The Florida Senate
BILL ANALYSIS AND FISCAL IMPACT STATEMENT
(This document is based on the provisions contained in the legislation as of the latest date listed below.)
Prepared By: The Professional Staff of the Committee on Finance and Tax
BILL: CS/SB 1030
INTRODUCER: Finance and Tax Committee and Senator Rodriguez
SUBJECT: Taxation
DATE: February 15, 2024 REVISED:
ANALYST STAFF DIRECTOR REFERENCE ACTION
1. Hackett Ryon CA Favorable
2. Byrd Khan FT Fav/CS
3. AP
Please see Section IX. for Additional Information:
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE - Substantial Changes
I. Summary:
CS/SB 1030 makes various changes to statutes relating to the Department of Revenue
(department). The bill:
 Deletes obsolete language referring to pollutants tax registration fees;
 Revises the administration of certain taxes related to the purchase of boats, trailers, and
aircrafts;
 Revises provisions on forwarding agents applications. Requires the department to add a
statement or notification in its electronic database for each certified address with a unique
street address or zip code. Specifies that certain dealers may not collect sales and use tax on
tangible personal property shipped to a certified address. A dealer is not liable for the tax if
the dealer relies on the electronic database to ship to a certified address.
 Allows the department to reopen a final assessment for the purpose of adjusting tax liability
under certain circumstances;
 Allows the department to include all taxes, penalties, interest, costs, surcharges, and fees
authorized by law in a garnishment or levy;
 Increases the threshold for underpayment penalties on corporate income tax and provides
applicability; and
 Provides rulemaking and emergency rulemaking authority.
 The bill also permits counties and school boards to forego imposing local discretionary sales
surtaxes on commercial rent.
BILL: CS/SB 1030 Page 2
The Revenue Estimating Conference determined that the bill may increase or decrease General
Revenue receipts, trust fund receipts, and local government receipts by an indeterminate amount
for the various provisions in the bill. See Section V. Fiscal Impact Statement for additional
information.
The bill takes effect July 1, 2024.
II. Present Situation:
The present situation for each issue is described below in Section III, Effect of Proposed
Changes.
III. Effect of Proposed Changes:
Pollutants Tax Registration Fees
Current Situation: Any entity intending to produce or import pollutants, which include liquid
commodities made from petroleum products, pesticides, ammonia, chlorine, perchloroethylene,
or solvents,1 must register and become licensed to do so.2 Statute provides that an entity must
pay a $30 registration fee when requesting a pollutants tax license.3 However, these registration
fees were previously repealed beginning January 1, 2018.4
Proposed Changes: Section 1 amends s. 206.9931, F.S., to remove obsolete language related to
pollutants tax registration fees.
Local Discretionary Sales Surtax on Commercial Rentals
Present Situation: Florida levies a 6 percent sales and use tax on the sale or rental of most
tangible personal property, 5 admissions, 6 transient rentals,7 and a limited number of services.
Additionally, Florida levies a 4.5 percent sales and use tax on the rental of commercial real
estate.8 In 2021, the Legislature approved a reduction to the sales and use tax rate on the rental of
commercial real estate to 2% after the balance in the Unemployment Compensation Trust Fund
reaches $4.07 billion, which is expected to occur in March 2024.9 As a result, the tax rate is
expected to decrease to 2% beginning June 1, 2024.
Commercial real estate subject to tax includes land, buildings, office or retail space, and
convention or meeting rooms. It also includes the granting of a license to use real property for
1
Florida Dept. of Revenue, Pollutants Tax, available at https://floridarevenue.com/taxes/taxesfees/Pages/pollutants.aspx (last
visited Jan. 10, 2024).
2
Section 206.9931, F.S.
3
Id.
4
Chapter 2017-36 s.17, L.O.F.
5
Section 212.05(1)(a)1.a., F.S.
6
Section 212.04(1)(b), F.S.
7
Section 212.03(1)(a), F.S.
8
Section 212.031, F.S.
9
The Office of Economic & Demographic Research, Unemployment Compensation Trust Fund Forecast, available at
http://edr.state.fl.us/Content/conferences/unemployment-compensation-trust-fund/January2024ForecastSummary.pdf
(last visited Feb. 12, 2024).
BILL: CS/SB 1030 Page 3
placement of vending, amusement, or newspaper machines.10 Additionally, if the tenant makes
payments such as mortgage, ad valorem taxes, or insurance on behalf of the property owner, such
payments are also classified as rent and are subject to the tax.11 However, there are several
commercial rentals that are not subject to tax, including:
 Rentals of real properties assessed as agricultural.12
 Rentals to nonprofit organizations that hold a current Florida consumer's certificate of
exemption.13
 Rentals to federal, state, county, or city government agencies.14
 Properties used exclusively as dwelling units.
