SB 1352 is a communications tax and broadband equipment bill. It delays the earliest date on which certain local communications services tax rates and related surtax additions may be increased, pushing the moratorium out to January 1, 2026. The bill also creates a new sales tax exemption for specified communications and Internet equipment, including equipment used by providers of communications services or Internet access services, and allows the exemption to be claimed only through a refund of taxes previously paid.
The exemption is broad and covers equipment, machinery, software, and related tangible personal property used to transmit, route, amplify, or support communications and broadband services. It applies in several situations: equipment purchased, used, or leased in unserved areas; equipment used during a disaster period in an eligible area; and equipment acquired with federal Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) funds or similar state broadband grant funds. The bill also creates a temporary Communications Services Tax Working Group within the Department of Revenue to study communications tax policy, local revenue use, administrative burdens, rate structures, and competitive effects, and to report recommendations to the Legislature and Governor by December 1, 2025.
The bill would amend chapter 202 and section 212.08 of the Florida Statutes by temporarily limiting increases in local communications services tax rates and by adding a new sales tax exemption for qualifying communications and Internet infrastructure. It would affect communications providers, Internet access providers, local governments that levy communications services taxes, and taxpayers purchasing broadband-related equipment. The working group provision would create a short-term advisory body within the Department of Revenue and repeal it in 2028.
The available context suggests the bill was generally policy-oriented and aimed at tax simplification, broadband deployment, and review of local communications tax practices. However, the bill died in the Senate Regulated Industries Committee, indicating it did not advance despite the companion measure passing in the House. No committee transcript or recorded vote is provided, so the record does not show detailed debate, but the structure of the bill suggests interest in both industry relief and local government revenue concerns.
The main points of contention appear to be the tax implications for local governments and the breadth of the new exemption. Local governments may view the delayed ability to raise communications tax rates and the study of how those taxes are used as a constraint on revenue flexibility. Communications providers and broadband interests would likely support the exemption and the effort to streamline administration, while opponents may worry about reduced local revenue, the complexity of refund-based administration, and whether the exemption could be applied too broadly to equipment and services used across multiple jurisdictions.