Gov. Ron DeSantis vetoed a bill that would have given the Department of Revenue more power during tax audits. The bill would have allowed the department to punish businesses that don’t cooperate during audits by suspending their licenses. It also made it easier for the department to estimate how much tax a business owes. While the bill was vetoed, it could come back in the future. The government is making a new law that would revoke the licenses of stores that sell alcohol and tobacco if they don’t provide records when asked. This could happen before the store even has a chance to finish an audit. The new law would give stores only 20 days to provide the records, which is a lot less time than they usually get. The proposed law suggested that businesses could be shut down if they couldn’t provide the right documents for an audit, even if they didn’t have those documents in the first place. Small businesses often don’t have the same kind of record-keeping as big businesses, so they would be at risk of being shut down unfairly. Basically, a new bill created a rule that if a taxpayer doesn’t provide documents when asked, the tax department can assume their proposed action is correct and that the missing documents would be bad for the taxpayer’s case. This could make it harder for taxpayers to challenge the tax department’s estimates. It could especially impact small business owners who might not have all their records in order. Senate Bill 1382 was a proposed law that would give the tax department more power to estimate how much taxpayers owe. It aimed to deal with the problem of taxpayers not providing records during audits. The current law gives the department one year to complete an audit, but there are waiting periods at the start and end that make it shorter. The bill tried to make things easier for auditors. The law also requires the department to give taxpayers a 60-day notice before starting an audit. Taxpayers can waive this notice, but it’s usually better for them to use this time to gather their records and get ready for the audit. Senate Bill 1382 aimed to change the rules for audits by giving both the tax department and taxpayers more flexibility during the 60-day waiting period. The bill would allow the tax department to respond to a taxpayer’s questions and accept documents during this time, and it would also let auditors review certain information without officially starting an audit. However, the bill also made it harder for taxpayers to object if the 60-day waiting period was violated, which could be a problem for people who don’t have a lot of money or experience with audits. After an audit, taxpayers have 30 days to request a conference with the auditor or their supervisor if they disagree with the proposed changes. But sometimes, auditors issue the proposed assessment too soon, not giving taxpayers enough time for the conference. If the proposed assessment is issued less than 60 days before the end of the audit period, it’s not valid. A new bill is trying to clarify the consequences of not giving taxpayers enough time for the conference. If a taxpayer doesn’t ask for a meeting about the audit, they give up their right to have one. The auditor doesn’t have to have a meeting before issuing a tax bill. The new law makes it optional for the auditor to have a meeting within 30 days. The law also stops taxpayers from using new records in a court or hearing if they didn’t give the records to the auditor first. It can be hard for businesses to find and give all their records to the auditor in one year. Sometimes, they don’t realize how important certain records are until later. The auditor is supposed to look for mistakes in both directions, but that doesn’t always happen. So, it’s common for records to show up after the audit is done. Senate Bill 1382 made it harder for taxpayers to provide new evidence in court if they didn’t provide it to the Department of Revenue earlier, unless they had a good reason. This would force taxpayers to go through a long informal process before they could give new evidence. It also seemed to go against the rule that all evidence in court cases should be new. This could put taxpayers at a disadvantage compared to the Department of Revenue. Senate Bill 1382 is a proposed law that could make it harder for taxpayers to defend themselves during an audit. It could even shut down businesses that can’t produce certain records. This proposed law would limit the evidence that taxpayers can use in court or a hearing. It’s not fair and could lead to incorrect tax assessments. It’s important for taxpayers and businesses to work with the government to find better ways to handle audits. Hopefully, future laws will be more balanced and fair to everyone involved.
Source: https://www.floridabar.org/the-florida-bar-journal/reflections-on-a-vetoed-bill/
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