under this chapter unless the entity has
80 obtained a sales tax exemption certificate from the department
81 or the entity obtains or provides other documentation as
82 required by the department. Eligible purchases or leases made
83 with such a certificate must be in strict compliance with this
84 subsection and departmental rules, and any person who makes an
85 exempt purchase with a certificate that is not in strict
86 compliance with this subsection and the rules is liable for and
87 shall pay the tax. The department may adopt rules to administer
88 this subsection.
89 (vvv) Certain communications and Internet equipment.—
90 1. As used in this paragraph, the term:
91 a. “Communications and Internet equipment” means equipment,
92 machinery, software, or other tangible personal property used,
93 in whole or in part, by a provider of communications services,
94 Internet access services, or a combination thereof, to transmit,
95 convey, amplify, or route information such as images, text,
96 voice, video programming, other video content, or data. The term
97 includes, but is not limited to, cable modem termination system
98 components and WiFi equipment, headend and hub equipment,
99 monitoring equipment, fiber optic cable, coaxial cable, conduit,
100 distribution plants, customer connection or premises equipment,
101 telecommunications radio, routing and switching equipment,
102 software, equipment enclosures above and below ground, towers,
103 poles, mounts, electricity, transmitters, power equipment,
104 diagnostic equipment, storage devices, servers, multiplexers,
105 amplifiers, antennas, and related property and equipment,
106 including items used to monitor, test, maintain, enable, or
107 facilitate qualifying equipment, and includes charges to apply,
108 install, maintain, operate, or repair such tangible personal
109 property. The term does not include office furniture and
110 fixtures; general office equipment and machinery that is not
111 used to provide communications services or Internet access
112 services; or motor vehicles.
113 b. “Communications services” has the same meaning as in s.
114 202.11(1).
115 c. “Disaster period” means a time period that begins 10
116 days before the declaration of a state of emergency issued by
117 the Governor pursuant to s. 252.36 and ending 60 days after
118 termination of such emergency declaration.
119 d. “Eligible area” means any county that is subject to a
120 state of emergency declared by the Governor pursuant to s.
121 252.36 during the disaster period.
122 e. “Eligible service provider” includes a dealer as defined
123 in s. 202.11(2), a provider of Internet access services, and any
124 member of an affiliated group as defined in s. 202.37(1)(c)2.
125 f. “Internet access service” has the same meaning as in s.
126 202.11(6).
127 g. “Unserved” has the same meaning as in s. 288.9963(2)(e).
128 2. Communications and Internet equipment purchased, used,
129 or leased, including the installation or repair of such
130 equipment, in an unserved area or during a disaster period by an
131 eligible service provider within an eligible area is exempt from
132 the tax imposed by this chapter.
133 a. The exemption provided for a disaster period under this
134 paragraph is intended to apply to communications and Internet
135 equipment that was damaged by the natural disaster for which the
136 Governor declared a state of emergency pursuant to s. 252.36.
137 b. To the extent communications or Internet equipment is
138 used to provide communications or Internet access services
139 within an eligible area but such equipment is partly within and
140 partly outside the eligible area, or wholly outside the eligible
141 area, the exemption must be based on a reasonable allocation of
142 such equipment’s sales price or cost price, as applicable, which
143 reasonably reflects the location where the equipment is used.
144 3. Communications and Internet equipment acquired with
145 grants or matching contributions made pursuant to the federal
146 Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program, as established
147 pursuant to 47 U.S.C. s. 1702, or a similar program established
148 under the laws of this state, is exempt from the tax imposed by
149 this chapter if the funds are expended for the purpose of making
150 investments in infrastructure to provide broadband Internet
151 access services.
152 4. The exemption provided by this paragraph may be obtained
153 only by a refund of previously paid taxes on a form prescribed
154 by the department.
155 Section 3. (1) The Communications Services Tax Working
156 Group is created and housed for administrative purposes within
157 the Department of Revenue.
158 (2) The working group shall be composed of 9 members as
159 follows:
160 (a) The executive director of the Department of Revenue, or
161 his or her designee, who shall serve as chair and as a nonvoting
162 member and who shall appoint the remaining members.
163 (b) Four members who may include, but are not limited to,
164 video service providers, direct-to-home satellite service
165 providers, local telephone service providers, and wireless
166 service providers who provide prepaid services.
167 (c) Two members who are representatives of county
168 governments.
169 (d) Two representatives who are representatives of
170 municipal governments.
171 (3) Members of the working group are not entitled to
172 receive reimbursement for per diem and travel expenses other
173 than reimbursement provided by their respective company, group,
174 office, or agency.
175 (4) The working group shall do all of the following:
176 (a) Review national and state tax policies relating to the
177 communications industry.
178 (b) Review the historical amount of tax revenue that has
179 been generated by the communications services taxes imposed or
180 administered pursuant to chapter 202, Florida Statutes.
181 (c) Review how local governments are spending the
182 communications services taxes collected, specifically whether
183 the taxes are being used to fund general obligations and to
184 secure bond indebtedness.
185 (d) Review the fairness of the state’s communications tax
186 laws and their administrative burdens, including whether the
187 applicability of the tax laws are reasonably clear to
188 communications services providers, retailers, customers, local
189 government entities, and state administrators.
190 (e) Identify options for streamlining the administrative
191 systems related to communication services taxes.
192 (f) Review the local communications services tax rates in
193 effect within municipalities, charter counties, and noncharter
194 counties.
195 (g) Identify options that remove the competitive advantage
196 within the industry as it relates to the state’s tax structure
197 without unduly reducing revenue to local governments, including,
198 but not limited to, a review of industry trends, developing
199 business models, and new entrants that provide services that
200 compete with traditional communications services providers.
201 (5) The working group shall prepare a report that addresses
202 the issues described in subsection (4) and submit such report to
203 the Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of
204 the House of Representatives by December 1, 2025. The working
205 group shall hold meetings as frequently as deemed necessary by
206 the chair to prepare the report.
207 (6) In accordance with s. 20.052(8), Florida Statutes, this
208 section is repealed October 2, 2028.
209 Section 4. Except as otherwise provided in this act, this
210 act shall take effect upon becoming a law.