 Public streets or roads used for transportation purposes.15
Counties16 and schools boards17 are authorized to impose local discretionary sales surtaxes in
addition to the state sales tax. A surtax applies to “all transactions occurring in the county which
transactions are subject to the state tax imposed on sales, use, services, rentals, admissions, and
other transactions by [ch. 212, F.S.], and communications services as defined in ch. 202”18 The
discretionary sales surtax is based on the tax rate imposed by the county where the taxable goods
or services are sold, or are delivered. In counties that levy the discretionary sales surtax, the rate
varies in a range of 0.5 to 1.5 percent.19, 20
Proposed Changes: Section 2 amends s. 212.031, F.S., to provide that a county or school board
imposing a discretionary sales surtax may exclude rent or license fees on commercial real estate
from discretionary sales surtaxes. The exclusion must be approved by majority vote of the
members of the board of county commissioners or school board, and does not require
referendum approval. The county or school board must notify the department by September 1 of
the year the decision is approved and the exclusion must be initiated on January 1 of the year
following approval.
Affidavit for Non-Resident Purchasers of Boats and Aircrafts
Current Situation: Nonresident purchasers of boats and aircraft are exempt from paying the sales
tax. Among other requirements relating to the purchase and subsequent removal from the state of
the boat or aircraft, such purchasers must sign an affidavit attesting that they have read the
provisions of s. 212.05, F.S., in its entirety, in order to claim the exemption. Section 212.05, F.S.,
10
Rule 12A-1.070, F.A.C.
11
Id.
12
See s. 212.031(1)(a)1.-13., F.S.
13
Section 212.08(7)(p), F.S.
14
Section 212.08(6), F.S.
15
See s. 212.031(1)(a)1.-13., F.S.
16
Section 212.055, F.S. authorizes counties to impose different types of local discretionary sales surtaxes including the
Charter County and Regional Transportation System Surtax, the Local Government Infrastructure Surtax, the Small County
Surtax, the Indigent Care and Trauma Center Surtax, the County Public Hospital Surtax, the Voter-Approved Indigent Care
Surtax, the Emergency Fire Rescue Services and Facilities Surtax, and the Pension Liability Surtax.
17
Section 212.055(6) authorizes school boards in each county to levy the School Capital Outlay Surtax.
18
Section 212.054, F.S.
19
Florida Dept. of Revenue, Discretionary Sales Surtax Information for Calendar Year 2024, available at
https://floridarevenue.com/Forms_library/current/dr15dss_24.pdf (last visited Jan. 16, 2024).
20
This range is inclusive of the surtax that may be levied by school districts.
BILL: CS/SB 1030 Page 4
is lengthy and includes many provisions that are not applicable to the purchaser of a boat or
aircraft.
Proposed Changes: Section 3 amends s. 212.05(1)(a)2.d., F.S., to remove the requirement that a
purchaser attests to having read statutory provisions and replaces that language with the
requirement that a nonresident purchaser complete an affidavit that affirms that the nonresident
purchaser qualifies for exemption from the sales tax pursuant to law and attesting that the
nonresident purchaser will provide the documentation required to substantiate the exemption.
Imposition of Surtax Limitation on the Purchase of Boats and Trailers
Present Situation: Local discretionary sales surtaxes may only be charged on the first $5,000 of
the sales amount of any item of tangible personal property.21 If two or more taxable items are
sold to the same purchaser at the same time and would generally be sold in bulk or comprise
pieces of a unit, such items must be considered a single item.22
Additionally, the location for where the surtax is applied differs for boats and trailers. For the
sale of a boat, the surtax is based on the county where the boat is delivered to the purchaser.23
For a trailer, the surtax is based on the residence address of the purchaser as identified on the
registration or title document of the trailer.24
Proposed Changes: Section 4 amends s. 212.054, F.S., to require that the sale of a boat and
corresponding boat trailer must be taxed as a single item when sold to the same purchaser, at the
same time, and in the same invoice. Additionally, the bill requires the surtax to be imposed based
on the county where the purchaser resides.
Forwarding Agents
Current Situation: A forwarding agent is a person or business whose principal business activity
is facilitating for compensation the export of property owned by other persons. A forwarding
agent engaged in international export may apply to the department for a Florida Certificate of
Forwarding Agent Address. The application must include information about the forwarding
agent’s location and export activities, including designation of an address. Each certificate
expires five years after issue and requires the forwarding agent to update the application if
material changes occur regarding the information in the application.25
The law defines a forwarding agent as a dealer,26 which makes a forwarding agent subject to the
provisions governing all sales tax dealers in the state. In general, a person desiring to engage in
21
Section 212.054(2)(b)1., F.S.
