Blog Posts in Florida Tax Litigation

On December 29, 2021, we posted an article on our website entitled, “Florida DOR’s 2022 Legislative Package BAD for Florida Business,” which included a link to the twenty proposed ideas prepared by ...

On February 25, 2021, the Florida Supreme Court struct down Hillsborough County’s 1% surtax earmarked for transportation originally enacted in 2018. Business owners have been in a state of limbo ...

On February 25, 2021, the Florida Supreme Court has issued a joint order regarding the constitutionality of the Hillsborough County transportation surtax in Robert Emerson, et al., v. Hillsborough ...

A sale in Florida subject to sales tax normally requires the seller to collect Florida sales tax from the purchaser. In cases where a customer believes a business has charged too much sales tax, the ...

When the Department of Revenue issues a Notice of Proposed Assessment, taxpayers are given several options, including the filing of a informal protest, a refund claim in Circuit Court, or a Petition ...

Considering “consideration” in taxing mortgages, notes and other financial instruments, Part II. [i] Examining the decisions in 1701 Collins Miami Owner, LLC v Department of Revenue , Case Nos. ...

Considering “consideration” in taxing mortgages, notes and other financial instruments [i] Part I History and focus of the tax Florida imposes a tax on most real estate conveyances. Generally, it is ...

There is not much worse of a feeling than opening mail with a sales and use tax audit notice from the Florida Department of Revenue (FDOR). Barring exceptional facts and circumstances, you or your ...

Circuit court or administrative forum, which is the best strategy? Careful analysis of the question raised above usually reveals that one size does not fit all, or put another way, it depends. But ...

Key to taxpayers protecting their rights in Florida is an understanding of how and why tax decisions and administrative law are so directly connected. Put another way, it is important to know why ...

The Florida Department of Revenue (FDOR) loves to send out mailings to taxpayers. In many cases, the FDOR’s computer system sends out the “good” news automatically when there is an amount that is due. ...

If you are here reading about your right to file a FLORIDA SALES TAX INFORMAL WRITTEN PROTEST , then you have just been through a Florida sales and use tax audit, a mind numbing experience in which a ...

DISNEY EMERGES THE VICTOR IN PROPERTY TAX DEBATE, A WIN FOR COMMERCIAL PROPERTY APPRAISALS Property taxes represent one of the biggest areas of exposure for commercial property owners. Changing laws, ...

A group of Taxpayers has triumphed over Escambia County regarding tax on the land underlying their condo building. The condominium residents of the Beach Club Towers in Escambia County, Florida, ...

An Employer’s Perspective: Florida “Reemployment Tax” aka, Unemployment Tax, Part II By James F. McAuley, Esq. BCS. Introduction Part I of this article focused on how an employer can distinguish ...

An Employer’s Perspective: Florida “Reemployment tax” aka, Unemployment Tax. Part I of II by James F. McAuley, Esq. Who must pay Florida Reemployment tax? Generally, speaking it’s the difference ...

DirecTV believes satellite companies are being unfavorably treated compared to cable companies. DirecTV may not be that far off. Florida taxes cable companies at a rate of 6.8% for the services they ...

Imagine owning an online business. The business has inventory in several states via Amazon’s Fulfillment By Amazon (“FBA”) services. This inventory is stored in warehouses across the country base on ...

Debtor’s Prisons and Double Jeopardy in State Tax Prosecutions: The Department of Revenue Has A New Trick Up Its Sleeve. The term debtor’s prison tends to conjure up images straight out of Dickens. ...

WHEN A TAX ASSESSMENT IS UNENFORCEABLE UNDER FLORIDA LAW BY JAMES F.McAULEY [1] Florida law has a specific definition for the term “rule”. In the context of administrative law and state tax rulings, ...

After nearly 10 years in limbo, the Florida Department of Revenue (“Department”) issued a Final Order resolving a taxpayer’s litigated tax liability issuing a final order in March 2017 finally ...

