(1)(a) The taxes collected under this chapter and chapter 203 shall be paid by the purchaser of the communications service and shall be collected from such person by the dealer of communications services.
(b) Each dealer of communications services selling communications services in this state shall collect the taxes imposed under this chapter and chapter 203 from the purchaser of such services, and such taxes must be stated separately from all other charges on the bill or invoice. Notwithstanding the requirement in this paragraph and in s. 202.35 to separately state such taxes, a public lodging establishment licensed under chapter 509 may notify purchasers of the taxes imposed under this chapter on a notice in a guest room posted in a manner consistent with the requirements of s. 509.2015, rather than separately stating the taxes on the guest bill or invoice.
(2)(a) A sale of communications services that are used as a component part of or integrated into a communications service or prepaid calling arrangement for resale, including, but not limited to, carrier-access charges, interconnection charges paid by providers of mobile communication services or other communication services, charges paid by a video service provider for the purchase of video programming or the transmission of video or other programming by another dealer of communications services, charges for the sale of unbundled network elements, and any other intercompany charges for the use of facilities for providing communications services for resale, must be made in compliance with the rules of the department. A person who makes a sale for resale which is not in compliance with these rules is liable for any tax, penalty, and interest due for failing to comply, to be calculated pursuant to s. 202.28(2)(a).
(b)1. Any dealer who makes a sale for resale shall document the exempt nature of the transaction, as established by rules adopted by the department, by retaining a copy of the purchaser’s initial or annual resale certificate issued pursuant to s. 202.17(6). In lieu of maintaining a copy of the certificate, a dealer may document, prior to the time of sale, an authorization number provided telephonically or electronically by the department or by such other means established by rule of the department. The dealer may rely on an initial or annual resale certificate issued pursuant to s. 202.17(6), valid at the time of receipt from the purchaser, without seeking additional annual resale certificates from such purchaser, if the dealer makes recurring sales to the purchaser in the normal course of business on a continual basis. For purposes of this paragraph, the term “recurring sales to a purchaser in the normal course of business” means sales in which the dealer extends credit to the purchaser and records the debt as an account receivable, or in which the dealer sells to a purchaser who has an established cash account, similar to an open credit account. For purposes of this paragraph, purchases are made from a selling dealer on a continual basis if the selling dealer makes, in the normal course of business, sales to the purchaser no less frequently than once in every 12-month period.
2. A dealer may, through the informal conference procedures provided for in s. 213.21 and the rules of the department, provide the department with evidence of the exempt status of a sale. Exemption certificates executed by entities that were exempt at the time of sale, resale certificates provided by purchasers who were active dealers at the time of sale, and verification by the department of a purchaser’s active dealer status at the time of sale in lieu of a resale certificate shall be accepted by the department when submitted during the protest period but may not be accepted in any proceeding under chapter 120 or any circuit court action instituted under chapter 72.
(3)(a) A dealer must compute the tax due on the sale of communications services imposed pursuant to this chapter and chapter 203 based on a rounding algorithm that meets the following criteria:
1. The computation of the tax must be carried to the third decimal place.
2. The tax must be rounded to a whole cent using a method that rounds up to the next cent whenever the third decimal place is greater than four.
(b) The rounding algorithm must be applied to the local communications services tax imposed pursuant to this chapter separately from its application to the communications services taxes imposed pursuant to s. 202.12 and the gross receipts taxes imposed pursuant to s. 203.01.
(c) A dealer may apply the rounding algorithm to the taxes imposed pursuant to ss. 202.12 and 203.01 in one of the following ways:
1. Apply the rounding algorithm to the combined taxes imposed pursuant to ss. 202.12 and 203.01.
2. Apply the rounding algorithm to the communications services taxes imposed pursuant to s. 202.12(1), and apply the rounding algorithm separately to the combined gross receipts taxes imposed pursuant to s. 203.01(1)(b)2. and 3.
3. Apply the rounding algorithm to the combined taxes imposed pursuant to ss. 202.12(1)(a) and 203.01(1)(b)3., as allowed by ss. 202.12001 and 203.001, and apply the rounding algorithm separately to the gross receipts tax imposed pursuant to s. 203.01(1)(b)2.
(d) Under paragraph (b) or paragraph (c), a dealer may apply the rounding algorithm to the aggregate tax amount that is computed on all taxable items on an invoice or to each tax amount that is computed on one or more, but fewer than all, taxable items on an invoice. The aggregate tax amount for all items on the invoice must equal at least the result that would have been obtained if the rounding algorithm had been applied to the aggregate tax amount computed on all taxable items on the invoice. A dealer may satisfy this requirement by setting a minimum tax amount of not less than 1 cent with respect to each item, or group of items, to which the rounding algorithm is applied.
(e) The department may not require a dealer to collect the tax based on a bracket system.
(4) Each purchaser of a communications service is liable for the taxes imposed under this chapter and chapter 203. The purchaser’s liability is not extinguished until the tax has been paid to the department, except that proof of payment of the tax to a dealer of communications services engaged in business in this state is sufficient to relieve the purchaser from further liability for the tax.
History.—ss. 8, 58, ch. 2000-260; ss. 6, 38, ch. 2001-140; s. 3, ch. 2002-48; s. 3, ch. 2005-187; s. 8, ch. 2007-106; s. 1, ch. 2011-120; s. 4, ch. 2012-70.