22
Id.
23
Section 212.054(3)(d)1., F.S.
24
Section 212.054(3)(a)2., F.S.
25
Section 212.06(5), F.S.
26
Section 212.06, F.S.
BILL: CS/SB 1030 Page 5
or conduct business in this state must register as a dealer27 and must file with the department an
application for a certificate of registration, which is a Florida Business Tax Application.28
Tangible personal property delivered by a dealer to a licensed exporter or common carrier for
export outside Florida is not subject to sales tax.29 A dealer may accept the forwarding agent’s
certificate or rely on the list of forwarding agents’ names and addresses on the department’s
website in lieu of collecting sales tax. A dealer who accepts a certificate or relies on the list in
good faith and ships purchased tangible personal property to the address on the certificate is
relieved from tax liability for any tax due on sales made during the effective dates indicated on
the certificate.30 As of February 13, 2024, there are 253 unique combinations of certified
forwarding agent names and addresses on the list.31
Additionally, the department maintains an electronic database, referred to as Florida’s
Address/Jurisdiction Database.32 This electronic database allows users to find tax rates by county
or for any Florida address.33
Proposed Changes: Section 5 of the bill makes changes related to forwarding agent applications.
A forwarding agent already registered as a dealer with the department is no longer required to
resubmit an application to register as a dealer when applying for a certificate or renewal of a
forwarding agent certificate. The bill requires a forwarding agent to update its application
information when:
 the forwarding agent ceases to do business,
 the forwarding agent changes addresses,
 the forwarding agent’s principal business activity changes to something other than
facilitating the international export of property owned by other persons, or
 the certified address ceases to be used for export under this paragraph.
Additionally, the bill defines an “electronic database” to mean the database created and
maintained by the department pursuant to section 202.22(2), Florida Statutes. The department
must incorporate a statement or notification in its electronic database for each certified address
with a unique street address or zip code. However, this requirement does not apply for a certified
address approved by the department with a unique suite address or secondary address.
Additionally, the bill requires that a dealer, other than a forwarding agent that is required to remit
sales and use tax, may not collect the tax on tangible personal property shipped to a certified
address. The bill also relieves dealers relying on the electronic database to ship to a certified
address from sales tax liability.
27
Section 212.18(3), F.S.
28
Florida Dep’t of Revenue, General Tax, Florida Sales and Use Tax, Registration and Accounts
https://floridarevenue.com/taxes/taxesfees/Pages/sales_tax.aspx (last visited Feb. 13, 2024).
29
Section 212.06(5)(a)1., F.S.
30
Section 212.06(5)(b)11., F.S.
31
See Florida Dep’t of Revenue’s List of Approved Forwarding Agents available at:
https://floridarevenue.com/taxes/taxesfees/Pages/sales_tax.aspx (last visited Feb. 13, 2024).
32
Section 202.22, F.S.
33
See https://pointmatch.floridarevenue.com/Default.aspx
BILL: CS/SB 1030 Page 6
Event Impacting Timely Challenges
Current Situation: Current law provides guidelines for the department to establish informal
conference procedures for the resolution of disputes relating to assessment of taxes, interest, and
penalties, and the denial of refunds.34 However, the department does not have the authority to
reopen a final assessment for purposes of adjusting or compromising the liability, other than to
resolve the outstanding liability for collectability.35
Current law also specifies a process and timeframe for a taxpayer to challenge a final assessment.
A taxpayer may contest the legality of any assessment or denial of refund of taxes and fees. 36
Such contest may be filed by circuit court action or by petition under administrative law. 37 No
action may be brought more than 60 days after the date the assessment becomes final.38
Proposed Changes: Section 6 creates s. 213.21(11), F.S., to provide that, following the
expiration of time for a taxpayer to challenge an assessment or a denial of a refund issued by the
department, the department may consider a request to settle or compromise any tax, interest,
penalty, or other liability under s. 213.21, F.S., if the taxpayer demonstrates that the failure to
initiate a timely challenge was due to:
 The death or life-threatening injury or illness of the taxpayer or an immediate family
member of the taxpayer;
 The death or life-threatening injury or illness of an individual with substantial
responsibility for the management or control of the taxpayer;
 Acts of war or terrorism; or
 Natural disasters, fire, or other catastrophic loss.
The department may not consider a request received more than 180 days after the expiration of
time allowed under s. 72.011, F.S. Any decision by the department regarding a taxpayer’s
request to compromise or settle a liability under this subsection is not a final order subject to
review under ch. 120, F.S.
Garnishment
Present Situation: The department has the authority to issue a levy upon cred