Florida/Georgia Personal Injury & Workers Compensation

...exemption from the tax. This exemption excluded from gross receipts "[c]harges made by hotels and motels... for local telephone service or toll telephone service, when such charge occurs incidental to the right of occupancy in such hotel or motel." § 203.012(2)(b)3., Fla....

...tment to file in the normal course of business, a proposed rule and give notice to the public." In October 1989, the Department promulgated a rule detailing its position on the tax. The pertinent portion of the rule recites the exemption language in section 203.012(2)(b)3., but goes on to state that separately billed charges are not "incidental to the right of occupancy." Fla....

...At a hearing on November 17, 1989, the appellees argued that telephone access in a hotel room was nonessential and subordinate to the provision of lodging. Because the telephone was "incidental" according to the plain meaning of that term, the charges were exempt under section 203.012(2)(b)3....

...Upon closer examination, however, it is clear that the Department did not act without colorable statutory authority. The Department is authorized to adopt rules to carry out the intent and purposes of the revenue laws. § 213.06(1), Fla. Stat. (1989). Far from repealing section 203.012(2)(b)3., the Department's rule recites the statute and interprets the limited exemption that is provided under its terms....

...The current version of the public service tax statute, § 166.231, Fla. Stat. (1985), does not include "telephone service" in the list of taxable services. The present statute, § 166.231(9), Fla. Stat. (1985), authorizes a municipality to levy a tax on the purchase of "telecommunication services" as defined in section 203.012, Florida Statutes (1985). Section 203.012 is the definitional section of chapter 203, Florida Statutes (1985), which imposes a state gross receipts tax on utility services. The definition of "gross receipts from telecommunication services" in section 203.012 expressly excludes charges for CPE leased or rented by a customer from any source. § 203.012(2)(b)1, Fla....

...The preamble to chapter 84-342 announces the expansion and clarification of the legislative intent of chapter 203, in response to the divestiture of AT & T. [2] See State v. Lanier, 464 So.2d 1192 (Fla. 1985). The interrelationship of chapter 203 and section 166.231 is evident from the legislature's reference to section 203.012 as the definitional section of the operative terms used in section 166.231, Florida Statutes (1985)....

...* * * * * (6) The tax is imposed upon every person for the privilege of conducting a utility business, and each provider of the taxable services remains fully and completely liable for the tax, even if the tax is separately stated as a line item or component of the total bill. "Utility service" is defined in section 203.012(9), Florida Statutes (1991), to mean "electricity for light, heat, or power ......

...tutory definition of "telecommunication service" that services incidental to cellular service, such as detailed billing, should not be considered telecommunication services. The definition of "telecommunication service" is contained in section *1127 203.012(5), Florida Statutes (1991), and provides in pertinent part: The term `telecommunication service' means: (a) Local telephone service, toll telephone service, telegram or telegraph service, teletypewriter or computer exchange service, or priva...

...This case involves only the gross receipts taxes paid by GTE on the separately stated charges for the optional detailed billing. It does not involve taxes on charges for any actual "cellular telecommunication service" provided GTE customers as that term is defined in section 203.012(5)(b)....

...ctly construed and that any ambiguities or doubts must be resolved in favor of the taxpayer. See Mikos v. Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey Combined Shows, Inc., 475 So.2d 292 (Fla. 2d DCA 1985). Appellant argues that in determining legislative intent, section 203.012(5) should be read in pari materia with section 203.012(2)(a), in which the legislature broadly defined what constitutes gross receipts from telecommunication services: (2)(a) Gross receipts from telecommunication services include the gross receipts for all telecommunication services of wh...

...uncement service charges; dial-it charges; local area data transport charges; key lines charges; private branch exchange trunk-flat rate charges; and directory listing charges other than yellowpage classified listing charges. We cannot conclude that section 203.012(2)(a) conflicts with the subsequent section 203.012(5), which specifically excludes incidental telecommunication services from the gross receipts tax....

...item from the purchaser for the purchase of such service. Subsection (9)(a) of the statute also imposes a cap on the purchase of telecommunications services by providing that a municipality may levy a tax on telecommunications services as defined in section 203.012 (3), Florida Statutes, 2 (a)1. Only upon purchases within the municipality of local telephone service as defined in s. 203.012 (3) at a rate not to exceed 10 percent of the monthly recurring customer service charges, ....

...percentage less than the 10 percent rate referenced in the statute without a cap on the dollar amount to be paid by the consumer/utility. Sincerely, Robert A. Butterworth Attorney General RAB/tjw 1 See, s. 166.231 (1)(a) and (9), Florida Statutes. 2 Section 203.012 (5), Florida Statutes, defines the term "telecommunication service" to mean: (a) Local telephone service, toll telephone service, telegram or telegraph service, teletypewriter or computer exchange service, or private communication ser...

...toll telephone service” charges, which are taxable under the statute, but were more properly classified as “cellular mobile telephone or telecommunication service” charges, which are not taxable under the statute. These distinctions arise from section 203.012(5), Florida Statutes (1993), which defines telecommunications service as being either: “(a) Local telephone service, toll telephone service, telegram or telegraph service, teletypewriter service or private communication service; or (b) Cellular mobile telephone or telecommunication service.” Id....

...e charges,” which include long-distance charges, on “cellular mobile telephone or telecommunications service.” However,- there is no such prohibition on taxing variable usage charges for “toll telephone service.” See §§ 166.231(9)(a)(2), 203.012(5)(a), (b), Fla....

...meaning of “toll telephone service” or “cellular mobile telephone or telecommunication service.” While the legislature has defined “toll telephone service,” it has not defined “cellular mobile telephone or telecommunication service.” Section 203.012(7), Florida Statutes (1993), defines “toll telephone service” as “a telephonic-quality communication for which there is a toll charge which varies in amount with the distance and elapsed transmission time of each individual comm...

...represents technology different from that previously employed for mobile communication.” Because the intrastate cellular long-distance services at issue seemingly could fall within either or both definitions contained in subsections (a) and (b) of 203.012(5), we necessarily conclude that the legislative intent is not clear....

...We note that, in defining telecommunications service as either “toll telephone service” or “cellular mobile telephone or telecommunication service,” the Legislature chose to state the terms in the disjunctive by use of the conjunction “or,” implying that one term is exclusive of the other. See § 203.012(5)(a), (b)....

services as defined by section 203.012, Florida Statutes (1999). Section 203.012(5)(a) defines telecommunications

telecommunications services as defined in section 203.012, Florida Statutes.1 However, purchases of local

definition of telecommunication services found in section 203.012, Florida Statutes (1997). However, a careful