FL Taxation of Florists Case Denied Cert by US Sp Ct I remember when one could understand the limits of a state’s ability to subject transactions to sales tax. But that understanding has been ...

FL TAXABLE RENTAL VS NONTAXABLE SERVICE We have been getting an usually high number of calls from companies that are being audited and assessed Florida sales tax when using equipment to provide a ...

ARE CLEANING SERVICES TAXABLE IN FLORIDA? I get calls several times a month from nervous owners of cleaning companies and suspicious customers of cleaning companies, both asking the same question: Are ...

FL TAX: WHEN EVERYONE IS INJURED BUT NOBODY CAN SUE, PART TWO. (A MULTISTATE ANALYSIS OF STANDING) Meet Florida taxpayer, Ms. Flora. She inherited a house in Missouri from her late mother, FloraBell. ...

Every year, millions of people come to Central Florida to experience the magic of the theme parks. Tourist dollars roll in, and an entire industry exists to cater to those who descend on the sunshine ...

WHEN EVERYONE IS INJURED BUT NOBODY CAN SUE ANALYSIS OF SPECIAL INJURY TAXPAYER STANDING IN FLORIDA COURTS The Florida Supreme Court accepted jurisdiction to review a case from the Fourth District ...

When attorney Shari Johnson woke up the morning of February 16, 2016, she was scheduled to argue a case of first impressions before Florida’s Fourth District Court of Appeals in Broward County. Her ...

Florida’s hotel reservation industry claimed another victory this week against the county Tourist Development Tax and Florida Sales Tax. This time we were dealing with Sarasota County trying to impose ...

It would be an understatement to say our firm has been involved with Florida’s wholesale tobacco tax for several years. Since Micjo in 2012, the Florida wholesale tobacco tax area has been fraught ...

FICPA / DOR LIASON MEETING – DECEMBER 11, 2015 [If there are any misspelled names or incorrect titles provided herein, then please email HERE so corrections can be made immediately. Thank you!] Kevin ...

Few understand or even bring up sales tax issues when they order pizza. The next time you order pizza, take a look at the receipt and see if the pizza shop charges you for the delivery. Does the ...

CHALLENGING AGENCY STATEMENTS DEFINED AS A RULE Florida law has a specific definition for the term "rule". In the context of administrative law and state tax rulings, the term is defined as follows: ...

FL DOR ABUSES CONVENIENCE STORE INDUSTRY Around 2009, the major players in the Florida gas station industry approached the Department of Revenue (FL DOR) complaining about the small, single owner ...

Florida Reemployment Tax Audit The Big Question: Employee or Independent Contractor? Many employers classify employees as independent contractors to receive economic and business benefits, one of them ...

Understanding the Burden of Proof and Burden of Persuasion Part II: Ad Valorem Tax Our firm previously published a perspective entitled: "Understanding the Burden of Proof and Burden of Persuasion" in ...

FL Sales Tax – Like Texas, FL's DOAH Getting Flooded This article is a nice follow up to a prior article which talked about the lack of protection from the FL Taxpayer Bill of Rights and the lack of ...

TAMPA'S HYDE PARK CAFÉ – SALES TAX REVOCATION Outside the offices of a very few attorneys in Florida, most people do not know that the Florida Department of Revenue has the power to revoke a ...

FL TAX – Online Travel Companies Win at Florida Supreme Court The never-ending national battle between the various counties and the Online Travel Companies (OTC's) over the Tourist Development Tax ...

Way back in 2011, I co-authorized a piece entitled "When is an assessment an assessment" in the Florida CPA Magazine. In that article, we highlighted a potential flaw with Florida sales tax audits. We ...

DIRECTV WINS IN FLA 1 ST DCA DORMANT COMMERCE CLAUSE Since 2005, DIRECTV has been fighting the state of Florida over a seemingly simple issue. Satellite companies, which are primarily based outside of ...

