Title: Additional Ad Valorem Tax Exemption for Deployed Servicemembers

Summary: Authorizes servicemembers who receive homestead exemption & who are deployed in certain military operations to receive additional ad valorem tax exemption; provides deadline for claiming tax exemptions for qualifying deployments during 2011 calendar year; provides procedures & requirements for filing applications & petitions to receive tax exemption after expiration of deadline; provides application.

Full Text:
An act relating to the additional ad valorem tax exemption for deployed servicemembers; amending s. 196.173, F.S.; authorizing servicemembers who receive a homestead exemption and who are deployed in certain military operations to receive an additional ad valorem tax exemption; providing a deadline for claiming tax exemptions for qualifying deployments during the 2011 calendar year; providing procedures and requiremen ts for filing applications and petitions to receive the tax exemption after expiration of the deadline; providing application; providing an effective date. Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: Section 1. Subsection (2) of sec tion 196.173, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 196.173 Exemption for deployed servicemembers.-(2) The exemption is available to servicemembers who were deployed during the preceding calendar year on active duty outside the continental United Stat es, Alaska, or Hawaii in support of: (a) Operation Noble Eagle, which began on September 15, 2001; (b)(a) Operation Enduring Freedom, which began on October 7, 2001; (c)(b) Operation Iraqi Freedom, which began on March 19, HB 7113 2012 2003, and ended on August 1, 2010; or (d)(c) Operation New Dawn, which began on September 1, 2010, and ended on December 15, 2011; or (e) Operation Odyssey Dawn, which began on March 19, 2011, and ended on October 31, 2011.The Department of Revenue shall notify all property a ppraisers and tax collectors in this state of the designated military operations. Section 2. Notwithstanding the application deadline in s. 196.173(5), Florida Statutes, the deadline for an eligible servicemember to file a claim for an additional ad va lorem tax exemption for a qualifying deployment during the 2011 calendar year is June 1, 2012. Any applicant who seeks to claim the additional exemption and who fails to file an application by June must file an application for the exemption with the property appraiser on or before the 25th day following the mailing by the property appraiser of the notices required under s. 194.011(1), Florida Statutes. Upon receipt of sufficient evidence, as determined by the property appraiser, demonstrating the applican twas unable to apply for the exemption in a timely manner or otherwise demonstrating extenuating circumstances judged by the property appraiser to warrant granting the exemption, the property appraiser may grant the exemption. If the applicant fails to pr oduce sufficient evidence demonstrating the applicant was unable to apply for the exemption in a timely manner or otherwise demonstrating extenuating circumstances as judged by the property appraiser, the applicant may file, HB 7113 2012 pursuant to s. 194.011(3), Flor ida Statutes, a petition with the value adjustment board requesting that the exemption be granted. Such petition must be filed during the taxable year on or before the 25th day following the mailing of the notice by the property appraiser as provided in s. 194.011(1), Florida Statutes. Notwithstanding s. 194.013, Florida Statutes, the applicant is not required to pay a filing fee for such a petition. Upon reviewing the petition, if the applicant is qualified to receive the exemption and demonstrates particu lar extenuating circumstances judged by the value adjustment board to warrant granting the exemption, the value adjustment board may grant the exemption for the current year. Section 3. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law and first applies to ad valorem tax rolls for 2012.