Florida Administrative Code › 34 - COMMISSION ON ETHICS › 34 - Departmental › Chapter 34-13 - GIFTS AND HONORARIA › Section 34-13.500 - Gift Valuation

Current through Reg. 50, No. 138; July 16, 2024
In addition to the provisions contained in Section
				   112.3148(7),
				  F.S., a donee shall use the following rules to determine the value of a gift
				  received from a donor:
(1) "Actual
				cost to the donor" as stated in Section
				 112.3148(7)(a),
				F.S., means the price paid by the donor which enabled the donor to provide the
				gift to the donee, excluding taxes and gratuities. Where the donor engages in
				the business of selling the item or service, other than personal services, that
				is provided as a gift, the donor's "actual cost" includes the total costs
				associated with providing the items or services divided by the number of units
				of goods or services produced.
(2)
				"Personal services" as stated in Section
				 112.3148(7)(a),
				F.S., means individual labor or effort performed by one person for the benefit
				of another.
(3) "Compensation
				provided by the donee" as stated in Section
				 112.3148(7)(b),
				F.S., means payment provided by the donee to the donor within 90 days after
				receipt of the gift. Where the gift received by a donee is a trip and includes
				payment or provision of the donee's transportation, lodging, recreational, or
				entertainment expenses by the donor, the value of the gift is equal to the
				total value of the various aspects of the trip paid or provided by the donor,
				and any consideration paid by the donee for the trip should be subtracted from
				the total value of the trip. Example: Lobbyist X provides reporting individual
				Y with a trip to New York to see a play. X pays $300 for Y's round-trip
				airfare, $50 for Y's ground transportation, $150 for Y's hotel room, and $100
				for Y's ticket to the play. In order to accept the trip from X, Y must pay X at
				least $500, so that the value of the gift from X does not exceed
				$100.
(4) "Comparable commercial
				conveyance" as stated in Section
				 112.3148(7)(d),
				F.S., means a similar mode and class of transportation which is available
				commercially in the community. Where the donor provides transportation for more
				than one person in a single conveyance at the same time, each person's
				transportation is valued as if such transportation had been provided in a
				comparable commercial conveyance. Where the gift is transportation in a private
				airplane, the transportation shall be given the same value as an unrestricted
				coach fare.
(5) A ticket, entrance
				fee, or admission fee, such as a golf greens fee, which admits the donee to an
				event, function, or activity, is valued on the face value of the ticket or fee,
				or on a daily or per event basis, whichever is greater.
(a) An "event" includes a series of related
				functions happening on consecutive days. If a series of tickets are given at
				the same time, such as a football season ticket, the value of the gift is the
				face value of all the tickets combined.
(b) If a fee, fee waiver, or other expense
				such as a booster contribution, is a condition precedent to buying a ticket or
				multiple tickets, the value of the ticket includes the amount of that fee, fee
				waiver, or other expense prorated among the maximum number of tickets that
				could be purchased. The provisions of this subsection may be illustrated by the
				following example:
EXAMPLE: Where the State University Athletic Association
				  requires a $500 contribution to its Booster Organization to purchase one set of
				  season tickets in a particular area in the stadium, and where each set of
				  tickets cost $100 for five home games, each ticket would be valued at
				  $120.
(c) Where a ticket to
				an event involves seating in a skybox, the actual annual cost of leasing the
				skybox is included in the value of the ticket to the event. The annual cost of
				the lease shall be divided by the number of persons which can be seated in the
				skybox, and further divided by either:
1. The
				number of events held annually at the stadium, if known; or
2. The number of events held during the
				preceding year. The provisions of this subsection may be illustrated by the
				following example:
Example: Where the cost of leasing a skybox at a football
				  stadium is $10, 000 annually, where the skybox can seat 10 persons, where the
				  stadium hosts five football games each year, and where a ticket to an event in
				  the stadium costs $20, the value of a ticket for seating in the skybox for the
				  event is $10, 000 divided by 10 seats, divided by 5 games, plus $20 per ticket,
				  or $220 per person.
(d) The value of a ticket to a charitable
				event where a portion of the proceeds go to charity is the value expressed on
				the face of the ticket.
(e) A
				ticket where no value is expressed on the face of the ticket should be valued
				on a daily or per event basis, whichever is greater, i.e., the cost of
				admission to persons with similar tickets, regardless of the cost to the
				donor.