Title: Food Deserts

Summary: Establishing the food desert business tax credit for certain businesses that sell nutrient-dense food items in areas designated as food deserts; requiring the Department of Revenue and the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to review and make recommendations to the Legislature regarding the continuation of the tax credit; providing penalties for fraudulent claims for the tax credit, etc.

Full Text:
An act relating to food deserts; creating s. 220.197, F.S.; defining terms; establishing the food desert business tax credit for certain businesses that sell nutrient-dense food items in areas designated as food deserts; providing for the amount of the credit; requiring taxpayers to submit an application to the Department of Revenue in order to claim the tax credit; requiring the department and the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to review and make recommendations to the Legislature regarding the continuation of the tax credit; providing penalties for fraudulent claims for the tax credit; authorizing rulemaking authority; providing applicability; providing an effective date. Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: Section 1. Section 220.197, Florida Statutes, is created to read: 220.197  Food desert business tax credit.  (1) As used in this section, the term: (a) Food desert business  means a taxpayer that:1. Is in the trade or business of selling products at wholesale or retail and has total gross sales of less than $15 million per year; 2. Purchases at least percent of its inventory from in state companies; 3.  Derives a tlea st percent of its gross receipts from the retail sale of nutrient-dense foods;and 4.  Operates the business in a food desert zone. (b) Food desert zone   means a census tract that has been identified by the Economic Research Service of the United States Department of Agriculture as: 1.  Having a poverty rate of at least percent or having a median family income at or below percent of the med ian family income for this state; and 2.  Having at least persons,or at least percent of the population, who, in an urban area, live more than mile from a supermarket or, in a rural area, live more than miles from a supermarket.(c)    Nutrient-d ense food  means a food that has a high level of nutrients in relationship to the number of calories it contains. The term includes fresh vegetables and fruits, whole grains, nuts, seeds, beans and legumes, and low-fat dairy products. (d) Supermarket  means a food store that has at least $2 million in annual sales and contains all of the major food departments found in a large retail grocery store. (2 ) A food desert business is eligible for a tax credit of percent of the annual gross sales of the business against its corporate annual income tax liability under this chapter. The food desert business tax credit:(a) Is earned on the last day of each taxable year and may be claimed against the income tax for the taxable year that includes the day on which the credit is earned; (b) May not be sold or transferred; and (c) If not fully taken in any single year because of insufficient tax liability on the part of the business, may be carried forward for up to years. (3) In order to claim the food desert business tax credit, a taxpayer must first submit an application and receive approval to claim the credit from the department. (4) The food desert business tax credit shall be reviewed by the department in consultation with the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services taxable years af ter it has been in place.At such time, the departments shall make a recommendation to the Legislature for the eliminatio nor continuance of the credit, which must be based on the success of the credit in bringing and maintaining food desert businesses in food desert zones. (5) A taxpayer that fraudulently claims to be qualified for the food desert business tax credit commits a misdemeanor of the second degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083. The taxpayer is also administratively liable for repayment of a tax credit that is fraudulently taken plus a mandatory penalty of percent of the amount of the tax credit plus interest at the rate provided under this chapter. (6) The department, in consultation with the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, may adopt rules to administer this section. Such rules may identify the areas of the state designated as food desert zones, provide an application process and forms for applying for the tax credit, and require the retention of records and the submission of specific documents by a taxpayer applying for and claiming the tax credit. (7) This section applies to taxable years begin ning on or after January 1, 2016.Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2015.