Florida Administrative Code › 12 - DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE › 12A - Sales and Use Tax › Chapter 12A-19 - COMMUNICATIONS SERVICES TAX › Section 12A-19.070 - Assignment of Service Addresses to Local Taxing Jurisdictions; Liability for Errors; Avoidance of Liability Through Use of Specified Methods; Reduction in Collection Allowance for Failure to Use Specified Methods

Current through Reg. 50, No. 138; July 16, 2024
(1)
(a)
				Dealers of communications services that are required to collect local
				communications services taxes must assign each customer service address to a
				specific local taxing jurisdiction for purposes of determining the appropriate
				local communications services tax rate to be applied to sales made to that
				address. Local communications services taxes must be collected and remitted for
				each service address in accordance with the service address assignments in the
				effective communications services tax Address/Jurisdiction Database, which is
				the official electronic database maintained by the Department that is posted 90
				days prior to its adoption and becomes effective every January 1 and July 1, as
				discussed in Rule 12A-19.071, F.A.C.
(b)
1. In
				determining the liability for any additional local communications services
				taxes, interest, and penalties of a dealer who does not use a method as
				described in paragraph (2)(a) and has failed to assign one or more service
				addresses to the correct local taxing jurisdiction, the Department will take
				into account all underpayments and overpayments of the local tax.
2. The dealer will be held liable for the net
				aggregate underpayment of tax and associated interest and penalties for
				incorrectly assigning one or more service addresses when:
a. The dealer does not use or employ one or
				more of the methodologies described in paragraph (2)(a) for assigning service
				addresses to local taxing jurisdictions;
b. The Department determines that there are
				misallocations of the local communications services taxes collected by the
				dealer between local taxing jurisdictions during the tax period(s) examined;
				and,
c. The dealer's assignment of
				service addresses to local taxing jurisdictions results in a combined net
				aggregate underpayment of local communications services tax during the tax
				period(s) examined.
3. In
				addition, a specific penalty of 10 percent of any tax collected but reported to
				an incorrect jurisdiction as a result of an incorrect address assignment, not
				to exceed $10, 000 per return, will be imposed on any dealer that does not use
				a database described in paragraph (2)(a).
(c) When a dealer fails to respond to a
				contact by the Department to the dealer's designated managerial representative
				regarding the completeness or accuracy of the dealer's return, or when a
				dealer's records are determined to be inadequate for purposes of determining
				whether the dealer properly allocated tax to or between local governments, the
				Department may use the best information available to determine the proper
				allocation or reallocation. In such circumstances, the Department shall seek
				the agreement of the affected local governments.