Opinion ID: 1788757
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: Registration Requirements of Chapter 87-6

Text: Addressing first the requirement that all persons who purchase advertising out-of-state for consumption in Florida report to the state, self-accrue the tax, and then remit the tax directly to the state, we reject the argument that these requirements constitute an unconstitutional registration requirement. See ch. 87-6, §§ 6 (creating § 212.0595(6), Fla. Stat.), 12 (amending § 212.06(2)(k), Fla. Stat.), & 16 (amending § 212.11(1), Fla. Stat.), Laws of Fla. Although opponents of these requirements contend that Talley v. California, 362 U.S. 60, 80 S.Ct. 536, 4 L.Ed.2d 559 (1960), prohibits such registration, we cannot agree. Tally involved an ordinance forbidding the distribution of all handbills that did not contain the name of the printer, author or manufacturer, and distributor. Although the City of Los Angeles urged that it had carefully aimed the law solely at identifying those responsible for fraud, false advertising, and libel, the United States Supreme Court disagreed. Id. at 63-64, 80 S.Ct. at 538-39. While Tally did stress the historical importance of anonymity, it struck down the ordinance solely due to its overreaching nature. Unlike the ordinance at issue in Tally, however, we do not view the instant disclosure requirement to be unduly intrusive on its face. Realism dictates that the state have some method of enforcing the instant tax. Prohibiting the state from requiring a given group of taxpayers to identify taxable transactions would place an unreasonable and unrealistic burden on the Department of Revenue (DOR) and would no doubt result in an uneven and haphazard enforcement of the tax code. We believe that, on its face, the registration provisions contained in chapter 87-6 are drawn in a sufficiently limited manner to pass constitutional muster. The DOR should, however, exercise caution in promulgating regulations pursuant to this statutory authority to ensure that its provisions remain limited to furthering the state's interest in identifying taxable transactions.