Department of Revenue v. GR Swan Enterprises, Inc.

506 So. 2d 455, 12 Fla. L. Weekly 1053, 1987 Fla. App. LEXIS 8024
CourtDistrict Court of Appeal of Florida
DecidedApril 15, 1987
DocketBO-94
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 506 So. 2d 455 (Department of Revenue v. GR Swan Enterprises, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court of Appeal of Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Department of Revenue v. GR Swan Enterprises, Inc., 506 So. 2d 455, 12 Fla. L. Weekly 1053, 1987 Fla. App. LEXIS 8024 (Fla. Ct. App. 1987).

Opinion

506 So.2d 455 (1987)

DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE, State of Florida, Appellant,
v.
G.R. SWAN ENTERPRISES, INC., Appellee.

No. BO-94.

District Court of Appeal of Florida, First District.

April 15, 1987.

*456 Jim Smith, Atty. Gen., and Edwin A. Bayo, Asst. Atty. Gen., Tallahassee, for appellant.

Ray Graham, Sarasota, for appellee.

JOANOS, Judge.

In this appeal, the Department of Revenue (Department) challenges the trial court's Final Summary Judgment which set aside a use tax assessment against appellee, G.R. Swan Enterprises, Inc., (Swan). The Department asserts that the trial court erred in finding the Department's use tax assessment invalid, and further contends that: 1) the trial court's interpretation of Section 212.05(1)(a)2, Florida Statutes (1983), results in discrimination against interstate commerce; and 2) that there is statutory support to uphold the Department's tax assessment. We agree and reverse.

On August 21, 1984, Swan, a Delaware corporation owned by two Florida residents, bought a yacht named the "Hughie II" in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The sale was exempted from Florida's sales tax under Section 212.05(1)(a)2, Florida Statutes (1983), which provides a sales tax exemption for purchasers who comply with the listed requirements and remove the boat from Florida within ten days after purchase.[1] The "Hughie II" was allegedly purchased by Swan primarily for use as a live aboard vessel in the Bahamas, and was removed from Florida on August 31, 1984, ten days after purchase. The boat was brought back to Florida on March 2, 1985, for warranty maintenance, and returned to the Bahamas on May 13, 1985. The boat was in the Bahamas when the use tax totalling $34,813.93 was assessed against Swan by the Department of Revenue pursuant to Section 212.06(8) Florida Statutes *457 (1983).[2] Swan challenged the Department's use tax assessment and both parties moved for summary judgment. The trial court held for Swan and found that the use tax statute, Section 212.06(8), Florida Statutes (1983), was not applicable to this case. The court agreed with Swan's argument that the boat was purchased for use exclusively outside Florida, and that was controlling. The trial court held Swan to be exempt from taxation under Section 212.05(1)(a)2, Florida Statutes (1983), a statute which the court found speaks specifically to boats and provides an implied presumption that a boat purchased for use exclusively outside Florida is exempt from use taxation. The Department of Revenue's motion for rehearing was denied.

The Department is correct in asserting that the sales tax in Florida is the tax on the privilege of selling tangible property, and therefore the collection is the responsibility of the selling dealer. The tax should be collected by the dealer from the purchaser by adding the tax to the sales price. See Donoghue v. Wallach, 455 So.2d 1085, 1087 (Fla. 2d DCA 1984). The Department argues persuasively that the legal benefit of the sales tax exemption found in Section 212.05(1)(a)2, Florida Statutes (1983), is afforded only to the dealer who sold Swan the yacht. The Department correctly asserts that this sales tax "privilege" is distinct from the use tax assessed against Swan for importing, using and storing its yacht in Florida. The record reveals that Swan brought the yacht into Florida on March 2, 1985. The repairs were completed on March 22, 1985. The ship's log reveals that on May 13, 1985 Swan removed the boat from Florida waters and headed to the Bahamas. We find correct the Department's argument that the original sales tax exemption cannot isolate Swan from the use tax based on its subsequent importation, use and storage of the yacht for almost two months, from March 22 to May 13, 1985. As the Department contends, the Florida Supreme Court in Ryder Truck Rental, Inc. v. Byrant, 170 So.2d 822 (Fla. 1964), distinguished between a use tax and a sales tax, stating that "there is no duplication of the tax since each is on a separate and distinct taxable privilege." 170 So.2d at 825.

