Court Clarifies Credit for Taxes Paid in Another State  
A Tallahassee Circuit Judge has rejected the Department of Revenue's interpretation of the sales tax statute that gives taxpayers a credit against Florida tax if "a like tax....has been lawfully imposed and paid to another state." The Department has contended, and ruled in two administrative decisions, that for the exemption to apply, the tax must be paid first to another state, before the Florida tax would otherwise become due. Thus, the Florida is one of the few states that have routinely denied refunds to multistate taxpayers who pay sales or use tax to one state, only to find out on audit that tax was first due to a different state. The Court held that the statute should be interpreted in light of its obvious legislative purpose, "to avoid multiple taxation of goods in interstate commerce," and that the statute thus requires "only that the tax from the other state be paid before the request for refund is made." Gate Precast Co. v. Dept. of Revenue, Case No. 98-6522, Circuit Court, Second Circuit, Leon County (August 10, 1999). The case reportedly was settled after the ruling, and the Department will not appeal.

Posted: 1999-11-10 00:00:00.0

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