Rhinehart Equipment on to the Appellate Courts Just when the Florida Department of Revenue ("Department") thinks they have finally chalked up a sales tax legal victory, Rhinehart Equipment comes back ...

Plethora of Sales Tax Litigation in Florida While many people seem to think that sales tax is merely a percentage of the sales price paid at the checkout counter which can easily be managed by ...

FL 1 ST DCA: VERIZON APPEALS PROPOSED ASSESSMENT NOT FINAL On May 12, 2015, there was yet another riveting display of legal arguments in the sales tax arena over a very simple, yet relevant issue: ...

FL Tax Audits – Taxpayer Bill of Rights Protects No Rights I have seen a lot of information and discussions about the IRS mistreating taxpayers. Being in Florida, this made me think of protections ...

Florida ABT Pushes to Amend Florida Wholesale Tobacco Tax Law Taxpayers throughout the state of Florida have been in a never ending battle with Department of Business and Professional Regulation, ...

WHEN SALES TAX AUDITORS MAY NOT PICK AND CHOOSE RECORDS TO USE On April 17, 2015, an administrative law judge handed the Florida Department of Revenue a major setback when he ruled on what records ...

MIAMI-DADE PROPERTY OWNERS TAKE ON TAX COLLECTOR It would appear that the newly minted County Tax Collector for Miami-Dade County has gone above and beyond in his efforts to win approval amongst the ...

Over the past few years, we have been writing updates dealing with tax issues in connection with the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation, Division of Alcoholic Beverages and ...

The death of a spouse is one of life's most stressful events. One should not be faced with difficult legal decisions in a time of grieving, especially decisions regarding something as important as the ...

Florida Bar Tax Section / FL DOR Liaison Meeting – 2015 The Florida Bar Tax Section met with the Florida Department of Revenue for a 3 hour "liaison" meeting on January 16, 2015. The liaison meeting ...

2014 FICPA DOR LIAISON MEETING For more than 30 years, the FICPA and the Florida Department of Revenue have meet once a year to discuss that state of affairs between our state's taxing authority and ...

Would a rose by any other name not smell as sweet? For the Department of Revenue, this rose smells like a loss. The Fourth DCA took a stand for Taxpayer's rights in its recent decision American ...

The purpose of this article is to bring to light something despicable happening in Florida. The group that I refer to as our Draconian [1] Comrades in Tallahassee are continuing their harassment of ...

FL Supreme Court - Online Travel Company Hearings – 11:30 on April 30th UPDATE 5/2/2014: SEE A VIDEO OF THE 4/30/14 ORAL ARGUEMENTS HERE It looks like the string of cases between various counties ...

FL DOR Denying Your Sales Tax Registration? As a Florida sales and use tax attorney, it never ceases to amaze me the number of shocking stories I hear on a regular basis. Some stories are brought on ...

FL TOBACCO DISTRIBUTOR UPDATE – ANOTHER REFUND OPPORTUNITY Just over two years ago, the well-known Micjo decision came down from the 2 nd District Court of Appeal. In Micjo , the court ruled that ...

DIRECTV and ECHOSTAR APPEAL CST TRIAL LOSS NOV 2013 In a case that has spanned almost a decade, the DIRECTV Inc and Echostar vs Florida Department of Revenue case has finally come to an end – at least ...

When trying to get taxes, interest, or penalties compromised with the Florida Department of Revenue, it is good to know just how much authority the person you are speaking with has. The document below ...

FLORIDA BAR TAX SECTION / FL DOR LIAISON MEETING 2013 On October 25, 2013, about 17 members of the Florida Bar Tax Section met with high ranking officials from the Florida Department of Revenue ("FL ...

Over the past few years, our comrades in Tallahassee have targeted the Florida convenience store industry. We are aware of the onslaught as we have defended hundreds of companies that sell alcohol and ...

As the case below will illustrate, making an agreement with the Florida Department of Revenue is about as dangerous as trying to hold an angry scorpion in the palm of your hand, which reminds me of a ...