Sec. 126-2. - Seniors homestead exemption.
Secs. 126-3—126-25. - Reserved.
(a)
Title and citation. This section shall be known and cited as the "Collier County Exemption of Electricity Sales Tax for Energy Used in Enterprise Zone."
(b)
Intent and purpose. The intent of this section is:
(1)
Any business located within the Immokalee Enterprise Zone shall be eligible to receive an exemption of utility tax imposed by the county on the purchase of electrical energy if such business is a qualified business under the provisions of F.S. § 212.08, and is determined to be eligible for the exemption by the department of revenue.
(2)
To receive the exemption, a business must file an application with the Immokalee Enterprise Zone Development Agency on a form provided by the Florida Department of Revenue. A qualified business may receive the benefit herein provided for a period of five years from the billing period beginning not more than 30 days following notification to Lee County Electric Cooperative or other qualified business which has been granted an exemption under F.S. § 212.08(15), shall be entitled to full benefit of that exemption as if expiration had not occurred on that date. Notwithstanding the expiration reference above, if a subsequent audit conducted by the Florida Department of Revenue determines that the business did not meet the criteria mandated in F.S. § 212.08(15)(d), the amount of taxes exempted pursuant to this section shall immediately be due and payable to the Florida Department of Revenue by the business, together with the appropriate interest and penalty, computed from the due date of each bill for the electrical energy purchased as exempt under this paragraph.
(Ord. No. 97-15, §§ 1, 2, 3-25-97)
Sec. 126-2. - Seniors homestead exemption.
(a)
Title and citation. This section shall be known and cited as the "Collier County Seniors Homestead Exemption Ordinance."
(b)
Findings. The board finds that the legislative intent set forth in Section 196.075, Florida Statutes, sets forth a laudable philosophy regarding local taxation relief offered to qualifying persons age 65 and older whose household income does not exceed a specified amount.
Section 196.075, Florida Statutes, authorizes the board to adopt an ordinance providing this benefit to the taxpayer who meets the required criteria.
(c)
Definitions. For the purposes of this section, the definitions contained in Section 196.075, Florida Statutes, shall apply and control, in accordance with the subject matter, unless the text and/or context of this section provides otherwise.
(d)
Creation and establishment of additional homestead exemption; criteria. There is hereby created and established an additional homestead exemption pursuant to F.S. § 196.075, and Section 6(f), Article VII of the Florida State Constitution, as amended November 7, 2006 in the amount of $50,000.00 for any person who has the legal or equitable title to real estate and maintains thereon the permanent residence of the owner, who has attained age 65, and whose household income does not exceed $20,000.00.
Qualified persons shall be eligible for an additional homestead exemption not exceeding $50,000.00, in accordance with Section 6(f), Article VII of the Florida State Constitution, as amended November 7, 2006. If allowable by the Constitution or general law, this additional exemption shall apply for the 2007 tax year, and it shall also apply for each year thereafter. This additional homestead exemption applies only to taxes levied by Collier County.
(e)
Eligibility and application. The exemption applies only to taxes levied by the board of county commissioners including dependent special districts and municipal service taxing units. Those persons entitled to the homestead exemption in Section 196.031, Florida Statutes, may apply for and receive an additional homestead exemption as provided herein.
The taxpayer claiming the exemption is required to annually submit to the property appraiser, not later than March 1, a sworn statement of household income on a form prescribed by the department of revenue. Copies of any federal income tax returns for the prior year, any wage and earnings statements (W-2 forms), any request for an extension of time to file returns, and any other documents required by the department, for each member of the household, must be submitted for inspection by the property appraiser. The taxpayer's sworn statement shall attest to the accuracy of the documents and grant permission to allow review of the documents if requested by the property appraiser. Submission of supporting documentation is not required for renewal of an exemption unless requested by the property appraiser. Upon inspection of the documents by the property appraiser, they shall be returned to the taxpayer or destroyed. The property appraiser is authorized to generate random audits of taxpayer's sworn statements to ensure the accuracy of the household income reported. If selected for an audit, a taxpayer shall complete Internal Revenue Service Form 8821 or 4506, authorizing the Internal Revenue Service to release tax information to the property appraiser. All reviews in accordance with this section shall be completed before June 1. The property appraiser may not grant or renew the exemption if the required documentation requested is not provided.
(f)
Imposition of penalties and liens. If the property appraiser determines that for any year within the immediate prior ten years a person who was not entitled to the additional homestead exemption was granted such an exemption, the property appraiser will serve upon the property owner a notice of intent to record in the public records of Collier County a notice of tax lien against any property owned by that person in this county. The property must be identified on the notice of tax lien. Any property that is owned by the taxpayer and is located in the State of Florida is subject to the taxes exempted by the improper grant of the homestead exemption.
In addition to the taxes, a penalty of 50 percent of the unpaid taxes for each year and interest at a rate of 15 percent per annum will be assessed. If such an exemption was improperly granted as a result of a clerical mistake or an omission by the property appraiser, the person who improperly received the exemption may not be subject to the assessment of the penalty or interest. Before such a lien may be filed, the owner must be given a 30-day period within which to pay the taxes, penalties and interest. Such a lien is subject to the procedures and provisions set forth in F.S. § 196.161(3).
(Ord. No. 99-85, §§ 1—5, 11-22-99; Ord. No. 03-02, §§ 1, 2, 1-14-03; Ord. No. 2007-01, § 1)