Also, we find Green v. Pederson, 99 So.2d 292 (Fla. 1957), as cited by Swan for support, to be distinguishable. In Green, appellee was assessed a use tax on animals he purchased outside Florida from a non-profit zoological institution "not in the business of" selling animals. The court determined that such "occasional and isolated sales" were exempt from both the sales and use tax under the provisions of the Sales and Use Tax Act, Chapter 212, Florida Statutes (1951). 99 So.2d at 294. We find Green inapplicable to the tax assessment in the instant case. However, what is applicable from the Green opinion is the following general rule that was expressed by the Florida Supreme Court:

It is well settled that he who would shelter himself under an exemption clause in a tax statute must show clearly that he is entitled under the law to the exemptions; and the law is to be strictly construed as against the person claiming the exemption and in favor of the taxing power.

99 So.2d at 296.

We do not believe that here the lower court strictly construed the use tax penalty provision found in Section 212.05(1)(a)2 in favor of the Department, and further, when strictly construed, we find that this provision is not applicable to the facts of this case. The lower court in its Final Summary Judgment reviewed Section 212.06(8), Florida Statutes (1983), and found that the Department's reliance on it was misplaced. The trial court placed its emphasis on the fact that Swan kept its yacht out of Florida for more than six months *458 prior to importing it for repairs, and that therefore Swan had fulfilled the statutory requirements pursuant to Section 212.05(1)(a)2, Florida Statutes to qualify for a sales tax exemption and avoid a 100% penalty (use tax). The record reveals that Swan fulfilled the statutory requirements necessary to qualify for a sales tax exemption and has not violated those provisions which would activate the penalty clause of Section 212.05(1)(a)2. However, as the Department correctly contends, once the initial six month period expired, Swan's subsequent importation and use of the "Hughie II" in Florida waters triggered the use tax pursuant to Section 212.06(8), Florida Statutes.

We cannot accept the trial court's application of Section 212.05(1)(a)2 to the facts before us, for according to the trial court's interpretation, Swan cannot ever be taxed on its use of "Hughie II" in Florida, regardless of actions taken by Swan subsequent to the initial six month removal period. We agree with the Department that this interpretation and application of Chapter 212 violates the Commerce clause. U.S. Const. art. I, § 8, cl. 3. The trial court's construction allows one who purchases a boat from a Florida dealer, and qualifies for the sales tax exemption initially, to then bring the boat back into Florida for continued use, and thereby also avoid paying any use tax. As the Department contends, in contrast, a purchaser who bought a boat from a Florida seller who did not remove the boat from the state initially for six months would be forced to pay the use tax, as would a Floridian or non-resident who purchased a boat in another state without paying a use tax there, and then imported it to use in Florida. See Section 212.06(4), Florida Statutes (1983).[3]

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

State v. Galadriel, Inc.
525 So. 2d 990 (District Court of Appeal of Florida, 1988)
Department of Revenue v. Yacht Futura Corp.
510 So. 2d 1047 (District Court of Appeal of Florida, 1987)
Cronacher v. Florida Department of Revenue
510 So. 2d 615 (District Court of Appeal of Florida, 1987)
United Engines, Inc. v. Dept. of Revenue
508 So. 2d 459 (District Court of Appeal of Florida, 1987)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
506 So. 2d 455, 12 Fla. L. Weekly 1053, 1987 Fla. App. LEXIS 8024, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/department-of-revenue-v-gr-swan-enterprises-inc-fladistctapp-1987.