Jason Delgado
The Florida arm of the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) is calling on Gov. Ron DeSantis to veto a ‘heavy handed’ tax.
The bill (SB 1382) ushers in a slew of tax law changes, many of which the NFIB contends will place small businesses at a disadvantage.
“Basically, it stacks the deck against a small business owner the minute the tax auditor walks in the door,” said Bill Herrle, the Florida executive director for the NFIB.
Among other changes, the bill would require taxpayers to produce in a timely fashion all documents requested by the Department of Revenue during an audit.
A staff analysis notes some taxpayers will “selectively” provide records during an audit rather than hand over all the paperwork, forcing the Department to make estimates.
Though the bill aims to curb noncompliance, critics maintain the move will shortchange taxpayers and make proving Department errors a tougher task.
“The bill automatically assumes a business owner acted with willful neglect if their records are incomplete, triggering a 50% fine on top of any tax debt the Florida Department of Revenue had already estimated,” Herrie said.
“If you make an honest mistake and overlook even a single document, the state will automatically assume you were trying to cheat the system and punish you by making you pay more.”
The bill further empowers the Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco to suspend a dealer’s resale certificate during audits of alcohol sales.
State law requires dealers to track alcohol and tobacco sales, a staff analysis notes. Without them, the Department is unable to conduct an audit and again must rely on an estimate.
“SB 1382 is heavy-handed and intentionally punitive toward small businesses,” Herrle said. “It assumes you’re guilty without giving you a chance to prove your innocence. That’s patently unfair, and it’s why we’re urging Gov. DeSantis to support Florida’s small business owners and veto SB 1382.”
Republican Sen. Joe Gruters, an accountant, is the bill sponsor.
