On December 29, 2021, we began posting a series of articles concerning the Florida Department of Revenue’s Legislative Package that was known as SB 1382 “Tax Administration”. We posted a total of seven articles spelling out the imperfections and serious flaws in this legislation. This legislation was supposedly intended to stop the “Tax Cheats and Thieves”. This legislation’s target may have been to go after “Tax Cheats and Thieves,” but it was also going to seriously harm innocent taxpayers. Examples of the extreme nature of this legislation would be:
- Suspension of a company’s resale certificate and liquor license within a mere 20 days if a business didn’t provide every record requested by an auditor.
- Denial of Taxpayer’s due process rights to provide records during litigation if the DOR felt the records should have been made available during the audit.
- 50% penalty, in addition to a highly exaggerated estimate when the Department asserts that the taxpayer failed to provide records.
During the Legislative Session, the DOR’s Executive Management team and the Bill Sponsors were able to convince every legislative committee that this legislation was needed to go after the “Tax Cheats and Thieves.” However, the DOR already has so many other tools in their arsenal to go after the “Tax Cheats and Thieves” that they didn’t need a nuclear bomb that was going to impact practically all Florida businesses, especially the small business that don’t have the sophistication or wherewithal to maintain records in all the means and manner that the Department desires. Our firm spoke against this legislation at several legislative hearings on this bill. We presented objections to most of the provisions of this Bill at every committee meeting, and we picked up a few allies along the way, including the National Federation of Independent Businesses (NFIB) and Florida TaxWatch. We also reached out to the FICPA and the Tax Section of the Florida Bar, who also expressed concerns about the legislation.
SB 1382 was slightly amended during the Legislative Session, but the most harmful weapons to be used against Florida businesses remained in the Bill. On March 8, 2022, CS/CS/SB 1382 passed out of both Houses of the Legislature. The Bill sat on the desk at the Legislature until June 17, 2022, when it was sent to the Governor for consideration. The Governor had three options. One, sign the Bill. Two, veto the Bill. Three, allow the Bill to become law without signature after fifteen days. This Bill was supposed to become law effective on July 1, 2022.
Governor DeSantis takes his responsibilities seriously and has reviewed and considered every Bill presented to him. We have not seen any Bill that the Governor has allowed to become law without his signature. On June 24, 2022, the Governor VETOED CS/CS/SB 1382. In the veto letter that the Governor sent to the Florida Secretary of State, Cord Byrd, he wrote in part “
I appreciate the Department of Revenue and their efforts to protect the rights of taxpayers, and I understand the problem this bill seeks to address. Some of the provisions within this bill area already authorized by law, and I fully expect the Department to faithfully enforce those laws against anyone who would violate our tax code.
However, I have concerns that this bill may subject small businesses to additional administrative processes that could prove challenging …”
Thank you, Governor DeSantis for recognizing that Florida Taxpayers are NOT “Tax Cheats and Thieves”, that the Florida Legislature and the Florida Department of Revenue claims!!
About the Author: Patrick Loebig, Esq. is a Senior Associate with Moffa, Sutton, & Donnini, P.A. His primary practice area is multistate tax controversy. Patrick received a B.S. in Distributed Studies – Pre-Law, from Iowa State University. He received his J.D. from NOVA Southeastern, located in Ft. Lauderdale, FL in 1986. He worked for the State of Florida for thirty-three years, the last seventeen years as Florida’s Taxpayers’ Rights Advocate that reported directly to the Florida Department of Revenue Executive Director, until July 2018, when the position was transferred to the Chief Inspector General’s Office. More than half of Patrick’s public service has been to look out for taxpayers and their rights. You can read his bio HERE.
About the author: James Sutton is a Florida licensed CPA and attorney as well as a partner in Moffa, Sutton, & Donnini, PA. Mr. Sutton is charge of the Tampa office of the firm and practices almost exclusively in the area of Florida Sales & Use Tax Controversy. Mr. Sutton handles audits, protest, litigation, criminal cases, revocations, collections, and consulting engagements all in the area of sales tax. Mr. Sutton is an active member in the FICPA, AICPA, AAA-CPA, and FIADA. Mr. Sutton is also the State and Local Tax Chairman for the AAA-CPA and president of the Florida AA-CPA. Most notable to this article, Mr. Sutton was the lead author on an amicus brief filed in the US Supreme Court on behalf of the AAA-CPA in the SD v Wayfair case and attended oral arguments for the case. If you are interested in learning more about Florida sales tax from Mr. Sutton, you can learn more about Mr. Sutton in his firm bio HERE.
At the Law Office of Moffa, Sutton, & Donnini, PA, our primary practice area is Florida taxes, with a very heavy emphasis in Florida sales and use tax. We have defended Florida businesses against the Florida Department of Revenue since 1991 and have over 150 years of cumulative sales tax experience within our firm. Our partners are both CPAs/Accountants and Attorneys, so we understand both the accounting side of the situation as well as the legal side. We represent taxpayers and business owners from the entire state of Florida. Call our offices today for a FREE INITIAL CONSULTATION to confidentially discuss how we can help put this nightmare behind you.
AUTHORITY
213.015 – Taxpayer rights
2022 Florida Department of Revenue Legislation – SB 1382 Engrossed
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
FLORIDA SALES TAX AUDIT HELP, published August 24, 2020, by James Sutton, CPA, Esq.
GO TO JAIL FOR NOT PAYING FLORIDA SALES TAX?, published November 3, 2013, by James Sutton, CPA, Esq.
FLORIDA SALES TAX INFORMAL WRITTEN PROTEST, published November 17, 2018, by James Sutton, CPA, Esq.
IS LABOR SUBJECT TO SALES TAX IN FLORIDA, published October 4, 2021, by Jeanette Moffa, Esq.