This bill amends various sections of Florida Statutes concerning local business taxes, emphasizing compliance and revenue management. It mandates the Auditor General to reach out to local governments that fail to comply with specific tax regulations, requiring them to demonstrate corrective actions within designated timeframes. New provisions restrict municipalities from reclassifying businesses or altering tax structures after a certain date and establish a revenue cap for local business taxes. Notably, counties and municipalities that do not adopt a business tax ordinance by July 1, 2025, are prohibited from increasing or modifying tax rates, and local governments must adjust tax rates if revenues surpass a defined revenue base.

Additionally, the bill allows local governments to adopt ordinances to decrease or repeal business taxes, as long as the new rates remain within the established revenue base. It specifies that counties implementing a new rate structure before October 1, 2025, will retain all business tax revenues from unincorporated areas and clarifies the distribution of revenues from businesses within municipalities. The bill also requires audits of local government financial statements to include an affidavit confirming compliance with the new regulations, updates the audit threshold for nonstate entities, and mandates detailed reporting on employee compensation and construction projects in annual financial reports. The act is scheduled to take effect on July 1, 2025.

Statutes affected:
S 1196 Filed: 11.40, 205.0315, 205.043, 205.0535, 205.0536, 215.97, 218.32, 489.537