FL H0739

Creates the Restaurant and Hotel Renovation Tax Refund Program administered by the Department of Economic Opportunity to provide sales and use tax refunds to qualified applicants.

Qualified applicants must complete renovation projects meeting minimum expenditure requirements: hotels require $10,000 per guest room/suite with $2 million total, or restaurants require $10,000 for food preparation areas with $100,000 total.

Eligible applicants receive annual tax refunds equal to 50 percent of the difference between baseline tax amounts (36-month average preceding project) and current annual sales and use taxes remitted at the project location.

Aggregate refund payments are capped at 20 percent of actual project costs, and applicants must submit applications before project commencement with documentation verified by certified public accountants.

Department of Revenue must issue tax refunds within 30 days after receiving certification from the Department of Economic Opportunity; bill takes effect July 1, 2015.